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I truly feel that their first four albums are their best and will never be topped. Just because Metallica changed their style doesn't make this album bad. If any other band would've made this album, everyone would've loved it. There is no denying that musically, this is their best album. I'm not sure how that makes them mainstream sellouts in any way. People hate this album just because it's overrated and it sold the most out of any other Metallica album. I'll admit, it's overrated in the sense that it's their most popular album but how people hate it for that reason I don't know. People should admit this album is a classic, but they don't want to because the cool thing to do is hate it.

This is still my favorite 'Tally album. I can't stand all the "oh they sold out" blah blah blah. They made a great album - get over it! I wish they'd go back in this direction.

My record skips on every song and it is not because of my record player. The people who cut this new version did not do a good job. It is brand new, but comes warped. Better off to buy an original off of ebay and pay the extra $$$$. I do not recommend this to anyone.

Pros: It's Metallica -- IN SURROUND SOUND! Cons: No extras, unless you count an ad for one of their DVDs. The Bottom Line: If you are a Metallica fan, and you own a player compatible with DVD-Audio, GO BUY THIS! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Original 02/04/05 review: Metallica has been quite busy over the past decade releasing a lot of studio albums, a few live albums, several concert DVDs and now a DVD -Audio. The first album that Metallica chose to release as DVD - Audio is the already very well produced self titled album, also known by Metallica fans as "the Black Album". Barely visible on the matte black cover in a dark grey is the band's logo and a "Don't Tread on Me" snake. I've always liked Metallica and view them as a "thinking persons" heavy metal band. This review will focus on the sound quality of the DVD-Audio rather than the album itself. Metallica albums have been reviewed rather heavily as the band has gained and/or lost fans as they have grown (or "sold out"). I will state that I am one of the fans who believe that they have grown. That said, how does an already well done album sound in the new DVD-Audio format? Let me start with a description of my favorite two tracks on the album as they sound in surround! The album opens with the song "Enter Sandman". The opening guitar chords of the song float in the center of the room, then a few guitar riffs come in from the rear left and the rear right surround speakers. Then Lars drums boom from the front center, and bass guitar fills the rear. You will want a good center channel speaker for this DVD-Audio, because Urich's drums are consistently located front and center of the sound stage. The opening vocals of the song burst in from center stage, and choruses just seem to float into the whole sound field. The Lord's prayer is recited in the rear left channel and the child repeats the prayer in the rear right channel, as the drums and bass stay center stage. Vocals then move around a bit, sometimes coming in front left or right, other times rear left or right. Overall, Metallica really takes advantage of the full surround sound stage. The right and left rear channels are very actively used, and not just as ambient fill. On my favorite Metallica song "Unforgiven", the opening guitars (reminicent of the Sergio Leone spaghetti westerns) come in center front and expand to the full center stage. Then Lars drums come in solid center front and the vocals seem to emerge from the center of the room. The choruses seem to fill the entire sound field. The rear right and left channels occasionally burst into life with a guitar riff. Similar surround effects were used throughout the album. Mostly, the drums and lead vocals would stay in center stage, but backing vocals and choruses would move around or literally surround you. Guitars and bass would often come in from the rear channels. Metallica does all of this in a way that sounds like a natural use of the surround sound and it never comes out as gimmicky or forced. By moving the instruments into six channels instead of two, I gained a greater appreciation of how well produced this album is. The orchestral work on "Nothing Else Matters" for example, takes on a clarity I had never really noticed in the stereo version. The Lord's prayer also gains a new depth when it is separated away from the heavy drums and bass. On the songs with melodic guitar solos, the guitar work clearly stands out in greater depth than it did in the stereo mix. You can hear the notes resonate! The Advanced Resolution Surround Sound mix is only playable on equipment designed to play DVD-Audio. The DVD-Audio also has an advanced resolution stereo track (for DVD-Audio only) and a 5.1 Dolby Digital mix for use in any DVD player. I didn't notice much improvement on the stereo mix, but this is not a criticism of the DVD-Audio, its more of a compliment of the original CD. Metallica was very light on the bonus features with this disc! A "video" is included which is nothing more than a teaser trailer for an upcoming video by them about the "Making of the Black Album". You get to hear Urich declare that the black album is their "Dark Side of the Moon", and a few bits about how hard it was to produce, but to get the full story, you need to wait for the "Making of", because its just an advertisement! Although Lyrics are included, a photo gallery is not. I would have also liked to see at least a couple music videos thrown in, but none are. Since DVD-Audio cannot be copied and distributed on the internet, I am positive that Lars Urich will release more of Metallica's albums in this format. Based on the sound of the black album, I think thats great! If you are a Metallica fan, and have DVD-Audio and surround sound, the black album is a worthwhile purchase. Please buy it though, don't borrow it from your friend, or listen to it for free somewhere without properly compensating the band for the intellectual property they have commercially distributed for home use and enjoyment only. Lear Jets cost money you know. Added notes: This was originally reviewed on a Yamaha Surround Sound Receiver with a Pioneer Elite 47A DVD player. At the time of my original review above, I had Cambridge Soundworks speakers hooked up except the front R&L channels which were Advent Legacies. Since upgrading to Polk speakers,a Velodyne subwoofer and a Rotel amplifier for the fronts, my feelings for this album have only grown. In fact the Velodyne subwoofer really brings out the bass I hadn't noticed in my original review. - Shopaholic_Man, epinions 2/4/05

