Ride the Lightning vs. Master Of Puppets

Motley Crue

Ok, heres something ive been meaning to trash out here for a while, I prefer Ride the Lightning to Master of Puppets. Its simple really, because to have made RLT only 1 year (or less) after Kill Em All was phenomenal, the progress that the band had made and the songwriting ability that they had aquired is quite frankly astonishing, rarely do you see such sequels so close together where the music is so drastically improved from the previous effort. Dont get me wrong, Kill Em All is just what it says on the tin, a true Trash record...nothing else, but RLT is something that showcased the fact they had a future in the music Industry (underground or mainstream regardless) for the next 20 years. what do ppl think?

ball ox

master of puppets is the best thing that metallica ever produced imo.

Doctor J

Ride The Lightning is a great album, but Master of Puppets is timeless. It's a real classic, planets aligned, lucky underpants, black cat etc type of record.

In fairness, it was their 5th album that set them up as really having a long term career, they were playing the same venues as the likes of Exodus, Overkill etc back in the day. They were always one of the better bands back then but I don't think anyone expected this sort of longevity from them or for them to ever be as big as Iron Maiden

finbarr

Ride The Lightning all the way for me. Both RTL and the black album are huge steps forward for the band. Puppets to me was just a more polished RTL in the same way that Load was a more polished Black album. I always prefered when bands brought out an album that was a huge departure from the previous one. Most of my favourite bands have done this at some point in their careers... Metallica, COC, Anathema, Paradise Lost, Anthrax, etc.

It wasn't me!

Master of Puppets. To be honest, in musical and intellectual terms, I probably consider them on a par, but something just clicks in Master of Puppets that makes it such a phenomanel chunk of metal, above and beyond anything they did before or since, or that most bands did before or since.

peter1892

Actually I listened to both albums today. For me is has to be '...Puppets', it's pretty much perfect. 'RTL' is a fine album too, but it's just not as good. I think they'd hit a new level of songwriting & musicianship on Puppets, a definite evolution from 'RTL', which in itself was a huge jump forward from 'Kill 'em all'.

I'm one of those people who likes pretty much everything Metallica have done though, although I rarely listen to anyhting off 'Load'....

LightofDarkness

I personally value AJFA over both of them, but MOP gets my vote between these two. It defined the more signature Metallica sound (as in no Dave Mustaine material) and set them a cut above the rest.

Mushy

Doctor J wrote:

Ride The Lightning is a great album, but Master of Puppets is timeless.

I was looking for a way of saying something like this, and this line sums it up perfectly for me. RTL has all the qualities i love in an album (good drum sound, good guitar, great bass) but MOP always gives me that something extra when I listen to it. If i knew what that was, it'd possibly lose that magic. I cant fault much on either of the albums, so thats why that quote is perfect for my way of thinking

Arucard

finbarr wrote:

Ride The Lightning all the way for me. Both RTL and the black album are huge steps forward for the band. Puppets to me was just a more polished RTL in the same way that Load was a more polished Black album. I always prefered when bands brought out an album that was a huge departure from the previous one. Most of my favourite bands have done this at some point in their careers... Metallica, COC, Anathema, Paradise Lost, Anthrax, etc.

Load & ReLoad SUCKED. for me, MoP > RtL

gucci

ride the lightening is brilliant but i think master of pupets just shades it.
especially after seeing metallica play the full album live this year it drove the point home in my opinion. rtl has more balledy type material (fade to black) and i prefer the sound in master

Tazz T

RTL has much better production, and songwise, is equal to, if not better than MOP. Guitar is in your face and you can still hear the bass that started disappearing during MOP and was non-existent on Justice For All.

Black NG-60-90

Tazz T wrote:

RTL has much better production, and songwise, is equal to, if not better than MOP. Guitar is in your face and you can still hear the bass that started disappearing during MOP and was non-existent on Justice For All.

I disagree with that. Depending on your stereo system, the bass on Justice for all comes out loud and clear like a huge drone. Although its not so loud on Puppets you can still hear it clearly enough.

senordingdong

Puppets for myself.

byte

That's a tough call, though for me MoP just marginally pips RTL as my favourite.

GLaDOS

Ride the Lightning for me, take nothing away from Puppets but I just love Lightning

SirLemonhead

Ride the Lightning.

Don't like the guitar tone on MOP at all. Total mid suckage. Kirk Hammett sounds horrible on that album too, half his solos sound totally aimless, and like he's playing a string of random notes (though there are one or two good solos on it).

Come to think of it, I dislike most of the songs on the album too in general. I could only really stand to listen to Sanitarium, Disposable Heroes and Leper Messiah.

I don't really listen to Metallica at all anymore but i'd pick Ride the lightning over MOP anyday.

Pyr0

It has to be Ride Zee Lightning for me

Ph3n0m

Gah how could I possible choose.

I was given Ride the Lightning as my first Metallica album and MOP second...dear christ why even bother. Both albums are superb and but if I had to pick, I would have to agree with Doctor J.

As a fellow old man, he has the eloquence to make it all seem right.


