Ride The Lightning turns 30

[Banned 10x]

Metallica's second studio album turned 30 yesterday. I remember listening to the album for the first time at a school pep rally in the 8th grade.

I had never heard anything like this and was completely blow away.

 

[calsnowskier]

Awesome album.

Of course all their first 5 albums were mind-blowing. Yes, I count Black as a mind-blowing album, even though it did open the door for the crap that followed.

 

[Banned 10x]

Awesome album.

Of course all their first 5 albums were mind-blowing. Yes, I count Black as a mind-blowing album, even though it did open the door for the crap that followed.

agree, I enjoyed the Black Album even though it took a lot of criticism from Metallica fans.

 

[calsnowskier]

agree, I enjoyed the Black Album even though it took a lot of criticism from Metallica fans.

It was a crisp, clean album, but still rocked the fuck out. What critics of Black never mention is that Justice... was an insanely crisp and clean album as well, but because it did not have the same market success, it was not a sell out album.

 

[RobToxin]

 

[calsnowskier]

Of their first 5, I would rate them...

1) RTL (best collection of songs)
2) Justice... (Best ALBUM - each song flowed so well into the next; it was almost an opera)


3) Black (this album introduced me to hard rock in general)
4) Puppets (what an amazing sophomore album; any other band puts this out, and it is their greatest album ever)


5) Kill 'em All (a little too raw for my tastes, but it was so ground-breaking for what it did for music)

 

[HammerDown]

It was a crisp, clean album, but still rocked the fuck out. What critics of Black never mention is that Justice... was an insanely crisp and clean album as well, but because it did not have the same market success, it was not a sell out album.

No music has had the effect on me that Metallic has and ...And Justice For All is my favorite album. Ride the Lightning is second. What I love about Lightning was James' voice was so tinny and wierded-out.

"Guilty as charged, but dammit, it ain't right!
There's someone else controlling me."

I bet there's a ton of you guys who know every note and syllable of everything from Hit the Lights til the black album, right?

...And Justice For All came out when my parents were dragging me on a 6-week driving tour of the country. I listened to that cassette almost non-stop for 6 straight weeks. If any music ever effects me like that again, I'll be shocked.

That said, my favorite track ever is For Whom the Bell Tolls. That played on a great system, when the bell tolls and the bass line starts building...goosebumps every time and it'll never end.

 

[HammerDown]

"See your mother, put to death.
See your mother die."

 

[HammerDown]

2) Justice... (Best ALBUM - each song flowed so well into the next; it was almost an opera)

Great description. It was a score. You had to listen to the whole thing. It was/is pure perfection.

 

[calsnowskier]

No music has had the effect on me that Metallic has and ...And Justice For All is my favorite album. Ride the Lightning is second. What I love about Lightning was James' voice was so tinny and wierded-out.

"Guilty as charged, but dammit, it ain't right!
There's someone else controlling me."

I bet there's a ton of you guys who know every note and syllable of everything from Hit the Lights til the black album, right?

...And Justice For All came out when my parents were dragging me on a 6-week driving tour of the country. I listened to that cassette almost non-stop for 6 straight weeks. If any music ever effects me like that again, I'll be shocked.

That said, my favorite track ever is For Whom the Bell Tolls. That played on a great system, when the bell tolls and the bass line starts building...goosebumps every time and it'll never end.

That happened to me just now as I played the YouTube of it. I would always get the goosebumps when just about any Metallica song came on the radio when I was in HS (and college.... And since).

 

[HammerDown]

3) Black (this album introduced me to hard rock in general)

Disagree. I'll never forget the day it came out and me and my buddy getting it and playing it in his car and about halfway through basically being in tears. I think our exact words were "What. The. Fuck." We expected something better than ...and Justice and were very disappointed.

5) Kill 'em All (a little too raw for my tastes, but it was so ground-breaking for what it did for music)

Agreed, but I still love it.

 

[Otis B. Driftwood]

agree, I enjoyed the Black Album even though it took a lot of criticism from Metallica fans.

I remember that... and every time I listen to "Holier Than Thou" I wonder what the hell there was to criticize.

Not their best... But it kicked serious ass.


Damn... 30 years since RTL. I am old.

