Join Mike and Phil as they discuss the classic 1984 Metallica album Ride the Lightning! In this episode, they talk about how this album took thrash metal to new heights with incredible tracks like "Creeping Death," "Ride the Lightning," and "For Whom the Bell Tolls."

Hear their thoughts on Metallica's evolution beyond their debut as they explore the more melodic songs like "Fade to Black" and the epic instrumental closer "Call of Ktulu." They analyze the lyrics, guitar work, and arrangements that made this record so groundbreaking. Even non-favorites like "Escape" and "Trapped Under Ice" get some reflection.

Whether you're a long-time Metallica fan or new to their music, this funny and insightful discussion will give you a whole new appreciation for why Ride the Lightning remains one of the greatest thrash metal albums of all time. Get ready to ride the lightning with the latest episode of the Sounds On Vinyl show!

Hey, hey, welcome to the Sun's a Vano show the only show on the planet that will make your fucking ears bleed

My name is Phil Boyer and the guy sitting next to me in the abyss of darkness

Is Lucifer himself? No, no, it's mr. Mike's fencing Mike

How's it going down there in the darkness? Oh?

It's it's dark all right. I mean it's I mean Jesus November

My god in Sweden Jesus Christ

I'll tell you like here. We didn't even have a feel like we didn't even have an autumn

No here it went from like 70 degrees and

Then like two days later. We had like an inch of snow on the ground. Oh my god, and it's since

You know melted away, but we were depending like the 40s and 50s, but still yeah, it's like there's no fall here

It just went like

Right to winter man. Oh my god

we're still in our 50s and and

well

Between 1555 at the moment, so it's it's it's pretty good, but but still we got autumn

I mean all the all the leaves change colors and so forth so and and

Just a couple of weeks ago. We were in our like 70s, so it's it's crazy. Yeah, the weather's nuts

Yeah, it is yeah, we got the leaves changing to we got all the leaves on the ground and everything

It's not like the one year like in oh

2008 when we were filming our short film horror film

And we were about to go out and film and it had been snowing it started snowing in early morning and this is

like

Late September this is like the 28th 30th somewhere right in there, right?

Yeah, and we ended up getting

Something in the neighborhood of like five inches six inches of snow

Well, the thing is all the leaves are still on the trees at that point and it was just all the wet snow and the weight of the leaves

Yeah, we had all these branches

falling down

cutting power

All this stuff and we were gonna film at the park

Which is right around the corner from us and it's like a bunch of trees

So we couldn't film that day because it was too dangerous because of the trees farming

They were like big oak trees that are falling across streets and stuff. It was insane

She's insane, but yeah, so it wasn't like that

Thankfully, but this year but anyway enough about the weather. Are you ready? Yes, right? Oh?

Oh, am I ready?

damn I

Wonder if I've been this much ready for anything. I don't know. Maybe it was some kiss stuff that we did

I don't know this is I mean

Let it rip man. Let it rip Metallica ride the lightnings and if you're watching the video we can clearly see that

It's awesome. It's uh

What do you say about it? I think there we go the good old Alvin cover you see

Got a habit on vinyl

Yeah

Look at the truck one pretty face

Look at the pretty faces those young kids my god, there we go. Yeah, they were young back then man with people's

Now and now they're all old and yeah cranky like us and oh

My god, I mean this album first of all, I mean

This is the first album with Metallica. I heard back to back

Uh, I think it's also the first album that I bought with my own money

It's a little bit hazy. It could have been monster puppets because back in those days

I I didn't have enough money so I recorded them on cassette tapes from from friends

But I think it was actually right lightning that was my first Metallica album

I heard some stuff from kill em all but I I at that point. I didn't know that

That was Metallica. So I remember I am going to my friend's house

And it's sort of like sneaky with with with an album trying to hide it. So I got a new album

So tell him listen to this and I remember I

Mean to this day I

heard the opening track the acoustic guitar

for fight fire with fire and

And I think it out

This is this is not too bad

it's because I'm into kiss and I'm into to white snake and and

Maiden and the flapper and and and whatnot and all of a sudden this acoustic guitar and

