Ride the Lightning | 
 enlarge | Artist: Metallica
Label: Elektra / Wea
Category: Music
List Price: $18.98
Buy New: $5.10
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Rating:  806 reviews
Sales Rank: 615
Format: Original Recording Remastered
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 4.9 x 0.5
MPN: 075596039628
UPC: 075596039628
EAN: 0075596039628
ASIN: B000002H2H
Release Date: October 25, 1990
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Tracks:
| • | Fight Fire with Fire | | • | Ride the Lightning | | • | For Whom the Bell Tolls | | • | Fade to Black | | • | Trapped Under Ice | | • | Escape | | • | Creeping Death | | • | The Call of Ktulu |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
No Description Available
No Track Information Available
Media Type: CD
Artist: METALLICA
Title: RIDE THE LIGHTNING
Street Release Date: 07/07/1987
Domestic
Genre: HEAVY METAL
Amazon.com essential recording
Don't let that classical-guitar-ish opening to "Fight Fire with Fire" fool you--Ride the Lightning packs a heavy-metal wallop. While not as ambitious as the subsequent Master of Puppets, this early Metallica album is indubitably one of their best. Thematically, it explores death and dying from myriad points of view: nuclear war ("Fight Fire with Fire"), electric-chair execution (the title track), and drowning ("Trapped Under Ice"). Interestingly, the best track on this album is probably "Fade to Black," a slower, more introspective song about suicide. There's also "Creeping Death," which remains a concert favorite. An excellent mix of rapid-fire guitar riffs, rip-roaring solos, and singer James Hetfield's trademark growl, this is thrash metal at its finest. Very highly recommended. --Genevieve Williams
Amazon.com
Don't let that classical-guitar-ish opening to "Fight Fire with Fire" fool you--Ride the Lightning packs a heavy-metal wallop. While not as ambitious as the subsequent Master of Puppets, this early Metallica album is indubitably one of their best. Thematically, it explores death and dying from myriad points of view: nuclear war ("Fight Fire with Fire"), execution by electric chair (the title track), and drowning ("Trapped Under Ice"). Interestingly, the album's best track is "Fade to Black," a slower, introspective song about suicide. There's also "Creeping Death," which remains a concert favorite. An excellent mix of rapid-fire guitar riffs, rip-roaring solos, and singer James Hetfield's trademark growl, this is thrash metal at its finest. -- Genevieve Williams
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| Customer Reviews:
A classic. Every rock fan should already have it. November 1, 2008
Danny (South Philly)
Metallica may have artistically peaked with Master Of Puppets (or maybe Justice), but this is my favorite album by them. It balances the fiery rawness of the debut with the more complex arrangements found on Puppets to create one of metal's defining masterpieces. Anyone who's ever had even a passing interest in metal has owned this album at some point or another.
It starts out with what is arguably Metallica's hardest hitting song of their career, Fight Fire With Fire (dig those drums, Lars!) and never lets up. The only real "break" we get is the semi-ballad Fade To Black, which is definitely one of the band's top five songs. The album culminates with the one-two punch of Creeping Death and Call Of Ktulu. There's also these two other songs on the album called For Whom The Bell Tolls and Ride The Lightning, which are okay. Just kidding. They rule. Trapped Under Ice and Escape are, IMO, the album's weakest songs. But Trivium wishes they had 1/100th of the talent to write a song in the vein of early Metallica, no matter how weak(ish). Still two good songs that don't bog the album down; just not as great as the other six.
Metallica have become to metal what Bob Marley is to reggae and what Johnny Cash is to country. Every guy my age I know cut their teeth on this band. Sabbath and Maiden give them a run for their money, but Metallica's enduring popularity with this new generation of rockers (yes, moreso than Sabbath and Maiden) cements them as the definitive metal band for those looking to get their foot in the door. And when I say metal, I don't mean Mudvayne.
This is the album I always recommend for anyone looking to get into Metallica. I must've played it hundreds of times over the years and the truth is it never gets old (for me, anyway). Great music is timeless.
Fantastic album October 30, 2008
P. Adusumilli
Ride the Lighting was such an amazing album. There were many great songs on this album, such as Escape with it's great chorus line, the title track with its great intro, Klutu with the great reprise at the end, but the real highlight of this album is Fade to Black. Fade to Black is simply one of the greatest metal songs ever made, it's dark lyrics about a man contemplating and commiting suicide, Hammett does an amazing job on this song, especialy on the solo. The solo probably Metallica's best and one of the very few solo's which conveys emotion. You can just feel the sadnesss here, and this song is a true gem. Great album too.