I was on a long drive recently and listened to all of the Metallica albums in order up to Live...Binge, and I must say that it made me realize what a huge difference Bob Rock's production and attitude made for these guys. The original band was far better, for my money: Cliff and Mustaine vs Kirk and Newsted? No comparison. But Rock saw where this band's real power lies: founders Ulrich and Hetfield. He clearly knew how to bring out their best in the studio, and he definitely mic'ed Lars' kit like no one before or since. Maybe the best huge drum sound since Bonzo. Massive. Plus, these tunes are among the best these guys ever wrote. I especially love Sad But True. What a huge riff, and Ulrich's drumming is truly awesome. This track exemplifies the main gift Bob brought to these guys, though I've never heard anyone mention it: he taught them how to swing. While listening to the first Metallica albums I get a little worn out sonically because everything is so on top of the beat. Everyone is pounding but those songs could be even heavier if there was more rhythmic push-pull, a la early Sabbath and middle Zep. Rock saw this and showed Lars how to pull back in the pocket a bit, which makes Hetfield's incomparably heavy rhythm riffs thunder like never before. Just listen to the huge pockets on Sad and Sandman. That's a new zone for Metallica, and I don't think they've topped it since. Nothing against Kirk or Jason, they're both decent, but they're playing with probably the best metal drummer and metal rhythm player of them all, so it's hard not to seem somewhat pedestrian. Hammett's solos get pretty boring after a while to me, but oh well. Newsted does lock in well with Lars' kick drum here, and that brings a lot of weight to the proceedings. I got caught driving in a sudden blizzard in the Rockies last week at 3 am and could barely see ten feet down the highway, so I put this album on and turned it up to 11 to keep me sharp. I will never forget that hour. Total whiteness meets total blackness; the focus and ferocity of the music really got me into the zone as I went over a high mountain pass and slowly came out of the snow. The perfect soundtrack to hair-raising intensity. I should mention that I saw a show on the first leg of this tour, and it remains one of the top five rock shows I've ever seen, of about two thousand. They were on fire and went off at least six times. Most bands get there once a night if they're lucky. I don't much care for their work since this album, but as peaks go, this is Everest among metal albums. The best drummer/rhythm team in heavy rock at their zenith. But you gotta play it loud, with a subwoofer. Booooommm!

Reviews

Whats the point of even reviewing this? Is someone gonna be "Oh I just heard about this band Metallica I wonder if that album Master Of Puppets is good?" Honestly you people with your long critical reviews are wasting your time, Im even wasting my time, just not as much.

Every song is great. It's one of those few cd's that I always play from start to finish.

this album is the best every song you can listen to and never get bored of it! :)

This was probably Metallica's best record, more complex than Kill 'Em All, and therefore greater depth, musically speaking, although the band still manages to jam quite extensively.

AS EXPECTED THE CD WAS DELIVERED ON THE PREDICTED DAY WHICH WAS GREAT AND THE CD WAS NEW AND UNOPEND AS WAS PROMISED. OVER ALL I'M VERY HAPPY WITH THE OVERALL PURCHASE OF THE CD AND THE QUICK DESPATCH FROM WHERE I PURCHASED IT FROM. GREAT JOB!!!!

Reviews

Ride the Lightning being Metallica's 2nd studio album and their 1984 release is truly an incredible album. The album has produced some of the best thrash metal that I have ever listened to. The songs that I especially like are "For Whom The Bell Tolls " and "Fade To Black". All the lyrics are included in the book along with some photos of the band. We also get a list over whom plays what. The album was met with rave reviews by the critics. Allmusic and Kerrang! both giving the album very high marks in their reviews. 5/5.