ON side note - was anyone digusted that nothing was done/mentioned by Metallica or Megadeth on Wednesday? I know they probably would have done somethin privately to acknowledge the specific date, but as fan I was half expecting something

Doctor J

Black NG-60-90 wrote:

I disagree with that. Depending on your stereo system, the bass on Justice for all comes out loud and clear like a huge drone. Although its not so loud on Puppets you can still hear it clearly enough.

Ehhh, I beg to differ. The bass is mixed out almost entirely on AJFA, you can hear it (the bass tone) if you listen really carefully during the clean segments of One, for example, where Newsted goes and deviates from shadowing the rhythm guitar. It's not a frequency thing where they only pushed the low end and certain stereo systems magically make it reappear, it's not something that a flash stereo is going to undo. Hetfield wanted a very fat ryhthm sound and Ulrich wanted space for his bass drums, hence the bass getting pushed out of the way. There's nothing clever or advanced about what they did, and they'll admit as much themselves, they just turned it down.

The bass on MOP is mixed a hell of a lot louder.

Motley Crue

Ph3n0m wrote:

ON side note - was anyone digusted that nothing was done/mentioned by Metallica or Megadeth on Wednesday? I know they probably would have done somethin privately to acknowledge the specific date, but as fan I was half expecting something

I mentioned how disgusted i was they didnt do anything on the Burton thread

pbsuxok1znja4r

Ph3n0m wrote:

...dear christ why even bother.

Why indeed.


Well, gun to my head; ...MoP. Though TBH I don't think either albums are all that 'timeless'.

Slightly off-topic, but, Metallica did the thrash metal thing. They completely and utterly did it, properly. It's there, it's done. Which is why after that, Load was the right thing for them to do.

finbarr

Ph3n0m wrote:

was anyone digusted that nothing was done/mentioned by Metallica or Megadeth on Wednesday? I know they probably would have done somethin privately to acknowledge the specific date, but as fan I was half expecting something

Apparently at a Megadeth gig on the 27th Mustaine introduced "In My Darkest Hour" by saying "This one's for Cliff". After 20 years it's as much as I would expect. I expect that Metallica had a chat about him that day too. No need to put it on a websiteor issue a statment.

The Bollox

for me it's definitly RTL, I just enjoy the songs much muh more, I get better rushes from them.

lets compare:

opening songs:
RTL = Fight Fire With Fire
MOP = Battery

I much prefer Fight Fire With Fire, it sets the mood for the album so well, battery does also to a degree, but no so well.

Title Songs:
RTL: astounding, brilliant guitar work, but the vocals aren't that great
MOP: better than RTL in almost every way

Instrumentals:
RTL: The Call Of Ktulu
MOP: Orion

The Call of Ktulu beats Orion to within an inch of it's life

favourite song from the albums nt already mentioned:
RTL: Fade To Black
MOP: Sanitarium

I can say without using hyperbole, Fade to black is 1,000,000 times better, even just for the solo!

ah and poll ftw!

Motley Crue

And the score so far is Ride the Lightning 7, Master of Puppets 12

Still plenty of time to go, but its a good race

pbsuxok1znja4r

Yeah. Let's do it again in another 20 years time.

Sofaspud

Marts wrote:

opening songs:
RTL = Fight Fire With Fire
MOP = Battery

I much prefer Fight Fire With Fire, it sets the mood for the album so well, battery does also to a degree, but no so well.

Title Songs:
RTL: astounding, brilliant guitar work, but the vocals aren't that great
MOP: better than RTL in almost every way

Instrumentals:
RTL: The Call Of Ktulu
MOP: Orion

The Call of Ktulu beats Orion to within an inch of it's life

favourite song from the albums nt already mentioned:
RTL: Fade To Black
MOP: Sanitarium

I can say without using hyperbole, Fade to black is 1,000,000 times better, even just for the solo!

I completely agree (except for the title song bit, I think it'd be a bit closer. I enjoy The Het's early vocal style).
Ride The Lightning for me too.

Gabriel

Masterrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The best album of the 20th century.

Het-Field

Songs In Order Of Greatness

1.Creeping Death
2.Disposable Heroes
3.Damage Inc
4.Trapped Under Ice
5.Fade To Black
6.Ride tHE lIGHTNING
7.Master of Puppets
8.Thing Taht Should Not Be
9.Fight Fire With Fire
10.Orion
11.Kutulu
12For Whom The Bell Tolls
13Battery
13.Sanitarium
14.Escape

Doctor J

Het-Field wrote:

Songs In Order Of Greatness

1.Creeping Death
2.Disposable Heroes
3.Damage Inc
4.Trapped Under Ice
5.Fade To Black
6.Ride tHE lIGHTNING
7.Master of Puppets
8.Thing Taht Should Not Be
9.Fight Fire With Fire
10.Orion
11.Kutulu
12For Whom The Bell Tolls
13Battery
13.Sanitarium
14.Escape

Hmmm... aren't you missing one?

buck65

come on guys this argument is ridiculous anyone that says Ride the Lightning is better than Puppets is having a laugh.
Escape?
Trapped under Ice?
Ride the lightning?

Decent songs but not classics

all of Master fits perfecly
you are only saying different to be different

SirLemonhead

You only say you like Master of Puppets to fit in