Metallica - Ride The Lightning (1984)

Despite only being released almost exactly one year after their debut "Kill 'em All", the jump Metallica took with their sophomore effort "Ride The Lightning" is one of the biggest any band has done from first to second record. While the debut had its own great charm, "Ride The Lightning" was way more ambitious in almost every other way. It got more complex song writing, cleaner production (not too clean though), tighter chemistry between the instruments, and a broader variation in the set list. It is more or less the perfect continuation for a band that helped start up a big sub genre.

Even if the band has evolved to this point, there were still some elements of that raw power and speed that was the trademark of "Kill 'em All", not making the changes all too drastic. The opener "Fight Fire With Fire" do open with a little acoustic bit, but then turns into the younger, angrier brother of "Whiplash", shredding everything with its furious speed. "Trapped Under Ice" also falls under the same category, a pretty simple and aggressive piece that also could have been on the debut, but each song do have a bit that shows how the band has changed, something different to weigh up the aggression, which is really nice.

Something else that showed the band's evolution was in the lyrics, which tackled a wide variety of subjects, from thoughts of suicide in "Fade To Black" to the biblical story about the plagues of Egypt in "Creeping Death". The guys certainly showed that they were not any old numbnuts, just going fast for the sake of going fast, and singing about any random shit. There is genuine thought behind the music and lyrics, and the work behind it all is certainly impressive.

As far as the overall track list goes, "Ride The Lightning" is filled to the brim with some fantastic tunes, 8 in total. The most noteworthy is probably "Fade To Black", just for how delicate and dark it is, with its theme about suicide. It is a beautiful track with an amazing emotional solo that captures you in an uncomfortable way. The most famous song though is probably "For Whom The Bell Tolls", a really nice song for sure, but just like with "Seek And Destroy" from "Kill 'em All", it is one of the lower points of the record.

Nah, my personal favourite have to be the title track, maybe because it could almost be classified as a progressive metal track, but also because there is a lot happening in here, so you wanna come back to it and hear it again and again. I also love the instrumental "The Call of Ktulu", it certainly has that ominous creepy feeling of a ritual song that would summon the famous slumbering overlord monster. It is also hard to dismiss "Creeping Death", just for the flow that it creates, a great live track that works really well on record as well.

The only real miss in this record is "Escape", a fine track that just does not seem to fit in here. It is not aggressive, it does not have any drive to it, and among the other songs, it just fades in comparison. It is hard to follow through with the mantra "all killer, no filler", so I can forgive the band for including "Escape", but it does keep me from counting this album as one of the greatest ones in existence.

No matter what though, "Ride The Lightning" is still a brilliant sophomore effort, one that every up and coming band hopes to create. It takes what the band did great in the debut, improved on the parts where they did not do so good, and also showed growth in their writing and playing. This album is a thrilling ride with twists and turns, with every song acting like a chocking jolt going through your body, releasing a fantastic feeling. So strap into the electric chair, and join the ride.

Songs worthy of recognition: Ride The Lightning, Fight Fire With Fire, Fade To Black, Creeping Death, The Call of Ktulu

Rating: 9,5/10 Bells tolling

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Judas Priest - Defenders of The Faith (1984)

When making the follow up to "Screaming For Vengeance", I bet Judas Priest thought "well, the last album worked out fine, why fix something that ain't broken?". Said and done, the band stayed with the heavy and catchy style, and created "Defenders of The Faith", a album that takes everything that made "Screaming For Vengeance" great, plus some own personal touches. Gotta have them personal touches, so nobody calls you a copycat.

It is mostly the attitude that is the difference maker between the albums. While "Screaming For Vengeance" is aggressive, "Defenders of The Faith" takes it to the next level, both when it comes to Rob's vocal performance, the Downing-Tipton shredding, and even Dave Holland sounds more pissed off this time around, in a good way. Just the fact that the album opens up with "Freewheel Burning" is like walking through the door and giving the party host a big slap, a action that is chocking, and could end in two ways, either a slap back at you, or a good laugh. I can definitely imagine that "Freewheel Burning" scared away some people when they first listened to it, while others went buck wild.

There is another thing that separates this album from its predecessor, the fact that it misses a super hit, a la "Breaking The Law" or "You've Got Another Thing Comin'". I guess "Eat Me Alive" is the most famous song in this album, but it was never released as single, nor was it even close to reach the same fame among fans. However, it is not something that bothers me, since fame and number of singles sold does not instantly makes it a good song (exhibit A: "Living After Midnight").

"Eat Me Alive" did however get famous for being a very naughty song, qualifying in as one of the fifteen songs that the Parents Music Resource Center found to be the most offensive, known as the filthy fifteen. Despite its negativity, It was seen as an honor that the song was seen as filthy, mostly thanks to its pornographic lyrics. The best part of this song though (besides the awesome solos and the simple, but super effective chorus), is that it follows "Love Bites". It fits so good that it made me chuckle.