Harmony man, it's it's kind of cool and so forth and then all of a sudden pure fucking mayhem. I

Mean it's it's nuts to this day. I'm I'm I'm

doing I'm leaning back because we're sitting in front of his speakers in his in his

room that he

in his parents house and and we're sitting there and and

He just cranked it when the guitars came in and

I it was like it's I mean pure energy

It scared the shit out of me at first but then I mean there is something about that

That's the same experience that I had with kiss and I really didn't think that I was going to experience that

Over again, but it was like that and it's sort of like it frightened me at first

But then sort of like titillating. I mean it's you had to go back

You had to oh, can I record this on cassette tape?

And I had to have it with me in in my in my walkman and it's fucking insane

Fight fire with fire man. What's your take in this?

You know cuz I my first experience with Metallica was with Kill em all so I pop this on

And I'm like, okay. This is a bit different

This is a bit different than the last record. What were they trying to do with us? It's kind of mellow. It's like, okay, and

You know, I guess you know

Looking back now, I guess that they were foreshadowing the black album a little bit like hey, okay, but but then like you said the guitars

Kick in it gets heavy and I'm in some ways that was even heavier than kill them all

Yeah, there's a lot of songs on this record that it's got you know

It's got a little bit of a different sound to it than kill em all did the guitars seem like they've got a different tone or something to

But in a lot of ways this was a little heavier than kill em all and I was I

Was quite surprised and pleased

Not crazy about the vocals on this one though, I

Don't know. I just don't like the way it's sung and

But everything else the music behind it's really good. Yeah

So are you one of those guys that that wish that it was like only the first demo?

No life to letter and everything is a sellout. No

Because you're I actually think kill em all is a the songs are better

Yeah, no life to leather versions. Those are cool to listen to because they're the demos but yeah, the

Kill em all release was way better produced and played and yeah

But comparison to right lightning and mustard puppets. Do you wish that they?

Didn't develop themselves

No, no, no, well for

Black I've made my feelings known about the black. Yeah, and yeah, I mean you mentioned it

First the first four records for me. That's Metallica everything beyond that. Yeah, they evolved too much

Into but you're all but you said on this album. They are already foreshadowing in what's to come

I mean with the well that was more or less a joke. I mean with the

Okay, just that was just because it's mellow in stock that was just a goof that was alright

I'm getting scared man. No, no, no

That was just a joke. I had a scare a couple of years ago

If there's people out there still listening is I'll go back and check out the the episode we did on the black album

I nearly shit my pants so much hate so much

record

Eat that fucking record. Oh

My god second track right a lightning just keep things moving. What do you think?

Yes, I like the rumbling in the beginning of this one. Yeah, you know how the rumbling goes from

Flight fire fire into ride the lightning and then you got this riff that kicks in and it's just so epic

I mean and then the rhythm and it's like oh fucking hell

This is just this is the music on this one is better than the first song. Yeah, it's just it's like, okay

It's it's just keeps going and I'm listening to this

To prepare for the show and I'm like, you know what? I don't know if

Metallica technically invented thrash, but this song definitely defines. Oh, yeah metal. I think I think I mean it's

We're gonna go through this even more as we move along with all the other songs, but it's it's like

It's something that that you hadn't heard before I mean the heaviness and and James's vocal and the lyrics man

Yeah, me the lyrics

Guy going sitting in the electric chair

Yeah fried and all the stuff that's going through his head and you're like yeah shit

Yeah, that lyrics like that. Oh no metal band like this from a thrash metal band maiden. Yes

Yeah, it's how like a no no and and do you I thought about deal

With all the dragons and and and swords and all that stuff, but this is like it speaks to you

It's like in your face did

They did he's describing a real real things. I mean it's sort of like holy shit. What the fuck

But I just love this song too

I mean the pounding drums in the intro and and like you said the noisy

Starts and and how it breaks into the heaviness and James vocals man. Oh man. It's a great song

Yeah, the two and a half minute mark wrist those down a little bit right before the solo. Oh, yeah, and then you know

It reminds me of what?

