Metallica
Ride The Lightning

THE REVIEW

Year 1984: a then little-celebrated group known as MetallicA was compelled to release another masterpiece, capable of reaching the level of the masterpiece produced by the Californian band a year earlier. Well, you already know the result; in fact, it is an authentic pillar of metal destined to rise and become a sort of bible for up-and-coming bands that would themselves make history in this genre (to name just one, Testament).
"Ride the Lightning" is the second of the three jewels created by the Burton/Hetfield/Hammet/Ulrich quartet (though the contribution of Dave Mustaine must be noted), where we can particularly note a great maturation of the group: compared to Kill 'em All, in fact, the sound becomes more refined, and the riffs more composed and considered.
Closing parenthesis, let me get back to reviewing this great album with an equally stunning cover.
The CD opens with a bittersweet arpeggio, a terrifying intro that gives life to a sort of apocalypse where Lars Ulrich presents a double pedal to die for (Well, still nothing compared to a certain Pete Sandoval and a certain Gene Hoglan): we're facing "Fight Fire With Fire," a beautiful song that acts as a link between this album and the previous. It indeed contains the rawness of Kill 'em All. Immediately afterwards comes the majestic title track. Here, Kirk Hammet's guitar creates a one-minute-and-forty-second solo that unleashes an amazing energy, perhaps the most beautiful my ears have ever heard, then James Hetfield shouting "Someone help me oh please God help me they are trying to take it all away i don't want to die"... chills!!!
Even in this album, the "best of" flow endlessly; in fact, we find "For Whom The Bell Tolls," a song that, in its simplicity, knows how to unleash a multitude of emotions.
Now let's move on to perhaps the best piece of all, "Fade to Black," the first poignant ballad from MetallicA with equally tear-jerking Lyrics: the highlight of the package that alone is worth the price of the CD.
We now enter a delicate phase, finding the part of the album where the most criticized songs are found: "Trapped Under Ice" and "Escape." Highly contested and considered merely as filler songs by many, in my view, they remain very valid, especially the first, which I think is unjustly maligned. Perhaps the subsequent one is stained by a somewhat boring second part, but this does not change the fact that I consider it not a song to be thrown away (but you also complain about "Escape" when thirteen years later they did significantly worse things! :-@) In any case, these are soon forgotten because we come to "Creeping Death," an epic song destined to make the history of the Four Horsemen... A genuine masterpiece of Heavy-Thrash Metal!
The album concludes with The Call Of Ktulu, a splendid instrumental and, in my opinion, the best of the four, influenced by the creative genius of H. P. Lovecraft.
Let's see... that "Ride The Lightning" is a masterpiece has already been said, a source of inspiration for new bands mentioned before, well, I don't think there's anything left to say... Oh, I forgot, I haven't mentioned one of the fundamental elements in the creation of this CD: that genius Clifford Lee Burton, my all-time idol, who on bass creates riffs that break through in an awesome manner and presents himself as a sort of backbone for the sound, particularly in "The Call Of Ktulu," although unfortunately, his bass is heard very little...
Now I really think I've said everything, I just hope you find the review at least half as beautiful as this great album.