This is Metallica's second album of their career and is one of their best. The music is much more inspired and truer to their thrash/speed metal origins. Noteworthy tracks are Fight Fire with Fire, the title track, For Whom the Bell Tolls and Fade to Black. The other songs are almost as good though less famous. Unlike most of their contempraries, Metallica wasb not very controbersial. The music makes a statement from a band in their prime.

Metallica's 1984 album Ride The Lightning was and is much better than their debut album Kill 'Em All, released the year before. The lyrics on RTL are both darker and more mature (in other words, less commercial). RTL is also, in my opinion, better than Master Of Puppets and ...And Justice For All and is the only Metallica I would rank among my favorite metal albums. Personally, I prefer Slayer to Metallica, but RTL is just as good as any of my favorite Slayer albums. It has many of the same elements of a great Slayer album - speed, heaviness, brutality, and a guitar solo on every song - but also acoustic guitar, beautiful melodies, and even actual singing. The album starts out strong with the relentless Fight Fire With Fire, a song about nuclear war that hopefully will never happen. The second song is also about death, specifically execution by the electric chair. This song has one of the best riffs of all-time and was written, in part, by Dave Mustaine before he was kicked out of the band and went on to form Megadeth. The third song on RTL is For Whom The Bell Tolls, which features a great instrumental intro and of course, the boom of a ringing bell, much like the one heard on AC/DC's Hell's Bells. Next comes my second-favorite song on the album, Fade To Black, which is about suicide. However, the lyrics are not about wanting to commit suicide, but are rather an exploration of why others want to. Take, for example, the lyric "emptiness is filling me, to the point of agony", which is sung by James Hetfield with passion and a sense of deep sorrow. The second half of the album begins with a much faster and heavier song called Trapped Under Ice, continuing the theme of death with lyrics about drowning in freezing cold water. Next is the song Escape, which is all about a prison break, complete with the sound of police sirens. Escape is probably the only song on RTL that couldn't be considered a classic, but it is by no means a bad song. Following Escape is the concert staple Creeping Death, which actually tells part of the Bible story of Passover. Perhaps this biblical reference was inspired by the Iron Maiden songs Revelations and The Number Of The Beast; I don't know. The final song on the album is my personal favorite Metallica song, the epic instrumental The Call Of Ktulu. Every song on RTL is at least 4 or 5 minutes long, but Ktulu is nearly 9 minutes long. It is an unrelenting display of the band's incredible musical talent. It just keeps going and going, like the f***ing Energizer Bunny or something. It is very complex, but has a solid structure, and perhaps the most interesting thing about it is that, since it has no lyrics or vocals, it can be about whatever you want it to be about. It doesn't matter if you don't know what its title refers to (most people don't, myself included). The Call Of Ktulu was also written in part by Mustaine, but once again he doesn't actually play on it. Ktulu is quite possibly the best instrumental heavy metal song ever recorded and it brings the album to one hell of a close. Ride The Lightning is considered by many to be one of Metallica's best and Amazon has honored it with an 'essential recording' label. I highly recommend it as well, especially if all you've heard of the band is more recent releases like St. Anger and Death Magnetic. So buy this album, put in your CD player, and be prepared to ride the lightning!

This was exactly what I was looking for. the seller ibfo was spot on and in the condition I asked for with a great delivery time. I am very happy with Amazon sellers and amazon. I have nothing short of a great experience using Amazon. Thank You greg

If you dont know why Metallica's Ride The Lightning is the album that put them on the map then you need to buy this album immediately. Its amazing that this album came out in the early 80's and metal bands are still trying to steal their sound 20+ years later. However, my used copy from somewhere in Las Vegas was a copy made in South America. The booklet appeared to be color photo copied with Spanish instead of English in the insert. The cd played fine but I couldnt help but think something looks a little unusual about this cd. Hence 4 stars instead of 5

Reviews

My favorite video is the one with the clips from the movie Johnny Got His Gun. It is put together in an excellent way. I love this video and wish it would come out on DVD.

For anyone teaching Dalton Trumbo's anti-war novel Johnny Got His Gun, Metallica's video "Two of One" is a must. I showed the tape to my college-prep level 11th graders and they were mesmerized (probably as much by the fact that I would play a Metallica video in school as by the contents/music). It is entirely appropriate, the musical artistry is great, and the vintage clips from the cult classic 70's film of Johnny Got His Gun are unique. One of my classes asked to see the tape a second time! As a teaching tool, this tape provides a creative way of handling the themes of loss and powerlessness. Plus, if you have any kind of anti-war agenda, the video is extremely relevant. Buy it and show it!

first off this is an awsum video because it has the story behind Metallica's song One and the story behind the music video of One. There are 2 music videos on it-the first 1 is the long version and the 2nd one is shorter. the ONLY thing i dont like about this video is that its only 20min long!

