Audio Engineers React to "Ride the Lightning" by Metallica!

The song is called Fade to Black. Makes sense thematically that it would fade-out at the end.

For the time, a lot of people seemed to feel what Metallica was doing was ahead of it's time. I can't remember who said it, it was one of the guys in the Bay Area thrash scene, but he said something like "Metallica was like 6 months to a year ahead of everyone. It's like they got a head start and nobody could catch up". Just like with every genre, eventually bands/artists begin to use similar ideas, but with the gap Metallica had, everything sounded fresh which really gave them an advantage to stay on top of the scene as the biggest thrash band and one of the biggest bands in metal for a long time.

It’s interesting to watch this. My experience with RTL was I first saw the cover and picture of the guys in early ‘85 when Elektra bought the rights from Megaforce. My first impression was they were the ugliest bunch of guys I’d ever seen. The other thing I remember is that there was obviously some buzz around the band. A friend bought RTL and my first listen of Fight Fire With Fire was jolting. I’d never heard anything like that before and I wasn’t crazy about it. I think I didn’t even bother to listen to the rest of the record. Kerrang magazine was dedicating quite a bit of coverage for them and they were consistently in the metal mags. I recall seeing pictures of them in the studio for MOP and when it was released, I did buy it and again you could tell there was something going on and there was buzz around the band. Kirk was being covered quite a bit in guitar magazines. I didn’t follow the band wholeheartedly but it was clear they were gaining ground critically and success wise. They’ve never been my favorite band but I have a lot of respect for what they’ve achieved. To finish, RTL is probably my favorite record of the band’s because it has done of Kirk’s most musical playing and I think the music is a perfect marriage of their punkier influences and the more progressive style they’ve were headed toward. From a nerdy pov, RTL was when they last used Marshall’s exclusively before moving on to Mesa Boogies. To comment on Chris’s statement on the band not being heavily connected to the band, that’s not accurate. RTL is the last record they weren’t using EMG pickups and Mesa Boogie amps. Less compression and more midrange to my ears on RTL compared to MOP.

Metallica Seattle '89 live should be your first live reaction. This will show you what Metallica is all about! 🤘😎🤘

this dude on the right needs to shut the fuck up hes talking his ass off

cliff was the band...

THE SONG IS NAMED “FADE TO BLACK”, THERE IS A MEANING BEHIND FADING IT AT THE END.
WDYM LAZY SONG WRITING??!!

That's because this dude absolutely sucks at doing this

With this video being a year or so more, and that you have revisited it since then, I'd imagine you may have learned that:

This album comes out of a time when American Heavy Metal was first inspired and influenced by the NWOBHM - New Wave of British Heavy Metal - British bands that had just come out of the 70s, like Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Motorhead, and even Def Leppard. The American Heavy Metal bands that were most noted as influnced by that were Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax, and Slayer (The Big 4)
Metallica formed in late 1981, their first Album was released in the summer of 1983, and Ride the Lightening came next in 1984 - Megaforce Records

Sometime around the recording and release of this album, Metallica moved over to Elektra Records
ESCAPE was a track added at the last minute as the record company wanted a song that was shorter and more radio friendly, in hopes it would be receptive to rock radio at the time.
Remember, Metallica was not yet received as a rock radio artist ... and really that was still a few years to come.
James Hetfield was not a fan of doing this song, so much in fact that they never performed it in live in concert until 28 years later in 2012, once and have not done it again since.
CREEPING DEATH was the official single released to promote the album.
That, FADE TO BLACK, and FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS seem to be the tracks from that album most played on radio today.

That wah-whammy effect you mentioned in CALL OF KTULU is on the bass guitar!
That's also bass guitar in the intro to FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS

oh my god could they talk any more during fight fire with fire

you literally over the whole of kirks best solo on ride the lightning..

do this again without the loud mouth

omg you talk toooo much, over all the songs!

