Album of the Month: May 2008
Album of the Month: May 2008
Metallica
Ride the Lightning
For many older bands, I listen to their music in the context of its time. There are many tastes in my musical palette that are a product of the time I have been a fan of music, so I appreciate older music as the starting point for the directions I really appreciate in modern music.
My experience of 1980s Metallica is different. When I listen to ...And Justice For All or Master of Puppets, I hear it as the prototype for modern metal. It is a maximally refined and exciting form of metal that many bands after Metallica are simply trying to replicate. Regardless of how innovative or how bland a metal band is, by using the "metal" terminology we imply that certain expected elements are present in the music ("cliches" for the cynical). For example, we expect palm-muting, blast beats, harmonized riffs, variety in riffage without variety in tone, and general guitar theatrics. For those who love metal, such common elements are simply expectations, not flaws. I do consider modern bands like Mastodon unique in the metal space, yet the uniqueness is in the way they use the aforementioned elements - the elements are hardly absent.
I feel like Justice is the apex of Metallica as a metal band, before they (successfully) tried to make their style palatable to those without a taste for metal. Ride the Lightning is a point on the journey up that mountain. There are many hurdles present that they later overcome.
There is a view to the top. There are classic tunes here: Creeping Death and For Whom the Bell Tolls present no faults to my ears.
Unforunately, there are also near-classics that are marred by rocky progressions. Ride the Lightning is fantastic, but the verse riff is simply abrasive without purpose and Trapped Under Ice sprints until it runs out of steam. The Call of Kthulu takes a classic riff and uses it too long. Fight Fire With Fire doesn't offer more by its conclusion than it did at the beginning. Fade to Black falls flat when put up against latter Metallica classics like Welcome Home or One.
This all being said, no track is without inspired moments, and an imperfect representation of Puppets- and Justice- era Metallica is still on par or superior to most bands that are replicating that style. The performance is as passionate; the faults are only with the songwriting. This album deserved the spins I gave it, and for me is a more rewarding listen than metal albums put out by Metallica's peers in the genre in the 80s.
Runner-Up
Nine Inch Nails
The Slip
It was admirable that Trent Reznor was willing to give away a healthy chunk of Ghosts.
He's one-upped himself by giving away The Slip. Ghosts is not marketable. The Slip has a catchier single (Discipline) than anything since The Downward Spiral.
There's no revolution in music here, but the album is catchy and is paced well. I'd never jumped too deep into With Teeth, but The Slip may make that album unnecessary.