Electricity would sound like as it's yeah through someone's nervous. Yeah, and just oh

It's it's just it's it's so

So chaotic. Yeah, it's just this heavy chaos

That's just like pounding you it just I don't know man. It was great. It's a great song great. It is

All right next track for whom the bell tolls

One of my favorite songs ever oh

Metallica I mean me too. Yes, fuck this is just the first couple of minutes or so is just so epic this long

intro

It's just so heavy and so oh, yeah melodic and just so and that's that's the first time I heard

Heard a bass player you using a wow a pedal like I mean like guitar players do I mean its cliffs going

Nuts on the wow pedal for intro. I mean it's in fucking sane

I've seen some some shows that he did in the early 80s

When when right lightning just came out and it's it's sort of like

He placed the bass guitar like it's it's a freaking freaking guitar man

It's it's insane

I mean how he does with its fingers and and he plays with the fingers not what not with a pick but it

It's insane

My god, yeah, I just love this song for so many reasons. It's

It's been with me. It's my all-time favorite song with them

It's

Nothing like you ever heard before love the lyrics

also a thing that

James

Took from Hemingway story. I think it was about the Spanish war or something like that and and it's it's

describes how

How people are in general when when it comes to war like he did with right lighting he describes

Person it's it's right there in your face

The feelings that you get from people around

It's it's nuts. Yeah, it's such a great song

Yeah

Yeah, I love the bells both in the beginning and at the oh, yeah, it just ties ties it all together

Yeah

And there's a lot of chaos in the end. I'm gonna use that word a lot chaos for this

But you know too bad Dave didn't learn anything and his time in Metallica

Yeah, maybe played chaos a little better than he does. Yeah these days, but you never know no, it's it's it's I mean

well

Yeah, no

It's nuts and I just love a hearing hearing

For whom the bell tolls live also. It's it's something else. I don't like the live version. Oh, you don't know

They do something to it and I just I don't it's just not quite the same. It's one of the few

Metallica songs that I don't like live. Oh, I just love it. I

Just love what when when they start I mean back in the day

when they started out and and you got

Cliff some space

Just that in the beginning and he just let it fucking rip. I mean Jesus Christ that that

That dude was a musical genius

He was he was the Jimi Hendrix of base. Yes. Yes. There you go. Oh shit. I'm gonna steal that

It was the Jimi Hendrix of base. Yes, he was nobody nobody Steve Harris is good, but oh, yeah

Nobody did what

What cliff did no no no with the harmonies and and whatnot. I mean he could play the piano also

He did a lot of harmony and he taught both both James and Kirk about

Harmonies and bring it into the music and so forth and I on this album. You can really hear it

It it's it's so good

This this album you're asking me if I was one of the purists with kill em all

Kill em all is a great record. Mm-hmm. It's a heavy record

This is more and as we get into the next song fade to black. This is a more

Orchestral record. Yeah, that makes sense. It's it's so as you were saying there's a lot more

Harmony melody there. There's a lot of stuff

Going on I use the word chaos, but it's organized chaos. It's it's this well orchestrated

piece of

Music that they're putting together with this album. Yeah, and and you look at like fade the black

This is an orchestral piece

Yes, this isn't just a regular song and even we'll skip forward just for a second to the final track all of Cthulhu

That's just not

That's just not an instrumental. That's something completely

Different and I think when you talk about Cliff's involvement

In in the writing and in putting these songs together. I think that's why Metallica never recovered

after his death because

Metallica was never gonna be the same again. It could no no no of course when you when you lose that kind of talent

Yeah, it's like oh you can't

But but it's it's wouldn't you agree that it's completely insane on on your second album that you release

you tend to go I

Mean off a bit from like the thrash thing and then you get all the instrumental parts and and

What not orchestral things and it it's dawning on you. It is like released in 1984

And I I think that Metallica was ahead of the time

With their music. I mean especially on from right lightning to monster puppets and so forth. I mean, it's it's insanely