Still, there is nothing in this album that beats "The Sentinel", a song that I first thought, and I am being dead serious, was a Machine Head song. The band made a cover of this song as bonus for their album "Unto The Locust", and it was so good and convincing that I thought it was a original piece, only to find out years later that it was not. The thing that shocks me though, is even if I loved the Machine Head version, the Judas Priest version is even better. It is the dirtier production, the screeching guitar work, and most importantly, the insane vocals from the Metal God that makes "The Sentinel" so epic and hair rising that it is ridiculous. Oh, and the chorus is so god damn catchy, I cannot help myself, I must sing it every time I hear it. Sworn to avenge, condemned to hell, tempt not the blade, all fear the Sentinel.

The first half of this album is extremely good, but unfortunately, the second half cannot quite catch up. From "Some Heads Are Gonna Roll" and onwards, the quality slips, and the speed and aggression that the first part had built up is almost completely gone. I guess that "Heavy Duty" and the title track is quite good as chanting tracks, but they are both short (and quite frankly, should have been one song instead of two) and they end the album in an interesting, but disappointing way. Such a shame that the band did not keep their momentum, because they were like a runaway train, only to be slowed down by a sudden cow on the tracks.

Even with the slightly disappointing ending, "Defenders of The Faith" still stands tall as a great follow up to its legendary predecessor. The band is clearly on a roll, spitting out awesome melodies, riffs, and solos so we almost drown in them. The album is as fierce and tough as its kick ass cover, and I truly believe that this is how Judas Priest should act. Because even if the band can do a lot of styles and be very versatile, it is often that they are at their best when they go full on Hulk mode. Nonetheless, "Defenders of The Faith" is a great album, but it lacks the knockout punch to floor me completely.

Songs worthy of recognition: The Sentinel, Freewheel Burning, Eat Me Alive

Rating: 8/10 Heavy Duties

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Iron Maiden - Powerslave (1984)

Just by looking at the cover of Iron Maiden's fifth album "Powerslave", you could already sense greatness in the making. It is something with seeing Eddie as an ancient Egyptian Pharaoh that is both appealing and neck hair rising. This is truly one of my all time favourite album covers. But let us stop talking about the artwork masterpiece and focus instead on the musical masterpiece. And you guessed it, most of the songs on "Powerslave" is about ancient Egypt. It is truly a shame that not all songs follow the same track since it is a really interesting concept to sing about the Egyptians.

The song that definitely does not follow on the Egyptian trail is the starter "Aces High". Prove me wrong, or is not "Aces High" about fighter pilots? It is still a great song with a highly memorable chorus, but it does not fit perfectly in this particular album. The rest of the songs on "Powerslave" follows the concept more or less.

There are two notable things with "Powerslave" that probably made it the great classic that it is today. The first thing is that "Powerslave" is the first Iron Maiden album with the same line up as its predecessor, "Piece of Mind", which have led to a improved group connection. The second thing is that "Powerslave" includes Iron Maiden's first real epic. The 13 minutes and 35 seconds long "Rime of The Ancient Mariner", a song that may not be fast, but thanks to its simple, but awesome, riffing, tempo shifting, incredible singing and theatrical lyrics, "Rime of The Ancient Mariner" is not only highly memorable, but also exciting. That song was the definite proof that Maiden have had that progressive vein straight from the start of their career. And even today, this song is considered as one of the best epics made by the band.

Another notable thing with "Powerslave" is that it contains Maiden's latest made instrumental track. The song entitled "Losfer Words (Big 'Orra)" is a highly enjoyable instrumental that has a memorable riff and also sound slightly Egyptian. But it is understandable why the band has not done any more instrumental since then because it is the weakest track on this album. If the band is going to do a new instrumental for the future, I would love to see Murray, Smith and Gers battle each other and really push themselves to the limit, like they do (minus Gers) in "The Duellists".

I would love to talk more about the more lesser known songs in "Powerslave" (like "Back In The Village" and "Flash of The Blade"), but I just cannot left such classics as "2 Minutes To Midnight" and the title track without something to say about them. "2 Minutes To Midnight" was, oddly enough, the first Maiden song I discovered and still to this day, I highly enjoy its memorable verse riff and powerful chorus. But it is the solo that is the star in this song and I still think that it is one of Maiden's best solos in their entire career. I just love the shredding in the start that slowly turns into a more atmospheric sound and then, thanks to the hard hitting drums, bursts out into the verse riff. Simply awesome. But the best song on this album is the title track. The simple galloping riff, the epic bridge, Dickinson's extra ordinary voice, the doom quire in the background, the long and beautiful solo and that huge, ultra epic ending that just makes your bones shiver. "Powerslave" has it all and it shows it in HD quality.

The concept itself deserves a perfect score, but with the help of some great tunes and impressive instrumental management, "Powerslave" shows the band's full potential. The riffs, the beats, the singing, the lyrics, yes everything makes "Powerslave" a true masterpiece and I would have given it a perfect score if they would have gone all the way through with the concept (you can blame "Aces High" for that error). None the less, this is a must own and listen for every metal fan around the world, no matter of age, gender, sexuality or species.

Songs worthy of recognition: Powerslave, Rime of The Ancient Mariner, 2 Minutes To Midnight, The Duellists

Rating: 9,5/10 Big 'Orras