RIDE THE LIGHTNING

Regardless of it's chronological significance as a turning point in the crossover between progressive and metal music, 'Ride The Lightning' represents a turn for Metallica to a more intelligent, complex form of music. While I have never truly considered myself wto be a fan of Metallica and their music, this is an album I can appreciate. It's probably not as enjoyable for me as it is for those who actively enjoy Metallica, but I can definately see the talent this band has.

But why not a masterpiece? First of all, this album lacks the sheer enjoyment and emotional factors that a 5 star rating would warrant. One of the main problems I've had with Metallica is their lack of emotional content. Hammett's soloing style can get annoying, seeing as it's more or less lackluster blues-influenced shredding. Talented, but hollow.

Also, some of the songwriting could have been much better with a little bit of touching up. For example, the chorus of 'Fight Fire With Fire' can get exasperating, and (arguably) the most progressive song on the album; the Lovecraft inspired 'Call of Ktulu' passes me as being a tad repetitive, especially for a song that clocks in at almost 9 minutes long.

My main problem with Metallica has always been James Hetfield's irritating holler... However, in 'Ride The Lightning,' his voice works, at least for the majority of the album. There's nothing special about his shouting style, but at least for this release, it doesn't necessarily detract from anything.

Then there are songs like 'Fade To Black,' which really stand out as being epic, even brilliant. There's alot of references to the works of horror author H.P Lovecraft in 'Ride The Lightning' which I found contributed to my appreciation of the content (Lovecraft being one of my favourite authors.) In this way, the topical content generally passed me as being rather progressive in nature, and intriguing.

Overall, it's more of an album for fans of metal. If I was rating this album solely on metal merit, I would be more willing to give it a five-star rating. However, from a progressive standpoint, 'Ride The Lightning' remains very significant, but just not mind-blowing or enjoyable enough to warrant a perfect rating.

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