Ride the Lightning
was the first Metallica music I ever heard, albeit it was at the
beginning of 1986 and not at its release of 1984. Thirty years on from
that release date, and everything that makes it one of the best and most
admired albums of the metal is still there and relevant to listeners
new or old.
This album was a step up from their debut Kill 'Em All,
without losing the elements of thrash that made it the standout it was.
The start of the opener "Fight Fire With Fire" draws on that
immediately, the clean guitar beginnings lulling the listener into a
state of ambiance, before cranking into the thrash guitar riffs that
envelops the speakers into the heart of the song. Just brilliant. I will
never forget the day when, on a school bus trip we asked the driver to
put this album on over the stereo. The beginning of the album brought
responses from many of the girls on board of "Wow, isn't this nice
music!"... before the anguished cries of "OH, what is THIS shit!" as the
real guitars kicked in. The perfect response to the start of the album,
from lovers of metal and detractors alike. The title track "Ride the
Lightning" follows, and in turn moves into "For Whom the Bells Tolls".
"Ride the Lightning" is dominated by the guitars and Hetfield's
squealing young vocals, while "For Whom the Bells Tolls" is
distinguished by Cliff Burton's bass warbling through the song, wah wah
pedal on full. Great stuff.
Two tracks on this album highlight what
made Metallica stand out from the crowd. The first is "Fade to Black",
what some people in the mid-80's called Metallica's 'sell-out' song -
how wrong they were, and little did they know what the 90's would bring
in that regard! "Fade to Black" instead showed all the strengths of the
band, without losing the intensity of their music. It is one of their
signature pieces, because it showed that as a thrash metal band their
were able to diversify without losing their roots (certainly, at this
stage of their career anyway). "Fade to Black" has been the song I have
played on every stereo I have bought since this time, to judge if it is
good enough to stand up to my music needs. That's how I feel about the
strength of this song.
Shifting onto Side 2 of the album, and the
goodness just keeps on coming. Opening up with the brilliant "Trapped
Under Ice", the speed returns in true style and hammers along with glee.
The hugely underrated "Escape" follows. It seems to be a song that has
slipped through the cracks of Metallica folklore, and I for one have
never really understood that. Hetfield's vocals in particular are great
in this song. Perhaps part of the reason for this song's undervalue is
that it is followed by "Creeping Death", certainly one of Metallica's
most favoured. Thirty years later it is still as good as it was back in
the day. A gem. The closing song on the album is the second of the two
songs that helped Metallica pull away from the crowd. The instrumental
"The Call of Ktulu" is an amazing song, combining every great aspect of
the Metallica legacy. It too combines those clean guitars with the
thrash and heavy metal throughout different stages of the song, telling
its own tales even without lyrics to do so. The building crescendo to
finish the album is majestic, and puts an exclamation mark on what is a
classic album.
Ride the Lightning still
stands the test of time, and thirty years on is still as important as it
was when it was released. The memories and nostalgia that it brings up
for me whenever I listen to it continue to make this one of the finest
albums of its genre.
Rating: Feel no pain but my life ain't easy, I know I'm my best friend. 5/5
Trying to follow up an album such as Holy Diver,
which in itself was attempting to follow up what Ronnie James Dio had
produced with Black Sabbath, which was (somewhat) trying to follow up
what Dio produced with Rainbow, is no meat feat. In hindsight, almost
impossible. Holy Diver had sold and performed
well, on the back of relentless touring from the new band, and many of
the tracks on that album had already become classics. To then come out a
year later, and release an album that would be as remotely well
received as it was quite a task. A task that was met and matched.
There's
not much you can say about the opening two tracks to the album that
hasn't been said somewhere else a thousand times. "We Rock" became one
of Dio's anthems, drawing the band and audience together through the
lyrics and making you feel a part of the legacy. This is followed by the
masterpiece that is "The Last in Line" - heavy, loud, melodic, booming.
Ronnie's vocals power the song along, Vinnie Appice's heavy-handed
drumming beats down hard along with Jimmy Bain's gutteral bass guitar,
and topped off by Vivian Campbell's squealing guitar licks. Still an
absolute classic thirty years later.
Just as awesome as these opening
tracks are the follow ups. "Breathless" is dominated by Vivian's
guitaring, and despite all of the brilliant songs on this album, this
remains my absolute favourite. I love Ronnie's vocals here, and the
rhythm ties it all together magnificently. This is followed by "I Speed
at Night", which runs along at a speed that is worthy of the title. This
is a brilliant example of the best that Dio can produce. While the band
(and most of Dio's work in general) don't usually dabble in such
fast-paced songs, this is a beauty, and one of my only regrets with
Dio's volume of songs is that he, and the band, didn't do more fast
songs like this. Completing side one is "One Night in the City", a more
subdued song after the frantic opening, but still a great one that hung
around set lists for some years.
Just like Holy Diver,
the strength of this album is not just in the songs that everyone
knows, it is in the heart of the album, the songs that mightn't have
been heard by casual listeners of the band's work. Not every song on an
album has to be an epic. It doesn't have to be that you try and fit nine
songs as memorable as "We Rock" on an album. Not every song has to be
absolutely unforgettable, or considered a timeless song in the anthology
of the band. Not everyone would consider Iron Maiden's "Quest For Fire"
or "Ganglands" as top shelf Maiden songs, but they contribute to the
brilliance of the albums they are a part of. And so it is here on The Last in Line.
Songs such as "Evil Eyes" and "Egypt (The Chains Are On)" may not be
the first songs you think of when it comes to Dio's best, but they help
to make this album as great as it is, because they meld into the fabric
of the tracklist, and become enmeshed in the whole listening experience.
What's more, if these songs happen to come up on a random mix at home
or at a party, they immediately stand out to you, because although you
may not think of them often especially in the framework of listening to
the album from first track to last, when you hear them on their own out
of that environment you absolutely appreciate them. I love them both.
"Mystery"
was one of the singles from the album, and was often slated as one that
was written directly for the commercial market. Whether or not this is
true I don't know, but while it is the less heavy song on the album, I
have always loved and still love it. I used to sing it to my daughter
when she was little, and it still forms that bond with me when I hear it
now. As a retaliator, listen to Ronnie's vocals on "Eat Your Heart
Out". Heavy lyrics, which Ronnie spits out with emotion. He really
dishes it out on this song especially, in a fashion like those of the
two opening tracks.
Ronnie's vocals here are at their peak,
soaring at velocity. Vivian's guitaring too is just brilliant, driving
the songs and taking over during the solo breaks. Those that only know
him through his work with Def Leppard would not believe he could be this
good. He is just brilliant on this album, unbelievably excellent. And,
though you may not necessarily notice them between these two legends,
Vinny's drumming and Jimmy's bass are as solid as ever here, providing
the foundations for the other two to work their magic.
On first glance, when balancing the worth of the tracks on the first two Dio albums, you would probably say that Holy Diver was the better album, hands down. On closer inspection and listening, there is really not that much between the two of them. The Last in Line
is a creeper, because the balance of the less famous songs stands up
pretty well against those of the debut album. When push comes to shove, I
find it very difficult to separate the two when it comes to choosing a
favourite. Suffice to say that I still think this is a brilliant and,
perhaps in many instances, underrated album.
Rating: You've been hungry all of your life - so eat it out! 5/5
