![]() Anthrax leant the band equipment for the remaining dates of the tour, so Metallica were still able to play the shows, but that didn’t cure the sting from losing their gear, especially for Hetfield.ĭejected by the robbery, Metallica’s frontman write a melancholy, arpeggiated melody on an acoustic guitar and penned his most vulnerable, despairing lyrics to date. Then, the night before a show at The Channel in Boston on January 24, 1984, someone broke into Metallica’s van and stole Ulrich’s drum kit, Hammett’s Marshall head cabinet and Hetfield’s modified Marshall head cabinet and speaker. Three months before they headed to Copenhagen, Denmark, to record Ride the Lightning, they were already playing unpolished versions of “ Creeping Death,” the title track, “Fight Fire With Fire” and “The Call of Ktulu” in concert. It was in these cramped quarters that Metallica grew exponentially as players and songwriters and wrote some of their most heralded songs. At one point, they had to line the ground with milk crates and stand on those because whenever it rained, the water leaked in and they didn’t want to get electrocuted.” Metallica, "Creeping Death" They practiced out in the back in a one-car garage that barely had enough room for a car. “Of course, it was the furthest thing from that you could imagine - a total dive. “Before I went over there for the first time I thought it was going to be this really nice place,” early band photographer and current D.R.I. And then to the left were two rooms, which is where Lars and James lived.” And then inside to the right was the famous couch everyone would crash on in the main living room. You’d walk up the little front stairs and there was a small deck. “And anyone who would bring good, hard alcohol was worshipped. ![]() “Everyone was so poor, we were lucky if we could afford Smirnoff,” Quintana told me in 2014. They were renting a house, which they called the Metallimansion, in El Cerrito, Calif., but they could barely pay their rent and they had to choose carefully between spending money on cheap eats or budget beer and liquor. In addition to burning with energy and creativity, Metallica were also extremely hungry - literally. He listened to classical, Frank Zappa and it showed in his bass playing.” He gave Metallica many more options than just playing fast. “ Ride the Lightning gave Cliff a platform to shine as a songwriter and a player,” said Metal Mania fanzine founder and KUSF Ramgate Radio DJ Ron Quintana. t-shirt and a Lynyrd Skynyrd pin on his jean jacket and I think that gives you an idea of where his head was at.” He was really accomplished and was thinking beyond thrash and metal. “I think Cliff was the one who really taught them about melody,” adds Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian. He also enhanced the music with effect pedals, including the Morley wah-wah, which provided a sweeping, cutting sound under the metallic crunch. Since he had some knowledge of music theory, he showed Hetfield and Hammett how to augment core notes with complementary counter-melodies and how basic guitar harmony worked. Like Iron Maiden’s Steve Harris, who was one of Metallica’s musical heroes, Burton played with his fingers, imbuing the songs with fluidity. Since Mustaine was no longer in the group when the sessions for Ride the Lightning began, bassist Cliff Burton stepped to the forefront, contributing to six of the eight songs and encouraging his bandmates to experiment with different tempos and structures on songs like “ Fight Fire With Fire" and the cinematic instrumental “ The Call of Ktulu.” Guitarist James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich had written most of Metallica’s first album with Dave Mustaine. ![]() As they worked on songs for their second album, Metallica were determined to stay ahead of the pack, and when Ride the Lightning came out on July 27, 1984, they proved that they weren’t just one of the best thrash bands, they were one of the best bands, period. Anthrax put out Fistful of Metal and Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett’s original band, Exodus, had a hot underground demo with a similar sound. Slayer had released their blinding debut Show No Mercy. After Metallica’s debut, Kill ‘Em All, became a template for a new style of music, the band realized it was going to have to up the ante on thrash metal.
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