150: Metallica - Ride the Lightning (1984) and Master of Puppets (1986)

October 15, 2024 / Amanda Rodgers

“We do what we wanna do. If people consider that selling out, then ... whatever!”

—Cliff Burton

Mike’s ongoing quest to make Discord & Rhyme more metal inevitably meant we would have to tackle the band so synonymous with metal they put it in their name, and Metallica’s incredible mid-80s prime inevitably meant we would need to tackle two of their albums in the same episode. Ride the Lightning of 1984 and Master of Puppets of 1986 are largely the same album in terms of overall flow, but the differences are every bit as important as the similarities, and the best material from these albums ranks among the best rock music (not just metal) ever created. Join with Mike, Phil, and John as they make the case for why Metallica, despite a career with its fair share of ups and downs (and baffling documentaries), should be remembered as one of the greatest bands of its time.

Miscellany

We alluded to the death of Cliff Burton several times in the episode but never mentioned the details specifically. He was killed in a tour bus accident in Dörarp, Sweden on September 27, 1986, at the age of 24. “Orion” was played at his funeral, and an audience recording of “Fade to Black” from his last performance with Metallica can be found on the expanded reissue of Master of Puppets.
Metallica’s Antarctica concert, titled “Freeze ‘Em All,” was held in 2013 for a 120-person crowd containing winners from a South American sweepstakes sponsored by Coca-Cola Zero and a small group of scientists from various nations. The concert took place in a dome to protect attendees from cold and harsh winds, and the amplifiers were housed in isolation cabinets, with the signal transmitted to the concertgoers’ headphones, to protect the delicate natural environment.
If you want to play Six Degrees of Producer Mike, his uncle Bill Peterson, of Bay Area power/thrash metal band Hexx, was friends with Kirk Hammett and actually auditioned for Metallica after Cliff Burton died. So if the lyrics to “Damage, Inc.” frighten you, just remember Mike’s grandmother used to make them all sandwiches.
At the former location of the Metallica Mansion in El Cerrito, CA, there is now a Burger King, which Mike has been to. There’s nothing particularly metal about it.

Discord & Rhyme Roll Call

Phil Maddox (moderator)
Mike DeFabio
John McFerrin

Ride the Lightning tracklist

Fight Fire With Fire
Ride the Lightning
For Whom the Bell Tolls
Fade to Black
Trapped Under Ice
Escape
Creeping Death
The Call of Ktulu

Master of Puppets tracklist

Battery
Master of Puppets
The Thing That Should Not Be
Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
Disposable Heroes
Leper Messiah
Orion
Damage, Inc.

Other clips used

Metallica:

Welcome Home (Sanitarium) (Live at Grimey’s)
The View (Lou Reed & Metallica)
One
Sad But True
The Four Horsemen
Hit the Lights (Metal Massacre Version 1)
Whiplash
Battery (S&M)
St. Anger
Enter Sandman
For Whom the Bell Tolls (Live at Kabuki Theatre, San Francisco)
Pumping Blood (Lou Reed & Metallica)
Mistress Dread (Lou Reed & Metallica)
Creeping Death (Live at Reunion Arena, Dallas)
The Call of Ktulu (S&M)
Battery (Live Shit: Binge and Purge)
And Justice for All (Live at Irvine Meadows)

Others:

Fellowship - Until the Fires Die
Accept - Fast as a Shark
Vkgoeswild - Fight Fire with Fire
Buck 65 - Up the Middle
Deep Purple - Highway Star
Nirvana - Negative Creep
Jethro Tull - Aqualung
David Bowie - Andy Warhol
McGruff the Crime Dog - Inhalants
Yes - Onward
Black Sabbath - Fairies Wear Boots
DJ Z-Trip & DJ P - Uneasy Listening, Volume 1
Bathory - Home of Once Brave
Sunn O))) - F.W.T.B.T (I Dream of Lars Ulrich Being Thrown Through the Bus Window Instead of My Mystikal Master Kliff Burton)
Beatallica - The Thing That Should Not Let it Be
Takeshi Tateishi - Level Start
Phil Collins - Take Me Home
The Cure - The Same Deep Water as You
Mastodon - Megalodon
Exodus - Impaler (Live 1983)
Rupert Holmes - Escape (The Piña Colada Song)
Def Leppard - Animal
Genesis - Jesus He Knows Me
Jethro Tull - Hymn 43
Exodus - Die By His Hand (Live 1983)
Yes - Heart of the Sunrise
DJ Shadow - The Number Song
Rodrigo y Gabriela - Orion
Yes - Awaken
Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath
Voivod - Experiment
Anthrax - Time
Megadeth - Hangar 18
Apocalyptica - Master of Puppets

Band/album personnel

James Hetfield - vocals, rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar
Lars Ulrich - drums, percussion, backing vocals
Cliff Burton - bass, backing vocals
Kirk Hammett - lead guitar, backing vocals

Credits

“Discord & Rhyme (theme),” composed by the Other Leading Brand, contains elements of:

Duran Duran - Hungry Like the Wolf
Amon Düül II - Dehypnotized Toothpaste
The Dukes of Stratosphear - What in the World?? ...
Faith No More - Midlife Crisis
Herbie Hancock - Hornets
Kraftwerk - Autobahn
Talking Heads - Seen and Not Seen
Metallica - For Whom the Bell Tolls (this episode only)

You can buy or stream Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets, and other albums by Metallica at metallica.com, your local record store, or the usual suspects such as Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and Amazon. Follow Discord & Rhyme on Instagram @DiscordPod for news, updates, and other random stuff. Editing is by Rich Bunnell, and special thanks to our own Mike DeFabio, the Other Leading Brand, for production and original music. See you next album, and keep as cool as you can.

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