Kill ‘em All = Iron Maiden…..Ride the Lightning = Killers….Master of Puppets = Number of the beast. With both bands and those 3 albums they released, all progressed sound wise, production etc etc. Personally, my fave Metallica album is MoP and Maidens is Killers. RtL is amazing and a close second…NotB is a close second for as well. Just my opinion of course and respect yours 🤘
I agree that it's their Number of the Beast, but it also means its their third best album - ;) 1)Piece of Mind 2) Self Titled 3) Number of the Beast Metalica 1) And Justice for All 2)Master of Puppets 3)Ride the Lightening
My metal claim to fame was I got this when it came out and brought it to my good friend’s house to hear it. My friend was/is Donald Tardy, drummer for Obituary.
AJFA definitely loses points with me on the mix, now that I've matured from where I was 20 years ago, they definitely went in a sideways direction and honestly their choice to mix the bass out of the album & mix it the way they did, kinda hurts the album as a whole. Just my opinion
@@sbentsen2714but all those versions of AJFA on You Tube, where bass was restored, do it justice!!! The Bass Channel, with the channel owner playing the bass with each song, is incredible!!!
@@sbentsen2714 i completely disagree and this is a recent trend of fanboys saying oh poor jason, and justice for jason. Bro fuck that pc shit. The fact id AJFA is by far their best album, these guys where at the peak of everything, instrumentation, lyrics, energy, progressiveness, just everything, just a big middle finger to all saying hey 11min songs yeah suck it, so many fucking riffs a song csn easily be 4 in different albums. The fact that there is no bass is mostly jason fault by playing basically the same notes as Hetfield, other than blackened riff jason has shit to zero contribution, his playing was a distraction and definitely not missed on those mosnter riffs. The raw and energy of AJFA was the first time ulrich and hetfield really project what their songs should be instead being pushed by producers to polish their shit.
@@FranschKAJFA is the album where James and Lars became full of themselves and super pretentious. You can hear it in the music, in the lyrics, and in the goofy mix. The album hasn’t aged well at all, and the black album is superior in all ways.
What you said about "Escape" is what I've always said: It fits perfectly in between "Trapped Under Ice" and "Creeping Death." I just think that "Escape" has some great Judas Priest-styled grooves and absolutely fist pumping, defiant lyrics.
Maybe that's it's flaw, Hetfield "trying to" sing during the chorus is certaintly NOT Rob Halford. He should of added some growl and paused phrasing. But what do I know, right ?
I agree that it's a great song and I love it, but I actually disagree about it keeping the flow. I think it actually breaks up the flow. Every other song on the album is in some way about death, and then in the middle is this inspirational piece about living life your own way. Ride the Lightning is a DARK record, and I think it should have stayed that way throughout. Just my opinion of course, but I think it belongs somewhere else. Black Album maybe?
@@Ssiko118 Sometimes it's good to intentionally break up the flow to give variety. And that is something Metallica has always been great at doing. In the middle of all of the death, there's that one song about defiantly living life on your own terms while you still have life left. To me, that actually fits the theme really well.
@@LeatherRebel75 That's a beautiful take. Thank you for the perspective. Maybe you're right, the album does need a break from all the darkness. As I said, I always loved that song, and I definitely disagree with Hetfield if he actually feels that's the worst thing he ever wrote. Why did he feel that way and does he still, I wonder? Anyway, thanks for the insight! Changed my mind!
Always going to be my favorite album - it goes through my head at some point every day. My impression was always that Ride The Lightning has an overall theme of "nightmares". All the songs' lyrics describe different kinds of dark terrifying nightmare.
I’d argue the lack of bass in AJFA keeps it behind the other two at a strong third, it’s easily the best songwriting between James, Lars, and Kirk as a trio. One can only imagine what Cliff would have brought to the album. Out of all the songs they play live most of them are from RTL, most of the album is in continuous rotation in the majority of their set lists since the album’s inception. MOP is the best songwriting between the ‘original’ lineup of Metallica with Cliff. Each album has its strengths and weaknesses, I’d say RTL is the definitive Metallica album. As it has the most ‘hits’ while not being the black album lol
@@darthvader421i completely disagree and this is a recent trend of fanboys saying oh poor jason, and justice for jason. Bro fuck that pc shit. The fact id AJFA is by far their best album, these guys where at the peak of everything, instrumentation, lyrics, energy, progressiveness, just everything, just a big middle finger to all saying hey 11min songs yeah suck it, so many fucking riffs a song csn easily be 4 in different albums. The fact that there is no bass is mostly jason fault by playing basically the same notes as Hetfield, other than blackened riff jason has shit to zero contribution, his playing was a distraction and definitely not missed on those mosnter riffs. The raw and energy of AJFA was the first time ulrich and hetfield really project what their songs should be instead being pushed by producers to polish their shit.
