Japanese only SHM pressing. The SHM-CD [Super High Material CD] format features enhanced audio quality through the use of a special polycarbonate plastic. Using a process developed by JVC and Universal Music Japan discovered through the joint companies' research into LCD display manufacturing SHM-CDs feature improved transparency on the data side of the disc allowing for more accurate reading of CD data by the CD player laser head. SHM-CD format CDs are fully compatible with standard CD players. Universal. 2009.
Don't let that classical-guitar-ish opening to "Fight Fire with Fire" fool you--Ride the Lightning packs a heavy-metal wallop. While not as ambitious as the subsequent Master of Puppets, this early Metallica album is indubitably one of their best. Thematically, it explores death and dying from myriad points of view: nuclear war ("Fight Fire with Fire"), electric-chair execution (the title track), and drowning ("Trapped Under Ice"). Interestingly, the best track on this album is probably "Fade to Black," a slower, more introspective song about suicide. There's also "Creeping Death," which remains a concert favorite. An excellent mix of rapid-fire guitar riffs, rip-roaring solos, and singer James Hetfield's trademark growl, this is thrash metal at its finest. Very highly recommended. --Genevieve Williams
Don't let that classical-guitar-ish opening to "Fight Fire with Fire" fool you--Ride the Lightning packs a heavy-metal wallop. While not as ambitious as the subsequent Master of Puppets, this early Metallica album is indubitably one of their best. Thematically, it explores death and dying from myriad points of view: nuclear war ("Fight Fire with Fire"), execution by electric chair (the title track), and drowning ("Trapped Under Ice"). Interestingly, the album's best track is "Fade to Black," a slower, introspective song about suicide. There's also "Creeping Death," which remains a concert favorite. An excellent mix of rapid-fire guitar riffs, rip-roaring solos, and singer James Hetfield's trademark growl, this is thrash metal at its finest. -- Genevieve Williams
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 5.0 / 5.0
Awesome:
Metallica has become the enemy of the underground metal scene ever since they released the Black Album. This one is really good, and should not be judged on account of that. I do prefer both "Master of Puppets" and "...And Justice For All" to this one, but this is great. "Fight Fire With Fire" is such an underrated song. "Fade To Black" is one of the greatest metal ballads ever written. "Creeping Death" has one of Metallica's most evil riffs. "For Whom the Bell Tolls" is the kind of song that gets your body... more info
Ride the Lightning:
Ride the Lightning being Metallica's 2nd studio album and their 1984 release is truly an incredible album. The album has produced some of the best thrash metal that I have ever listened to. The songs that I especially like are "For Whom The Bell Tolls " and "Fade To Black". All the lyrics are included in the book along with some photos of the band. We also get a list over whom plays what. The album was met with rave reviews by the critics. Allmusic and Kerrang! both giving the album very high marks in their... more info
It's Good:
This is Metallica's second album of their career and is one of their best. The music is much more inspired and truer to their thrash/speed metal origins. Noteworthy tracks are Fight Fire with Fire, the title track, For Whom the Bell Tolls and Fade to Black. The other songs are almost as good though less famous. Unlike most of their contempraries, Metallica wasb not very controbersial. The music makes a statement from a band in their prime.
The only Metallica album that I really love.:
Metallica's 1984 album Ride The Lightning was and is much better than their debut album Kill 'Em All, released the year before. The lyrics on RTL are both darker and more mature (in other words, less commercial). RTL is also, in my opinion, better than Master Of Puppets and ...And Justice For All and is the only Metallica I would rank among my favorite metal albums. Personally, I prefer Slayer to Metallica, but RTL is just as good as any of my favorite Slayer albums. It has many of the same elements of a... more info