 

[HammerDown]

"Wait for the sign to flip the switch of death,
It's the beginning of the end."

 

[calsnowskier]

Disagree. I'll never forget the day it came out and me and my buddy getting it and playing it in his car and about halfway through basically being in tears. I think our exact words were "What. The. Fuck." We expected something better than ...and Justice and were very disappointed.



Agreed, but I still love it.

Justice was a work of art. Hard to top that. I think, unfortunately, that has tainted your feelings for the album. It really is quality work.

As for Kill, I still LOVE it. But if that had been my introduction, I am not sure they would have stuck with me. I am not a garage-band guy, and that album sounds like it was just a recording of an after-school jam session. Lots of echoes and the individual instrument volumes were not crisp at all. Probably still in my top 10 albums of all time, though.

 

[HammerDown]

That happened to me just now as I played the YouTube of it. I would always get the goosebumps when just about any Metallica song came on the radio when I was in HS (and college.... And since).

I am basically possessed when Metallic tracks come on unexpectedly. It changes my whole mood. It's not something I can ignore.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qB54PNb4hA]Metallica - Welcome Home (Sanitarium) (HD) - YouTube[/ame]

"Welcome to where time stands still
No one leaves and no one will
Moon is full, never seems to change
Just labeled mentally deranged"

goosebumps!

 

[BF4L]

Well something Hammer and myself can agree on. Metallica is awesome.

 

[HammerDown]

Justice was a work of art. Hard to top that. I think, unfortunately, that has tainted your feelings for the album. It really is quality work.

As for Kill, I still LOVE it. But if that had been my introduction, I am not sure they would have stuck with me. I am not a garage-band guy, and that album sounds like it was just a recording of an after-school jam session. Lots of echoes and the individual instrument volumes were not crisp at all. Probably still in my top 10 albums of all time, though.

Oh, my obsession with Justice basically ruined me. And let me tell you, I was obsessed.

"Fear of living on, natives getting restless now
Mutiny in the air, got some death to do
Mirror stares back hard
kill, it's such a friendly word
Seems the only way for reaching out again"

To contrast hearing the black album for the first time, I remember my buddy who poured all his money into the system he had in his '87 Grand National coming over with a strange smirk saying "come out you gotta hear this." It was Sweating Bullets by Megadeth and his subs were trying to jump out of the car on that bass line. Mustaines voice was sooo weird and mental on that track.

 

[calsnowskier]

I never got into MegaDeth. They always just felt like a BAD imitation of Metallica (yes, I am aware of Mustaines connection to Metallica).

I always felt like I was listening to the younger brothers of James, Lars, Jason and Kurt, as they all busted into Lars' room and stole their instruments.

 

[Banned 10x]

Disagree. I'll never forget the day it came out and me and my buddy getting it and playing it in his car and about halfway through basically being in tears. I think our exact words were "What. The. Fuck." We expected something better than ...and Justice and were very disappointed.



Agreed, but I still love it.

I had similar feelings. I bought that album the morning I was heading on a road trip to California. I couldn't wait, I had already heard Enter Sandman and thought it was good, not great, but good and was excited to hear the rest of the album. As it continues to play through I found myself waiting for the next Master of Puppets or Blackened but I never heard it. The album has it's heavy moments but they were much more produced (Holier Than Thou, Of Wolf and Man, Don't Tread On Me) but when Nothing Else Matters comes on I about lost it and turned it off. Because of that album I didn't listen to anything else but the albums before that, lost track of all the other ones (Load, Re-Load etc).

Over time I've grown to love the Black Album and the albums that followed. I guess I understood what they're were doing and why they moved away from thrash from their previous albums. Songs like The Outlaw Torn and Bleeding Me are masterpieces that I unfortunately missed when they came out but are on heavy rotation now on my play lists.

I loved Death Magnetic as well. Mixture of AJFA and the Black Album, imo.

I don't think there is another band in the world that has been around as long as these guys and continues to put out quality material. I believe they're planning another studio album in 2015. I'll be in line to buy it, well, there are no lines anymore to buy albums but you know what I mean.

 

[occupant]

They died when Cliff did. He was the only thing keeping them from selling their souls.
R.I.P. Cliff you magnificent crazy bastard.