This is a great home video that any and every Metallica fan should own. Metallica made history with releasing "One" as their first music video, and it still ranks today (to me anyway) as their best. Combining black and white footage of themselves playing with clips from the film Johnny Got His Gun, and it captures the spirit of the song perfectly. I mean imagine just being unable to feel anything and be left with no limbs, yet your still alive...that is more creepy and terrifying than all the devils, demons, hellfire, and brimstone written for a song put together. Here we see Metallica in their prime, back when they were the greatest heavy metal band in existence. We are also treated to an interview with Lars Ulrich that is actually pretty cool and insightful. All in all, at this price "Two of One" is a steal if your a fan of Metallica from when they were in their glory days.

In spite of its brief running time this is an interesting video. What I found most amusing however was when the crew screws up and Lars says something along the lines of "Don't worry about it, we're just keeping this informal". HOW TIMES HAVE CHANGED!!. Metallica back when they were still cool. I wonder, how can I get my hands on a tape of JOHNNY GOT HIS GUN? If anybody out there knows, contact me, okay?

Reviews

This is all bootleg footage that the band has collected. It is interesting to see what the fans in the audience focused on vs what a professional film maker would have.

This video, while recorded by fans on various camcorders in the 1980s, is probably the best home video compilation documenting a band there is. This video takes you through the days before Kill 'em All, with interviews, performances, and photos all the way into the Master of Puppets tour. There are even clips with Dave Mustaine on lead guitar at Cliff's 2nd gig with the band. Some people will complain about the quality of the audio and video. For those people I say: 1) What footage exists of this band during this time period with better quality audio / video? 2) This is supposed to be an amateur video compilation. If you haven't seen Metallica with Cliff Burton, this is definitely worth adding to your collection.

In the early '90s I had an umpteenth-generation dubbed VHS copy of this and a friend of mine and I watched it nearly every single day. The videotape squeaked and never wanted to rewind fully. The sound quality deteriorated until you could only tell what song they were playing by watching closeups of their hands on the guitars. We didn't care, and continued to watch it every day anyway, so good is this video. Now, after Load was released I think I actually went a full decade without listening to even one Metallica song, I was so disgruntled by it. I still haven't heard anything they've done after Load, but, you know, enough is enough. I've forgiven them, because there first few albums are still great. I still am depressed about the fact that, when ask people, "Do you remember when Metallica didn't suck?" people make me feel like a crusty old person. Many people do not remember. If they got this DVD, they could perhaps understand. Maybe it's the nostalgia value, but words cannot adequately convey my love of this compilation. It's mostly live clips but some humorous interview footage is also thrown in. (Interviewer asks how long the band has been together, James answers, "...since we started...") As implied by the name, this is obviously all stuff from when Cliff was still around. (R.I.P., Cliff.) In case you're clueless, he's that tall, puffy cloud of hair with the Misfits tattoo, and of course it collects a good amount of bass solos. Song choices are good and there is a clip of them covering "Am I Evil?" The video and sound quality varies, as some of this is bootleg video-sourced and other stuff was professionally-shot. But the fuzzy videos from the early days are still awesome due the amount of energy and the quality of the music, despite some quality problems and the fact that James doesn't sound great on some of the songs. Watching this, I can almost forget about Metallica's later stuff, and that is a good thing.

Umm there is people that complained about the sound quality and it wasn't bad that it sounded muted.I purchased that dvd yesterday August 9,2007 and umm I just wished Cliff Burton had more different bass solos but he didn't every show he went to on that dvd was the song (Anesthesia)-Pulling Teeth.Umm well this is a old video so I understand why it sounded like that for the quality.Its a 1987 dvd and they made turned it into a dvd 1999.Well Metallica I believe in you and keep making good dvds and studio albums.You guys went through rough times.

This is one of my most favorite Metal Releases I own. It's Metallica at their best featuring live footage/versions of songs from their acclaimed intitial trilogy of the true Metallica Sound (Kill Em All, Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets). Here, we see the true start of the Metallica Legacy prior to their rise to fame and the 360 they made in their music and style after their success with the black album. Here, we get a gritty and raw look at the band which is both a tribute to the passing of their original bass player, Cliff Burton, Who died in the band's tragic Tour bus accident and the end of Metallica as a hungry and a very,heavy metallic band. You'll see here film of the band in early days playing clubs and as openers for the likes of Ozzy. You'll even get to see film of when Dave Mustaine (Megadeth) was there as Metallica's Original Guitarist. If you want to see and hear Metallica at their very best, get this DVD!!!Next to Bing and Purge, This is the best you'll ever see Metallica to be. (Unlike the mess of the Madonna Truth or Dare Wanna-Be Film Metallica released called SOME KIND OF MONSTER, which could have easily been titled SOME KIND OF MISTAKE--The film that you could say has killed Metallica's credibility as being known as Metal Masters.)... Thank goodness for Cliff 'Em All....