@@FranschK Yeah we’re on two different ends of the spectrum here lol, saying the bass player was just a distraction is wild I can tell you don’t play any instruments. Don’t make excuses for Lars and James being total bullies towards Jason. He had no obligation to Metallica he had his own successful project in Flotsam and Jetsam but left them for Metallica only to be totally taken advantage of and shit on. They were understandably still grieving their friend but it sure as hell is not PC to point out what they did to Jason when the band themselves acknowledged they were wrong. The bass is absolutely missed on those monster riffs literally look up any video of someone playing Jason’s bass lines and it literally adds a whole new dimension to the sound, instead of just ear piercing treble the songs actually have a ‘slap’ factor to them. Jason’s songwriting is present all throughout the album the guy wrote the best opening song they ever did in ‘Blackened’ to say he has ‘zero contribution’ is frankly false and ignorant. You just can’t hear his contributions because the mix is trash, there is literally an interview with the sound engineer who mixed this album and he HATES how this album turned out as there’s no bass. In addition his backing vocals are second to none, he brought a different element to them live that even Cliff didn’t. AJFA is a great album just held back by a few things, like the amount of filler on the album. I love all the songs but some of them do drone on a bit.
Ride the Lightning is the perfect blend of Cliff Burton with Dave Mustaine, & Kirk & James & i guess Lars as well lol. Its my personal favorite Metallica album of all of them
@@brunofreitas9314 it's not two riffs. It's the verse riff and riff after the second chorus in Ride the Lightning. Dave also played it differently with his "spider technique", he used the same type of riff in Wake Up Dead. He also wrote the two main arpeggios for Call, which guides the entire song. He uses those arpeggios in a few Megadeth songs as well. The fact they were still using his riffs like this in their second album, when they kicked him out before the first, says everything about how great his contribution was.
@@truthhurts79 Metallica wouldn't exist without Mustaine. They didn't have enough material for an album. That's why they used his material for 2 albums after he left.
@@twiggsherman3641 omg, he COwrote the songs on kill em all and only CONTRIBUTED to 2 songs on RTL... why do you come latelys confuse contributing with writing the entire song??? There's not one song mustaine wrote 100% with Metallica.... Funny how Metallica got bigger when they STOPPED using mustaine's contributions and kill em all is Metallica's least selling album... So there goes your theory about Metallica needing mustaine
In 2016, Master of puppets. Is the first metal album to be added to the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress, an honor granted to works deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.
Kill 'em All was them making a statement. Ride The Lightning was them innovating. Master of Puppets was them mastering their craft. And Justice For All was them experimenting. Black Album was them expanding. Load and Reload were them wandering. Garage Inc. was them having fun. Everything after that was them paying their bills.
I just want to say that Lulu is actually the best Metallica album of all time, especially the beautifully written lines such as the beginning ones of “Brandenburg Gate” and James’s contribution in “the View” where he leaves his table closet.
With Master Of Puppets, Metallica took the Ride The Lightning formula and template and improved upon it - the two fast songs are better, the mid-paced songs are better, the instrumental is better, the slow heavy song is just as good and there's no weak song like Escape. The only thing better on RTL is the ballad.
@@dmitryowens pure thrash is about speed not heaviness... That's what separated thrash from 80s heavy metal.... The speed because Black Sabbath was already heavy
@@truthhurts79 Lol Thanks for explaining to me what thrash is, dude - I've only been listening to it since 1983 and I learned to play drums and then later guitar from Kill 'Em All and Ride The Lightning. And we weren't talking about speed - you were claiming that I liked mellower Metallica so I pointed out that MOP isn't mellower than RTL - it's actually heavier, and it's also just as fast and thrashy, if not more so.
Great video, and Ride The Lightning is my favorite Metallica album as well as my favorite Metal album along with Diary of a Madman by Ozzy Osbourne and Painkiller by Judas Priest. I think that the badass and heavy guitar tone makes it so good, and it always blows my mind when I’m listening to the album 🤘
Some people think the artwork is too "minimalistic"? Man I've always thought pretty much the exact opposite...I think it's one of the best metal album covers EVER. Suits the music and themes of the album perfectly.
I don’t consider Metallica to make thrash like music. Musicality it’s structured and beautifully played. It’s heavy yes but the word thrash implies out of control which it certainly is not. Finally no one thinks of black sabbath as thrash.
