These songs definitely got the attention of many up-and-coming thrash bands back in 1984, even the ones who were already releasing demos like Exodus and Overkill. Though yeah, there’s no denying how much “Fight Fire with Fire”, “Trapped Under Ice” and especially “Creeping Fucking Death” tear it up with their galloping if not flat-out machine gun riffs, nor is there any room to deny that “Ride the Lightning”, “For Whom the Bell Tolls” and “Fade to Black” are flat-out winter sniffles levels of catchy with more hooks than a bait and tackle mega store. If there’s one thing this album nails on the whole, it’s basically that. All of which are riddled with absolutely rich melodicism – the sort that immediately enter your headspace and live there rent-free for decades to come. From there, they unleash more and more high-impact mid-paced affair eventually transitioning to more upbeat riffs with a bit of a gallop. Though having the fantastic “For Whom the Bell Tolls as the promotional single is a smarter decision, especially given its powerful rhythms signalling that Metallica were back – only bigger, longer and uncut! Seriously, the bells signal the arrival of some right stomping riffs and quite possibly some of the tightest rhythms that they’ve ever written. Frankly, it’s easy to see how this would’ve gotten a ton of radio time, especially during the mid-80s where power ballads served as one of the pillars of the radio. Amidst the hard and heavy riff-heavy material are these soft acoustic guitars still belting out this smooth line like it’s nothing, and James toning the aggression down a bit to fit with the lighter composition. This is especially the case behind the ballad, “Fade to Black”. Lots of catchy moments that make their impact hard and heavy, which was the style at the time. Whether it’s just NWOBHM played harder like “Ride the Lightning”, scorchers like “Trapped Under Ice”, the immortal rousing epic “For Whom the Bell Tolls” or what would become one of the greatest thrash songs ever written in “Creeping Death”, everything is rich with melody. Flash before my eyesĬouple that with the thumping mid-paced riffs packed tighter than Stripperella’s outfit, and boy, do you have yourself a catchy tune. The relatively less emotionally charged vocals convey the chorus’ lyrics in a hypnotically mesmerizing way that’s been stuck in my head for god knows how long now. Still, there’s no getting that chorus out of your head. Even then, it does provide the verses with more emotional conviction. Sure, “Fight Fire with Fire” may have him shouting with conviction, but “Ride the Lightning” still shows those kinda voice cracked highs. Though having said that, James hasn’t quite filled out into the vocal stylings we’ve known and loved for over 35 years now. Fits like a glove alongside the pummelling riffs, which take some speed metal riffs and amp up the aggression with more aggressive picking. “Fight Fire with Fire” focuses a lot of it into some right hard and heavy riffing, coupled with James Hetfield laser-focusing his vocals into a gruffer, angrier affectation. Cliff Burton’s gotten the boys looking more into music theory and applying that to what they were doing before… and boy, does it show here! Immediately, the youthful vigor of their debut album is channelled into a tighter, more robust package. But then here comes Ride the Lightning further characterizing thrash through quite a lot of what it does and – more importantly – what it accomplishes. Kill Em All was already a game changer through virtue of basically creating thrash metal by playing Diamond Head tracks harder and faster. Ride the Lightning is quite the album, to say the least.
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