Send "Metallica " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Sputnikmusic |
 I've never understood how people who really love music can dislike metal. Mostly people seem to say that they can't connect with metal like they can with other genres and, on a certain level, I get that. Metal has always been an alienated (and alienating) genre, looked upon as a soundtrack for social outcasts who neither understand other people nor are understood by them. And honestly, it couldn't have turned out any other way. One of the biggest draws of metal is the strength and motivation that it inspires; it makes perfect sense that some would need that more than others. But to me, rather than being a negative, that's the very thing that makes metal so amazing. I think it is music in its purest form, not in any aesthetic sense but in a symbolic one. On the surface, music is meant to be enjoyed, sure, but its true purpose is to be connected with. Genres like indie, folk, etc., might be perfect for, say, breakups, with lyrics so personal that you've got to wonder if you wrote them yourself, but metal provides confederation without pandering, without considering if listeners will be able to relate or not. For all the flak they've gotten these past two decades, Metallica's earlier work stands tall as a perfect justification of the love people have for metal. While I might roll my eyes to hear someone use a phrase like “die for metal,” I also know why they'd say it. There is such power in this music, such a confident swagger that somehow never becomes overbearing or off-putting. That fine line between egotism and relativity was always one that Metallica walked quite well in their early days. Ride The Lightning is the rare metal album that is as charming as it is powerful; there is nostalgia in this record for the days when metal was fun without being a gimmick, when it was hard-hitting without being suffocating. “Trapped Under Ice” is as much punk as it is thrash; no band has ever been able to pack as much desperation into a song since. And “Fade To Black” is so gorgeous, the chord progression so perfect, and the song is even more beautiful because it never loses its bite or devolves into a token ballad. James Hetfield is never given the credit he deserves as a vocalist (people are usually too busy debating about whether or not Kirk Hammett's solos are good or not, as if that's even the point). His work on this album and Master Of Puppets especially is so versatile and wide in its range; he could really do it all with his voice, capable of startling vulnerability in one moment and bared-teeth aggression in the next. And it doesn't hurt that Metallica were firing on all cylinders as a band on this album; “Creeping Death” is a fantastic embodiment of its title, with numerous tempo changes and ending, of course, with slinking leads and a final explosion followed by a deafening silence....full text |
| Metalstorm |
| With this album Metallica confirm their total control on Thrash Metal and their consolidation like an international band. In this album the band members were fully adapted to each other and make a more mature and considerably better musical album. The lyrics of this album are also better than in the last one, they do not speak now about headbanging, blood, and those things, in "Ride The Lightning" they speak about personal problems like in 'Fade To Black' [inspired by the theft of band's equipment]. Other tracks are inspired by H.P. Lovecraft and the movie 'The Ten Commandments' like 'Creeping Death'. The CD consists of only 8 tracks, but I can say without a doubt that 6 of them are cult songs for Metal history [all tracks except 'Escape' and 'Trapped Under Ice', which anyway are incredible songs]. Above all the best track of the album and one of the best songs ever is, 'For Whom The Bell Tolls'. What can I say about it, nowadays? Nothing, just listen to it, and let the bells toll for you. The first ballad released by Metallica appeared in this album, the song is call 'Fade To Black', also Metallica continued their tradition started in their first album of playing an instrumental song, in this case 'The Call of Ktulu'....full text |
| Cduniverse |
| Metallica turned the metal world on its ear with their debut album, KILL 'EM ALL and then blew its mind with the follow-up, RIDE THE LIGHTNING. The riffs and arrangements are more intricate, the lyrics are more intelligent and biting and James Hetfield's growl is meaner. The set starts out with two tunes that would have been right at home on KILL 'EM ALL, but the next two are slower and more involved. "Ride The Lightning" is a slow (by Metallica's standards) dirge about the futility of war. "Fade To Black" is a ballad (!) that builds to an instrumental coda featuring the guitar melodies that the band would later base their sound around. It's also Hetfield's first attempt at singing in tune. The most ambitious song is a dense instrumental, "The Call Of Ktulu," that starts with a single arpeggiated guitar and slowly adds layer upon layer, building in intensity until it all comes crashing down nine minutes later. Recorded at Sweet Silence Studios, Copenhagen, Denmark in Spring 1984. Metallica: James Hetfield (vocals, guitar); Kirk Hammett (guitar); Cliff Burton (bass); Lars Ulrich (drums). Q (Summer/01, p.127) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...Reaffirms their status as the pre-eminent metal band of the modern era....They broke with the conventions of thrash metal to record the genre's first power ballad in 'Fade To Black'..." Kerrang (Magazine) (p.50) - "[The album included] melody, maturity and musical intelligence. It was these traits which helped them broaden metal's scope..."...full text |
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