Hands down my favorite. I remember riding to the beach everyday in the summer of 85 cranking the crap out of that tape. I still play it regularly now. Still holds up and doesn't sound weird like much of 80's metal does when you hear it now. Epic. I'm actually working on a Cliff Burton / Ride the Lightning tribute Art Project right now. Happy 40th RTL!!! 🤘
Lightning is for sure their most important and I would say their best album especially when talking about the sound and production. Their success would not have happened without that album. Never gets old
Cohesive: yes. A lot of it is in the key of E-minor. There are deviations to that true. But this bonds this album together in the background. Iron Maiden does this 90% of the time too actually...
Ride the Lightning is still my favorite Metallica album and I always really liked “Escape”, but I think my favorite song from that album is “Creeping Death”.
Incorrect. John Bush DOES NOT regret his decision to not join METALLICA. Even he said James was perfect for what METALLICA does and needs. Watch John singing The Four Horsemen at the METALLICA 30th Anniversary event. He jokes about NOT joining them. Trust, John is fine
Interesting what you said about the cover...all these years I never realised that it was a common take on it being too minimalistic. TBH it's up there with my favourites ever. That and Sonic Youth "Daydream Nation"....just gorgeous.
RTL is the best album of all time by ANY band. This was the 1st Metallica I had heard, 1984. I saw this tour w/WASP and Armored Saint, for $10 in a bar in St.Louis Feb 15th 1985, six months before Day on the Green. (still have my ticket stub, as well as my stub seeing Dave & the boys open for King Diamond in 1986 in CHI, $14.50 and Iron Maiden 1983).. I live in the MW, we received EVERYTHING much later than the coasts, in those days.
1. I've also read for whom the bell tolls which i found in an old bookcase and it became really one of my favorite books. The song's lyrics depict a certain chapter 2. I've always found escape an amazing song, one of my favorite by metallica and i couldn't believe it when i then learned about hetfield's opinion
Great vid about a great album, thanks! Good point about 5 writers especially... Up there with Puppets for sure but I'd put Justice and maybe others ahead of black album for me...
I love Escape, it was so helpful for me at the age I was at (13-14) when I was listening to it. It gave me hope and made me think about bettering my life. It’s such a shame that Het feels the way he does about it. Any superfans see what I did there? 🤘🏻😈🤘🏻
This IS the album that got me hooked into Thrash! After this one, then Megadeth Peace Sells. 🙂 I originally got this tape at a flea market & I loved it! Ride the Lightning IS a "Perfect Album" IMHO! Even with Escape! This is a CREEPY album, as it should be and Escape makes it All the more Creepier! I just can not beleive it is 40 years old = I am old! 1983-1984 Were AWESOME years for music in general.. Alot of bands were in their prime Top and came out with Great Live albums then. Why Van Halen never put out a live 1984 concert album? Who knows.. They were with Triumph at the US Festival, who were at the top of things and put out "Stages" for the "Thunder 7" tour!.. Things were Awesome back then! There are So many others to name..
My favourite is the Bells , great review , could help me i´m planning to buy a turntable to listen to my old records my budget + - is 350 eur . thank you
Ride The Lightning guitar solo along with the rhythm guitar during that section is my favorite slice of Metallica music of all time. Kirk's best solo IMO and James riffs behind it really make that section of the song just explode.
it certainly is the most epic album Metallica has put out, given the credits by different members and the many literary references. Whilst the black album probably has the more popular songs, it came out 7 years later when Grunge etc. became a thing, so it is extremely hard to compare with Ride the Lighthning. In my opinion, Master or Puppets is at the same level as Ride the lightning, certainly in melodic terms, however given the more epic nature and especially the fact that Ride the Lightning arguably was the first major breakthrough, that has to go first of the two.
Ride the Lightning is a beautiful 40 years old. I've done listened to RtL 10 times so far, and have got 30 more plays of the album to finish how I've honored these albums release date since I became a MetallicA fan in 1986. Another amazing year! Time for Fight Fire with Fire again my friends🤘. This band has been my drug of choice for a very long time! I wore MetallicA shirts in grade school, was made fun of, and told - "Ha! MetallicA sucks. They won't be around long. Why don't you listen to a real band, like GnR! 🤨...🤔...😑...😳...😝...🤣...😂...😀...🤫 MetallicA is playing. 😉
I'm more of a Justice and Master guy but Ride is easily on my nº 3 (and close to the aforementioned two fav albums). I'm not a big fan of Creeping Death and Escape yet the remainder of the record is absurdly good, especially Fight Fire with Fire, Ride The Lightning, For Whom The Bell Tools and Trapped Under Ic. IMO monster songs that can rival with the best from Metallica's catalogue. And I know it's a controversial take but I think the evolution from Kill 'Em All to Ride is humongous. And in all aspects... aggression included. BTW in my book comparing Ride The Lightning to the black album is nearly blasphemous. When it comes to the cover artwork it's as simple, effective and iconic as the band's other initial 3 records. So yeah, Ride is overall regarded as a classic, ultra influential album and rightfully so.