Reviews

Everything Metallica touches turns to gold and rocks...this included. Songs like Fuel and Battery...awesome. Too bad no Creeping Death and too much crap from Reload.

I love Metallica and this is one of my favorite projects they have done. It is not just metal and anyone will enjoy it.

Who ever thought a heavy metal band would ever sound good with an orchestra?? But they pulled it off....AMAZING!!!

The Award goes to Hetfield and his mates: the Band and Songs are great, like we know them. Orchestration is pathetic, quite obviously aiming for the Wagnerian, but to no avail. Mr. Kamen has yet to learn that in order to sound like Wagner, you've got to write like Wagner. Pity the poor Orchestra...

Say what you will about what late bassist Cliff Burton's attitude would have been with regards to Metallica's artistic direction in the '90s, but he would have certainly approved of this experiment with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. As illustrated at one point in the entertaining 40-minute documentary included with this release, Burton was an enthusiastic fan of classical music, and the concert on these two DVDs is a great example of how the two genres -- at first seemingly opposed -- can meld instead of clash. I'd like to take some time to review Sam Graham's review for Amazon.com, showcased above. In it, Graham cites Metallica's fan base as being predominately white and male. That's factually on-target; even the concert footage confirms this. However, there are many female fans in the audience as well, some in the front row no less -- not to mention millions of female fans, then and now, all over the world. It demeans them to imply they're nearly nonexistent. And here are certainly many fans who are not white; why race even enters into Graham's review is a mystery, as is the seeming offense at James Hetfield's calling the audience "man." It's called a colloquialism. As for Graham's assertion that the orchestra "adds texture but not much else" to Metallica's sound, I beg to differ there as well, but only in regards to certain songs. True, on some songs (mostly from the Load-ReLoad era), there's not much the orchestra can do -- they offer some moments where they just follow the guitars. 'Fuel' is an prime example of this. That song's inclusion is strange, since it is essentially a song about going really fast in a car, which is not something that lends itself to violins and a harp playing in the background. Where the orchestra really shines shows when the "old stuff" is performed. One needs to only listen to the S&M version of 'Call of Ktulu' to see this executed. Far more than "superfluous bombast",'Call of Ktulu' is the perfect song for this concert. In the documentary, Hetfield mentions how members of the orchestra were surprised to see such complex song arrangements from a rock band (though he wasn't specific on the songs they meant, I doubt they said it regarding 'Devil's Dance'), and it's during these arrangements that the concert excels. The version of 'The Thing That Should Not Be' here is even better than the version found on Master of Puppets, almost to the point where you might feel like the band originally intended an orchestra for the song. It's a real shame that other classic Metallica songs like 'Fade to Black' and 'Sanitarium -- both of which would certainly be enhanced by an orchestra -- didn't make it on the setlist. Weirdly, Graham says the show is "...basically just a filmed concert, with little in the way of additional visual interest." What sort of additional visual interest did Graham envision? Explosions, maybe? That wouldn't be practical, given where the concert took place. Everything else was done that night to make the visual experience entertaining as well: the lighting changes follow the mood of the songs (at one point during 'For Whom the Bell Tolls', they shut off completely), there are multiple dynamic camera angles (a few humorously close to the mic), so what else could have been added? Furthermore, the DVDs allow for multi-angle views for select songs -- follow the band member of your choice. Graham has at least one part right: the sound quality is excellent. In addition to the superb mix, the option exists for the viewer to virtually mute either Metallica or the orchestra. This addition alone makes the purchase worthwhile. If you'd like proof of the fallacy that the orchestra doesn't add much, turn off Metallica for awhile (just a little while, of course). Hear for yourself their contributions to the concert. And yes, Graham also correctly points out that most everyone filmed seems to be having a great time. It's especially entertaining to see members of an orchestra, normally an austere group, getting excited. Basically: take Graham's review with heaps of salt. This DVD set is a necessary addition to any Metallica fan's video library, and something that can perhaps bring lovers of both metal and classical music to the same room to actually enjoy a concert at the same time. (But not for long after. Soon enough, the metal fan will want to talk about Ride the Lightning and the classical fan will want to chat about Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, and the two will probably part ways.)