METALLICA, RIDE THE LIGHTNING. BASS TABLATURE
LIBRO DI MUSICA, SPARTITI PER CHITARRA BASSO E VOCE. ACCORDI, PENTAGRAMMA, TABLATURE.
Metallica - Ride the Lightning
Series: Bass Guitar Series
Publisher: Cherry Lane Music
Artist: Metallica
Matching folio to Metallica's second album, including: Creeping Death - Fade To Black - and more. 40 pages
Inventory #HL 02507040
ISBN: 9780895245540
UPC: 073999070408
Publisher Code: 7040
Width: 9.0"
Length: 12.0"
40 pages
RIDE THE LIGHTNING
Metallica is an extraordinary thrash band. Widely regarded as the "Beatles of speed metal,"
they are, by far, the most ambitious, inventive and musically satisfying proponents of the genre.
In their vision, the possibilities for enlargement and elaboration of the heavy metal medium
have been more than glimpsed, they have become practically codified, attaining a contemporary
"classic" significance while providing virtually everyone else presently active in the style
with a model of how it's done. Emerging in the early 1980's, they rapidly assumed the status
of archetype, following the release of their second album, Ride the Lightning, in 1984.
Cliff Burton was an extraordinary thrash bassist. He was the perfect foil for the energetic and
propulsive drum bombast of Lars Ulrich and the pulverizing crunch-chording of guitarists
James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett. Maintaining a heavy, relentless bottom-end pulse as a
component of the rhythm section as well as astrong intuitive sense of embellishment in melodic
fills, Cliff represented the obvious next link in the lineage of modern rock bass playing (in the
tradition of Jack Bruce, Tim Bogert, Chris Squire and Steve Harris). Consider the unusual
approaches found in the bass parts of "The Call of Ktulu" (an instrumental rendering of the
classic horror tale by H. P. Lovecraft-originally spelled "The Call of Cthulhu"-well worth
checking out). Here, Cliff provides an eerie bass solo colored by distortion and wah wah pedal,
which is somewhat buried in the mix but is nonetheless felt lurking menacingly in the
background like one of Lovecraft's own tentacled monstrosities. The use of distortion and wah
wah is a well-known timbral touch in Burton's sound-think back to the similar tone of the "(Anesthesia)-
Pulling Teeth" solo from Kill 'Em All. In "Ktulu," the soloing assumes a textural role
within the powerful ensemble groove, adding strange vowel effects to accented power chords,
diads and octaves or blurring the separate notes of the bass melody with sudden shifts of treble
(+) and bass (0) boosting. A very effective tactic considering the nature of Lovecraft's story.
The distorted wah tone is recalled orchestrally behind Kirk Hammett's guitar soloing to add yet
more unusual color to the arrangement, this time decorating the sinister A5 to 0#5 tritone riff
with wah-inflected timbres.
Cliff's distortion/wah wah sound is heard also in "For Whom the Bell Tolls" (intro). Here, two
basses are involved: one (Bass I) playing the ensemble root notes F# to E (with a straight,
unprocessed tone) and the other (Bass II) doubling the guitar melody above (with the
processed sound).
"Ride the Lightning" gives us an ideal opportunity to examine the area of feel changes in
modern speed metal and how they are reflected in the creation of an appropriate bass line. A
variety of rhythmic feels are employed throughout the piece. The basic pulse is a moderate
rock at =152, and this is emphasized by the use of quarter notes in the intro progressing to
a solid 4/4 feel (a tempo) of steady eighth notes in the verse (Bass Fig. 2). Bass Fig. 3 sets
up a double time feel with its transition to straight sixteenths in the second bar. The transition
leads to Bass Fig. 4 (officially in double time feel) which is constructed of sixteenths completely.
The use of the double time sixteenths give the impression of faster movement without actually
changing tempo, hence the term "double time feeL"
Also noteworthy in "Ride the Lightning" and in Metallica's music in general is the trademark use
of the tritone (flatfive) interval in riff building. It appears in the intro (bar 13: Bb5 over an E pedal)
and in Bass Fig. 1 in melodic form (relationship of F#5to C5 in the line). It is also the main idea
harmonically and thematically in the verse riff (Bass Fig. 2). Here, it again occurs as a Bb note
played against the E pedal (presented in ensemble form as a heavy bass/rhythm-guitarfigure).
Cliff Burton contributed compositionally to Metallica as well, co-writing six of the eight songs
on Ride the Lightning. Often referred to as the "soul of Metallica," he was an integral part of
their innovative sound and approach during a particularly important period in their development.
His untimely death while touring with Metallica (behind the Master of Puppets record)
remains one of the most regrettable tragedies in rock. The band responded by releasing the
tribute video Cliff 'Em All, dedicated to his memory shortly thereafter-for a great musician,
bass player and personality who helped to shape the most striking sounds in modern metal.
Released: July 27, 1984
Recorded: February 20 - March 14, 1984 at Sweet Silence Studios, Copenhagen, Denmark
Genre: Thrash metal
Length: 47:23
Label: Megaforce, Music for Nations, Elektra, Vertigo
James Hetfield – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
Kirk Hammett – lead guitar
Cliff Burton – bass, backing vocals
Lars Ulrich – drums
Production
Metallica; Flemming Rasmussen; Mark Whitaker – producers
Flemming Rasmussen – engineer
George Marino – remastering
Ride The Lightning
As recorded by METALLICA on ELEKTRA RECORDS
Management: Q Prime, Inc.
Transcribed by Steve Gorenberg
Music Engraving by W.R. Music
Production Manager: Daniel Rosenbaum
Art Direction: Alisa Hill
Administration: Monica Corton
Director of Music: Mark Phillips
Photography by Ross Halfin
ISBN: 0-89524-554-X
1990 Cherry Lane Music Company, Inc. International Copyright Secured All Rights Reserved
CONTENTS
Introduction by Wolf Marshall
Tablature Explanation
Song List:
The Call of Ktulu (Instrumental) - Hetfield, Ulrich, Burton, Mustaine
Creeping Death - Hetfield, Ulrich, Burton, Hammett
Escape - Hetfield, Ulrich, Hammett
Fade to Black - Hetfield, Ulrich, Burton, Kirk Hammett
Fight Fire with Fire - James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Cliff Burton
For Whom the Bell Tolls - Hetfield, Ulrich, Burton
Ride the Lightning - Hetfield, Ulrich, Burton, Dave Mustaine
Trapped Under Ice - Hetfield, Ulrich, Hammett
Italiano
English