Master of Puppets, Ride the Lightning, Kill 'Em All, ...And Justice for All, the black album and then pretty much all downhill from there except Hard-wired is closer to the top than the others. Master was my first Metallica album or maybe Ride the Lightning would be my #1 too..
I love Ride the Lighting, but I have to admit that Trapped under Ice and Escape, which I like a lot, are not quite in the same level with the rest of the album. This is my 3rd fave behind MOP and AJFA
Trapped Under Ice is my favorite song on this album!!! I would've thought it deserved its own episode! Oh well, funny how the music hits us all differently!
i graduated in 1984 but my favorite year is still 1980 for Metal Nazareth Razamanaz came out in 1973 and it had lightning and was a deep blue cover on the Album i always thought Metallica kind of took the Nazareth album cover concept from Razamanaz minus the electric chair
It's my favorite album as well. There are elements of kill em all in there and elements of Master of puppets. The perfect mix of nwobhm, raw thrash and technical composition skills.
Not a big Metallica fan, but I think Puppets is their true pinnacle. It is as close to no weaknesses as they got. To me the playing is a bit more on point on Puppets than RTL plus the songs flow better. The song Escape feels a bit out of place with the rest on here. Just my opinion.
A friend at school lent me a pirated cassette of RTL, along with some other stuff like Onslaught's 'The Force' and Celtic Frost's 'To Mega Therion'. At the time, it sounded like the most primal, guttural, underground music you could possibly conceive of. If you'd told my 15-year old self that this so-called 'thrash metal' would ever be considered mainstream, I'd have laughed in your face. Yet, here we are in 2024 and Metallica are arguably the biggest band on the planet. Ain't life strange?
Like The Number of The Beast introduced me to Iron Maiden and is still my favourite Maiden album ever So Too did Ride The Lightning introduced me to Metallica and it still is My Favourite Metallica album ever
Escape played live with an attittude would be different, the time they did it , it wasn't . C'mon you gotta apprtiate the things that made it actually appear on it in the first place, which is a lot of what you have said about variation. Escape is and sounds like the light at the end of a escape tunel which is great , it accomplishes exactly that to make it after the battery string of great songs that form the best album of thrash in the 80s
Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets are Metallica's best work by far, but neither one is thrash music's greatest album. That honor goes to Megadeth with Peace Sells. Perfectly written, perfectly executed. Peace Sells is the epitome of Thrash Metal. Let the hate begin.....
Any album that Cliff ..had his fingers in was pure Metal magic..! No offence to Jason or Rob Trujillo..two amazing bassists..Metallica always compared both of those bassist to Cliff .. and especially Jason ..who was subjected to abuse by the rest of the band.. and both bassist barely had any input to the song writing ..and after Master of Puppets…Metallica lost at least half of their original fan base including myself..in my opinion that’s when they went downhill.. and to this date ..I can’t stand them anymore!
Yes this Album is a MASTERPIECE!! but I have to disagree.. My top 3 Metallica albums: is AJFA, Ride the Lightning and Master of puppets. AJFA is awsome riffs, great solos and Lars drumming is spot on.
та змогли,мастер не гірший але навіть кращій чи такий саме крутий.Та й джастіс технічно важчий, але трішечки нудненько звучить за тих двох, не дуже відстає, а десь і перевишчує.
When this was new, a friend sat me down: "You gotta hear *this*!" Hear it I did - over and over again. I couldn't believe how good this album was! My friend actually got kinda worried I was losing my mind, haha! Maybe I was! *Side-note: I've never understood the hate for 'Escape'. I learned to love this album as a whole piece, and to hear even Hetfield declare he hated it felt [and still does] like a betrayal.
@@electricwizard3000 🤦 the Black Album is an album you first put on and go "holy shit this is good". One great song after the other, no skips, and it's hard to believe how good it sounds (unless of course you're a biased thrash fan that couldn't handle how many people all of a sudden liked Metallica).