Dude Listen not talk non stop

How predjustive this guy must be to call Load and Reload crappy albums! Is he really a musician?

Gosh I hate early Metallica albums. And I'm from that era.
These albums are weak, I can't stand with the "vocals" (double-tracked shouting), boring childish riffs, the arrangement and production. Also I hate Creeping Death, it's sooo overused!

Maybe it's okay if you are kid fighting against your boring parents (it wasn't in my case though — I always hated this music), but the more you grow and learn you should understand that Load is brilliant, and these 4 first albums are not.

Whenever you guys asked "Whats that, is that a Wha, or what, an octave pedal" No, that was Cliff Burton on bass

These two sniff farts out of wine glasses.. I'm a sound engineer..what's that sound . It's cliff ....pay attention.

They're reacting from an engineering perspective, which I understand. So appreciating the lyrics and songwriting isn't necessary...but some of the commentary isn't even about the band, let alone the song they're on. 😂

I came here to watch your reaction to the Ride the Lightning solo and you talked through it. You listened to yourself talk more than you listened to the music.

Patrick your idea of metal, is so totally fukt....you have no clue

I got used to this, but he doesn’t listen to the title track, skips discussion about it too 😂 my god, man

Alright buddy

Ride the Lightning is probably my favorite metal album of all, and I don't have to explain myself! hahaha

Dang I gotta say already from track 1 you guys are talkin waaayyyy too much, just listen to the track and respond later bruh, so much gold in here. Appreciate the video!

Ugh geez guys you're killin me, talk less listen more lol

Dude, respectfully.. you gotta pipe down man, it’s supposed to be a reaction, to react to something you have to actively listen to it, not just have it in the background while you speak through the entire record

I think whats cool about Call of Ktulu in how it feels different than other Metallica songs, Dave Mustaine wrote that song before he left the band, or a lot of the parts, opening riff included 🤘🏼

I have to say this was one of the most irritating videos I've ever watched regarding a Metallica song, I can clearly tell that you were bored and weren't really interested in the album because of how much you talked over it. Thats fine whatever, and I'm sure you'll keep hearing about that over and over in the comments, you'll keep hearing it until you either remake the video or take the video down, lol.

You're not listening. Only talking!

Its the bass watch a day on the green cliff plays the bass riff live. No band shounded like them at the time they invented thrash they came out with this album and kill em all 3 and two years before megadeth and slayer

Kinda hard to judge an album when you talk over the entire song dude. Shame

That noise in The Call of Ktulu is Cliff fckn Burton on the bass.

Why review something you clearly don’t like?

You guys are the worst "metalheads" in the history of us amazing set of people. Never hearing any of their 80s albums before jumping forwards straight to the black album is a crime against music. Also talking right through the whole thing and calling them bad live would suggest you go listen to soke pop rock. Honestly stop making videos and give yourselves a good shake

That Edvard Persson record on the wall is probably the most random thing I've ever come across on the internet ;D Also, Ride The Lightning is definitely the greatest album Metallica ever did.

What is that?..in call of ktulu....that's CLIFF BURTON.....

well here s the thing you could easy discuss the bob rock produced era of albums esp load reload st anger vs newer productions i mean theres a difference for sure i love st anger and the melodic stuff but the new stuff hmm i dont know old stuff as well not as good as their middle era of music i guess they peaked at the 1994 and after death magnetic
hardwired sounds the same as 72 seasons
whatever
cheers

creeping death solo is the hardest kirk solo

Patrick likes Escape😭

This was a great reaction and i love listening to your guys takes since you can pick apart the music much better than i could!

People complaining that youre talking over it... its a reaction video. If you want to listen to the song go to spotify lol

Dude said metallica sucks live… you sure you were at the right show ?

Why do you talk all song

that big dude gotta talk less fr

Imagine comparing and hating on the nr 1 metal band, like y'all sitting there like chuck norris.

Why do I do this to myself ?

I can't. I'm out