A great gem occassionally lost in the shadows October 2, 2008
Jonathan Mettin (Philadelphia, PA USA)
Talk of Metallica albums usually passes over "Ride the Lightning"; you hear how great "Master of Puppets" is, the transition that was "the black album" and general disgust at "St. Anger." The truth is, without "Ride the Lightning," we never would have seen any of the others.
"Ride the Lightning" was Metallica's sophomore album, and it represents a quantum leap forward over "Kill 'Em All," setting the sound that has come to be known as "Metallica" to us. The songs are more refined, yet still feel as raw as those off its predecessor. While it would later be refined into "Master of Puppets," arguably the greatest metal album ever, this album is still a masterpience, containing "Fade to Black" and "For Whom the Bell Tolls" as well as the very-well-done instrumental track "The Call of Ktulu."
Definitely an essential pickup for a Metallica fan, and one of the first few albums you should buy if you're just getting into the band.
 4 1/2 stars out of 5 September 10, 2008
Ryan O'Day (Vancouver, WA)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
This was a leap and bounds advance forward for Metallica in only 1 year time, but this album is not quite perfect people. With only 8 tracks on an album everything has to be perfect. While songs like "Trapped Under Ice", "Escape", and "Creeping Death" are very good, they aren't great. The highlights are the first 4 songs.
one of the four greatest Heavy Metal album of all-time September 3, 2008
K. Collins (Indiana)
I don't know exactly where this album would rank on some kind of official list or a huge vote for the top 10 Heavy Metal albums, but on my website I ranked this timeless masterpiece 3rd behind Reign In Blood. I did have a really hard time deciding if it should be 2nd or 3rd though. Anyway, enough about that, here is my review.
FIGHT FIRE WITH FIRE - This is easily one of the greatest album openers in heavy metal history and i love how Hetfield sings the song and the lyrics are great. The solo is very solid but nothing too amazing. My favorite part is probally the end of the song where they make it sound like a nuclear bomb is falling and then exploding, you can hear a rumbling sound at the very end like an explosion. A perfect ending to a song that is about nuclear war
RIDE THE LIGHTNING - This is the perfect song to follow after Fight Fire With Fire. A song about a man being put to death by electric chair, it's easily one of Metallica's best songs and the guitar solos in the middle of the song are amazing!
FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS - This song is perfect. It has a dark and creepy sound to it and i love the sound of the bell at the beginning and end of the song. I kinda wish this song was maybe a minute longer but like I said, I still think it's perfect.
FADE TO BLACK - This is the best and most famous song on this album and for good reason. The first part of the song is slow and sad but beautiful at the same time, then the song builds up to about a 3 minute instrumental part with one of Kirk Hammett's best solos. This song is about a man who is depressed and eventually commits suicide. I would rank this song as Metallica's 3rd greatest song ever.
TRAPPED UNDER ICE - Once again another great Metallica song. Trapped Under Ice is up there with Metallica's best speed metal songs. It has 3 super fast and crazy guitar solos and the lyrics are about someone being trapped under ice in water drowning. Yea I know, another song about death.
ESCAPE - Finally a song that is more uplifting to give you a break from all of the lyrics about death. I truly think that is why this song is on this album. It has a great chorus that i like to sing along too and even though it may be the weakest song on the album, it sure as hell isn't a weak song!
CREEPING DEATH - This song is normally a personal favorite of Metallica fans and it's one of my favorite songs as well. It has a great guitar solo, some awesome riffs and lyrics.....well what you usually get in an 80's Metallica song.
THE CALL OF KTULU - I'm not real sure what instrumental song from Metallica is better but I do know that it would probally come down to either this song or Orion from Master of Puppets. I'm sure it's hard to make a 9 minute instrumental song without it being boring in some parts but Metallica managed to make all 9 minutes enjoyable and sometimes downright great! My favorite part in the song is the big guitar solo somewhere in the middle of the song. an epic 9 minute instrumental song is a perfect way to end this masterpiece of an album.
Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets is what Heavy Metal is all about and the main theme for Ride the Lightning is death which I think is a great theme for a heavy metal album. If you love thrash metal and somehow don't own this album yet or if you just got into listening to thrash metal then make Ride the Lightning one of the first 5 albums that you get!
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