Developed if you know what I mean, it's not thrash in a can like Slayer. It's you play fast and and

And it's all blood and guts and and and then it's over

I mean Metallica was like you said it's orchestral

You got that thing going on where you work with the harmonies and and whatnot and it's still heavy as fuck

Which I think is great

Yeah, I mean you look at

um

Some of the like fade to black right it's you you

It's very orchestral. I mean if you've ever heard an orchestra cover it

I mean you can tell it it probably didn't take a lot of work to translate that into an orchestra. No because it was already 90% there

Right, but it's still it's still heavy. Oh, yeah. I mean there's there's this, you know

The the two minute mark it gets heavy and it's just it's like holy mother of god. Where did this come from?

I know right and it's just

It's just and then it kind of just slows back down and goes into the next verse

And then I don't know part of me is like is this a ballad?

Could you consider this a ballad and by Metallica standards? But I mean it this this is how ballad should be

Yeah, and then and then you listen to the lyrics

Which is about suicide and then you go. Oh my god

This dude can describe things like in an eerie way

And but it's it's still it it speaks to you in a certain way, which is it's crazy

I mean, I I never heard anything like this and I I probably never will but it's I mean

I come closer a couple of times, but I don't know

Metallica's where I like thing man. Oh man

Yeah, the the four minute mark on here when it gets heavy

And that the the guitar riff in that kind of reminds me of a violin again going back to that orchestra

Yeah, and I love I love violin. It's it's one of my favorite next to the guitar. It's one of my favorite strings

Instruments, I just I love it. Um

I just want to make a shout out to all those that lived in LA during nineteen in the eighties

Who remember k&a c and when k&a c went away the only

Metal station in LA if you can believe that there was only one and this thing died

They took it away. This was the final song that they played

Oh

My god, they they left the world with

Faith the black. Oh my god

It was just it was an epic way to go out

Whatever the program director was that that made that decision was a genius because it was it was the perfect song to go out on and

Yes, and then we had nothing

Yeah, we had no metal in LA. I mean

Just blows my mind man that a place like LA had no

In in like the late eighties

No no metal station

Mm-hmm. My god. Yeah, there you go. Land of the free home of the brave

All right next song trapped under rice

I'm trapped under rice

Not a fan. No the fan. Okay, something about it can't put my finger on it. Um, some about it annoys me

I can talk something about it annoys me. I just

I don't know what it is. I mean, it's not that it's a bad song

I mean, I'm not gonna go out on my way to skip the song or anything like that

um, I just I don't know but I do love the riff at the two minute mark

And I think metal church stole that and what's the song the spell can't be broken

I feel like that riff at the towards the end of that song is very similar to to that

In here and trapped under ice. Yeah

So

It could be wrong, but

Well, I I I dig it. I mean, it's

We're back in business with like thrash it. It reminds me of of uh

Some of the the songs that could easily have been on on on kill them all

Just love the power of the song the crunchy guitar riffs

Of course not not a um, huge favorite, but but it's it's it's still there pounding drums and and so forth

And I I just love how how metallica just brought in everything up and when they wrote songs

I mean you could do

You could do for whom to bet holes fate of lack and all of a sudden you got the song like trapped under ice and

um

The tempo changes and so forth. I mean, he's they got a unique style and and there is a

somewhat finesse to to everything they do and it's

I wouldn't it's like you say I don't skip it. It's not not a favorite

But it's it's supposed to be in the mix if you know what I mean

Yeah, if you took it out, it's some something was going to be missed

So, uh, I I I dig it trapped under ice

Okay, skate. Yeah, it's like six. Hmm. Well, um, maybe I'll go with

I steal the oil line is not a favorite

So

I'd like to I'd like to escape from it as well. Oh

Yeah, it's it's decorous

It's like whiny. It's yeah, it's you know

I just I don't know man. It's like are you a thrash band or you some whiny little bitch again

