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Metallica Ride the Lightning Release Date: 1984 Running Time: 47:47 Label: DCC Kill 'Em All may have revitalized heavy metal's underground, but Ride the Lightning was even more stunning, exhibiting staggering musical growth and boldly charting new directions that would affect heavy metal for years to come. Incredibly ambitious for a one-year-later sophomore effort, Ride the Lightning finds Metallica aggressively expanding their compositional technique and range of expression. Every track tries something new, and every musical experiment succeeds mightily. The lyrics push into new territory as well -- more personal, more socially conscious, less metal posturing. But the true heart of Ride the Lightning lies in its rich musical imagination. There are extended, progressive epics; tight, concise groove-rockers; thrashers that blow anything on Kill 'Em All out of the water, both in their urgency and the barest hints of melody that have been added to the choruses. Some innovations are flourishes that add important bits of color, like the lilting, pseudo-classical intro to the furious "Fight Fire with Fire," or the harmonized leads that pop up on several tracks. Others are major reinventions of Metallica's sound, like the nine-minute, album-closing instrumental "The Call of Ktulu," or the haunting suicide lament "Fade to Black." The latter is an all-time metal classic; it begins as an acoustic-driven, minor-key ballad, then gets slashed open by electric guitars playing a wordless chorus, and ends in a wrenching guitar solo over a thrashy yet lyrical rhythm figure. Basically, in a nutshell, Metallica sounded like they could do anything. Heavy metal hadn't seen this kind of ambition since Judas Priest's late-'70s classics, and Ride the Lightning effectively rewrote the rule book for a generation of thrashers. If Kill 'Em All was the manifesto, Ride the Lightning was the revolution itself. Steve Huey, All Music Guide Tracks: Title Composer Time 1 Fight Fire with Fire Hetfield, Ulrich, Burton 4:45 2 Ride the Lightning Hetfield, Mustaine, Ulrich, Burton 6:41 3 For Whom the Bell Tolls Hetfield, Ulrich, Burton 5:09 4 Fade to Black Hammett, Hetfield, Ulrich, Burton 6:59 5 Trapped Under Ice Hammett, Hetfield, Ulrich 4:08 6 Escape Hammett, Hetfield, Ulrich 4:24 7 Creeping Death Hammett, Hetfield, Ulrich, Burton 6:35 8 Call of Ktulu Hetfield, Mustaine, Ulrich, Burton 8:55 Releases: Year Type Label 2000 CD DCC 1984 CD Elektra 1986 CD Elektra Asylum 2007 CD Mercury 1989 CD Polygram CD Sony/BMG Japan 2006 CD Universal/Mercury 1984 CS Elektra 1989 CS Vertigo 1984 LP Music For Nations 2008 LP Vertigo 2008 LP Warner Bros.

Group Members: Ron McGovney Robert Trujillo Dave Mustaine Lars Ulrich James Hetfield More >> Similar Artists: Anthrax Slayer Danzig Voivod Sepultura More >>

Influenced By: Black Sabbath Diamond Head The Misfits Motörhead Saxon More >> Followers: Overkill Sentenced Stormtroopers of Death Metal Church Body Count More >>

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