Metallica - Ride The Lightning (1984)

Considered by some fans to be the band's greatest record, 'Ride The Lightning' is a tour de force of a thrash record, a much thicker sound than on 'Kill Em All', and with a tighter and more constructive framework within each track. 'Fight Fire With Fire' begins as an acoustic serenade before bursting into some major riffage and Hetfield's angst. A thrash anthem if ever there was one, and to match the previous 'Seek & Destroy'. The title cut kicks in, a thudding Lars Ulrich backbeat accompanied by a catchy mosh riff, the track fuming at over six minutes, Hetfield's vocals pitched higher, leading into a memorable chorus, of "Flash before my eyes, now it's time to die", superb and infectious, a wonderful chug that so many bands would identify with and use as part of a scene that the Bay Area of San Francisco became noted for.
'For Whom The Bell Tolls' is without a doubt one of the band's finest moments, again, an Ulrich thud follows the bell chime and s lower hook leads the listener through a repetitive heavy nod as Burton's bass bellows in the distance, and then the sound beefs up, Hammet's solo echoes through the night and we are delivered a classic metal anthem. 'Fade To Black' displays, once again, the band's sensual intricacy, which would become dominant on the next immortal album, and again the band pull another classic from their belt, and whilst 'Trapped Under Ice' and 'Escape' flash by, 'Creeping Death' melts the speakers with its ferocity and as if that's not enough, 'The Call Of Ktulu', weighing it at almost nine minutes, rounds the album off like some monstrous encore of unequalled pleasure, leaving the listener gagging for more.
'Ride The Lightning' is a class album, proving that despite the hordes of thrash bands at the time surging from the coast, Metallica were head and shoulders above.
9/10