Maybe it's left over from the Dave Mustaine days. I don't know

It could be because it it kind of

Sounds like a whiny bitch mega death song kind of I wouldn't go that far but but it's it's not one of the strongest songs on the album

but but I

Still think he'd get something. I mean, I like the lyrics and james singing on it and and

Some of the crowns you could towers but but now

I'm with you to to a certain extent, but but I don't know

I don't know

I don't know. Okay. So so we're escaping from this one we're escaping from this one into the next one into the next one

Creeping death. Yes. I mean it's fucking creeping death

It is. What do you say it like it's I don't know. We all know and love this song. It's it's uh, again live

Fucking hell this one. Oh, yeah fucking epic live. Yeah

and we I mean

Um me in Texas my son we were up in Gothenburg

Last summer and and now it was actually this summer for crying out loud june

Uh, and whereas because they're doing two completely different sets

They play like two two nights

Um in in Gothenburg. So and if you went to both of them you got like

Somewhere around like 35 different songs if you want. So we we only had

Uh enough money to go to one of them because he wasn't cheap

I'll tell you that

but uh

We wished for

A couple of songs we wished for creeping death

monster puppets

um

I was wishing for

some of the more

obscure songs from from uh monster puppets

Uh, and I think we oh sick and destroy also

and

lo and behold creeping death was the opening

Song so we were both. Oh my this is

Of two good start. So and and for me this song. I'm beginning a history buff

I always love the lyrics to this song. It's about moses and and the templates of egypt

uh and

From the crushing intro to the heavy guitars and drums. I mean

sort of like I think

When I hear this song is it's sort of like a battle cry for james when he sings it. It's so powerful

It's a it's a freaking monster piece

It's such a great song

Also, one of my all-time favorite metallica songs

Yeah, yeah, it's uh, but the solo is magical. Yes. I just love the solo and the part right after

The solo it's just like fucking hell. Yeah, it's like it's it's game over. It's just it's awesome. And then you get to the

die

die

Die

Especially live man when they do that it just die

The crowd's chanting die across the land

Killing first born man

Oh my god

It's fucking great. It's it's it's it's an iconic song

well deserved

Oh, yeah, my opinion and and

Yes, and and I was thinking

This would actually be a great song to close the record out

Oh, yeah, right the way it ends the way. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, which is it's this epic song just okay. We're done, but no

No, they fade this bitch into call a katulu

Yeah, and I

I don't know what to say. I mean what we talked about this closing songs

uh

On albums that that we we did track by track or we just mentioned on the show or uh, whatever

and

Time and time again. We talked about

Dudes, what the hell what why are you closing with a song like this and like that and and whatnot?

and and

Both you and I want

One bands to go out with a bang and how typical is that that metallic ends with an instrumental song?

I mean, I mean, it's it's so nuts to think about it and it's

I don't know. I mean how many minutes is like seven or eight almost nine minutes. I think nine minutes long

and it's

I don't know and and it's like okay. No you guys made the right choice. This was a good way to close the record

Yeah, it's a bold. It's a bold choice. It's a bold choice, man

To do an instrumental, but it's again like I mentioned earlier. This is this is an orchestral piece

Yeah, this isn't your run of the mill average instrumental song. No

It's it's not like them jamming. It's not like whatever. This is

This is just a beautiful piece of music. It is it really is and I mean, I mean just just the end

And then

Fucking hell and then they go again

Oh my god

Yeah, yeah, there's just so many layers and pieces to this song and it's yeah like

Is it really just these guys playing this like it's it's kind of like this one and and like

Fade to black and and some of these songs you're listening to just going is it really just these four guys?

Is it really just them doing this? It's it's crazy and I was fortunate enough to get to see this song live

because

uh metallica in 2017 they they were coming to Copenhagen to to open up a new arena called the royal arena so they they

It was four sold out shows if I remember it correctly

And this was in february

And it was really cold outside and and james, of course and of course

He got a cold and had to stay in bed

And they had to cancel one of the shows and had to came back come back later and and redo that one

So I was pretty scared because I I had tickets for the show. Um a couple of days later

and and

They went ahead with this show, but but james told us well, I'm not

Back 100 but I'll I promise you to do everything that I can

to to to give you a great experience and

To my knowledge call of cthulhu wasn't in the setlist

But but since james had to to rest his voice

They threw that one in and

My god, am I happy that they did?

