Though fewer songs on Ride the Lightning are played at the supersonic speed that characterized Kill ‘Em All, those songs, such as “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” are nevertheless raw and aggressive. The mixing of thrash metal with more progressive elements is, for the most part, successful. Or maybe, for better or worse, it is because this album has hints of experimentation and a more mainstream sound that will appear in later albums such as The Black Album.
Maybe it has to do with James Hetfield scratchier and angrier voice or how the guitars sound much more layered on this album. In fact, in Ride the Lightning, Metallica finally start to craft their own sound, instead of sounding like a heavier version of Judas Priest or Iron Maiden like they do in Kill ‘Em All. But don’t dismiss Ride the Lightning as Kill ‘Em All part two or Master of Puppets lite. A crossroad album between Kill ‘Em All and Master of Puppets, Ride the Lightning maintains many elements from their debut album such as insanely fast tempo and the constant sense of a final judgment while listening to the songs. Ride the Lightning is an interesting album in the Metallica discography. Also, I heavily borrowed the final paragraph of this review from Pitchfork Media’s review of Source Tags & Codes (hey, I wanted a good conclusion).
The original website is now inaccessible. Note: This review was originally published online by me in 2010 as part of a literature project.
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