Ride The Lightning - Metallica

Advantages: Some say their finest hour
Disadvantages: There's only 8 tracks

Ride the Lightning is Metallica's follow-up to their debut album, 'Kill 'Em All' and while not as raw as the first, this is hardcore, head-banging, thrash-metal at its best. The band would go onto refine their sound in later albums, some would say water-down, but this early showing is full of in-your-face energy, grit and perhaps surprising to some, sheer musical brilliance. In this reviewers opinion, it's also among their best work. The Metallica ...
...and rhythm guitar, Lars Ulrich on drums, Kirk Hammett on lead guitar and the late, great Cliff Burton on bass. Hetfield here is starting to show promise on vocals. He's never had the greatest voice, he never will either, but it fits in with the style of music. Certainly on the their first few albums, the vocals play a definite second-fiddle to the music. Famously, Hetfield and to a slightly lesser degree Lars, are the main protagonists when it comes ... Read review

Advantages: The perfect heavy metal album
Disadvantages: I'm afraid I can't think of any

...I have to say that Ride the Lightning is undoubtedly the best Metallica album out there. There are many reasons for this. This album might have only reached 100 on the charts, but this album contained everything that a punk rock album needs. James Hetfield is consistent as the rhythm guitarist, always providing the riffs while Kirk Hammett, Metallica's lead guitarist, provides the amazing guitar solos (mroe detail when I describe the songs). Cliff ...
...Fire with Fire 2. Ride the Lightning 3. For Whom the Bell Tolls 4. Fade to Black 5. Trapped Under Ice 6. Escape 7. Creeping Death 8. The Call of Ktulu All these songs are standouts, but I'll describe a few songs, which I thought were the best of this collection. Fight Fire with Fire is an explosive opener, which is perfect for this album. The slow acoustic guitar intro builds into a speed metal craze in full distortion! The guitars, bass ... Read review

Advantages: Vocals well done, great guitar and drum playing, awesome first half
Disadvantages: Production values could be somewhat better, not so consistent 2nd half

...from Lars Ulrich - it certainly gets me excited enough at times to start air-drumming along! And then there's Kirk Hammett delivering some mesmerising guitar solos as well. While there are musical lapses in Ride The Lightning, there are enough outstanding songs to make up for this. An electrifying album! ... Read review

Advantages: Amazing songs, good vocals, one the their best albums
Disadvantages: none

...thrashy feel. Rating: 8/10 Ride The Lightning (6.37) This, the title track, has one of the best intro's on the whole album. The high pitched burst of guitar, followed by a thrashy riff, and steady drums is a perfect intro. As Hetfield's vocal's pierce through the guitar's, you notice his quite high pitched singing, but it's not like the singing of 'Axl Rose', because it has a very twisted feel to it, wich I love about this man's vocals. To be honest ...
...here is stunning, some very fast guitar work followed by a really melodic tapping solo, wich I loved. Rating: 9/10 For Whom The Bell Tolls (5.11) The bell's at the start of this song give it an eerie sound. The guitar is perfectly right on cue, with the lead fitting perfectly with the background chiming. This is a real Metallica classic, and more of a slow paced heavy song. The intro solo/interlude is very effective, although it's not the most impressive ... Read review

Advantages: Seminal, powerful melodic metal album.
Disadvantages: kinda short (only 39 minutes long).

This is the second album by that little-known beat combo known as “Metallica”. This is from a period of time (around about 1984) when they kept their excursions into blues and country safely within the confines of their bedrooms, and were happy, instead to fashion some of the most ground breaking metal around. The fact that this album has managed to retain its power some 17 years after it was initially recorded is a testament to its quality. ...
...opens with an acoustic guitar passage reminiscent of medieval lute music. I would have loved to see the look on a 1984 metaller’s face as he heard this melodic piece of music opening what he’d presumed to be a Metal album. This quickly gives way to breakneck rhythms and crushing guitars, as James Hetfield sings a tale of nuclear devastation. The musicianship on this track, and indeed the whole album, is exemplary. Convoluted arrangements ... Read review