Jesus, and I tell you it's just four people on stage doing this

It is insane

Insane yeah, like how how does this happen? How does this work?

You know, I mean the the latest trend right now is all these guys using backing tracks and backing vocals and stuff

It's like you you want to look at metallica and go you guys have to be doing that for some of these songs

Yeah, but and you know part of me wouldn't care. I mean for me

I'm about the experience and the music and we love these songs and if we

If if the experience is going to be shit live because they can't do it live. I'm I'm okay with that

I'm okay with it, but I'm not okay with backing tracks to replace like, you know

Like they were saying like niki six can't play so all his stuff live was actually all fake

And backing I don't know the truth to that or not, but you know that I'm not okay with but to enhance what's already there

Yeah, I'm okay with that. I mean you got echoes on vocals

You know, I mean if that's just an enhancement that's I see nothing wrong with that, right?

I mean

Maybe I'm alone in that. Maybe people want to see live. It's more raw. I kind of want

The full experience. Yeah, and then you get this

Mm-hmm and there's no turning back. There is no turning back

Metallica always puts on

a great show

they do and

My daughter texted

A couple days ago and said that she's going to be in town

in in december for um

the

Ski place up up to just the north of us. They're going to try to break the world's record for

The amount of people skiing at one time. Oh

And uh, she asked if we wanted to go. I'm like, no, I like my arms and legs intact. Thank you very much

Skiing I've never skied before. I'm good. It's like, okay. Well, you won't be a world record holder then

I'm like, sorry. I am

Greatest biggest food fight during metallica show in the monsters of rock

Where they had to stop the show

Because they just got so fucking crazy

Oh my god people were throwing food. They were up and it was just so crazy that metallica stopped

It was 89. Oh my 80 889

Jesus, I think what in LA LA calcium. Yeah

It was fucking awesome, man. I mean that that that whole concert was just epic

But you know, you got metallica coming on and just this food fight happens and they're like, hey

We we're gonna stop if you guys don't settle down we're gonna have to stop the show and it's everything's canceled

You got and so finally everybody settled down and then

They came back on stage and finished their set, but it was it was fucking crazy, man

My god, so much fun so much fun so much fun. It's what it's all about man. Yes

Metallica ride the lightning. Yes

Yeah, there we go. Go listen to it

on final thoughts

Fucking vinyl record go listen to it fucking right now man buy it

Holding it upside down almost like this

final thoughts 10 out of 10

one of the best

thrash metal

metallic albums

Heavy metal albums whatever you want to call it of all time

In my opinion, it's pretty much not word for word, but what what I have written down here in my notes same thing

Yeah

Even even with those two songs that I don't like it's still

This album defines thrash. Yeah, it's just there's no

I don't think there's ever been a better thrash album and I include kill them all in master of puppets and that too

by anything from exodus

Slayer, I think this album is one of the best thrash records

Ever made. Yeah, I agree. Totally agree

And you know what I I kind of know a place

Where you can buy this record? I'm guessing

It's just yes the official sons on vinyl record store. Yes

There we go. Mm-hmm come check it out

We got some more Metallica. Maybe we got the black album for fill. Yes. Yes

Maybe you could give the the fill

This count on the black album and actually charge 10 more so people won't have to subject themselves to the stink to it

Oh my god

And we got some Metallica merch. We got some t-shirts

From Metallica. So come check it out. Yes

Sounds some vinyl record store in melmo sweden Krusegarten, Schiketree. There we go

Mm-hmm. That's why I like do the swedish because yes

I can do it. You try to do it. No way. No way

No, no, I'll save that for you. I'll all right. We'll continue my swedish lessons offline offline

All right

All right, of course and with that

Yes, we'll see you guys next time and we're gonna have an announcement next. Oh, yeah

So yes, don't miss it. Stay tuned

toodles