LP Black Vinyl

Metallica turned the metal world on its ear with their debut album, Kill em All and then blew its mind with the follow-up, Ride the Lightning. The riffs and arrangements are moreintricate, the lyrics are more intelligent and biting and James Hetfields growl is meaner. The set starts out with two tunes that would have been right at home on Kill em All, but the next two are slower and more involved. Ride The Lightning is a slow (by Metallicas standards) dirge about the futility of war. Fade to Black is a ballad that builds to an instrumental coda featuring the guitar melodies that the band would later base their sound around. Its also Hetfields first attempt at singing in tune. The most ambitious song is a dense instrumental, The Call of Ktulu, that starts with a single arpeggiated guitar and slowly adds layer upon layer, building in intensity until it all comes crashing down nine minutes later.

Tracklisting:

Side A
1. Fight Fire With Fire (4:44)
2. Ride the Lightning (6:36)
3. For Whom the Bell Tolls (5:10)
4. Fade to Black (6:56)

Side B
1. Trapped Under Ice (4:03)
2. Escape (4:23)
3. Creeping Death (6:36)
4. The Call of Ktulu (8:52)