What if ...And Justice For All was on Ride The Lightning? | Metallica Album Crossovers

The Drums Are Programmed.
Had another song cooking for 3 months now. It was a challenging feat trying to record while I'm doing internship at the time lmao. Wanted to get this done on my birthday a few days ago, but it is what it is.
I went all out with this project, having super varied tempo throughout the song and went out my way to write new riffs that would fit the RTL vibe. Needless to say, I think it was a good effort. Thanks for listening!
Special thanks to:
- ‪@GreenmiIe‬ for providing the AI vocal script again! This video wouldn't have been possible without his insane works!
- Semtex, for letting me use his sweet album cover design once again!
- kirkhammettwannabe, you know who you are. Thank you so much for supporting my work throughout the years! I was able to push through my writer's block and finish this piece in due time!
Get the isolated tracks and mix-walkthrough (coming soon) by supporting me on Patreon!
/ brycebarilla
By becoming a Patron, you can help me to produce more content for your enjoyment! In return, depending on your chosen tier, you'll gain access to exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, work-in-progress audio files, and stems from this project.

[@chauncyquest2779]

No joke, as I started playing this driving home, lightning started going off in the distant mountains. Epic.

[@xCaptainHerox]

Bullshit, Chauncy.

[@BigDaddyTyHD]

badass man

[@LeonLandgren-qt9pg]

Badass

[@IgorGabriel-uo7jj]

the tone and vocals are just perfect, and having real drums is so much better than the programmed ones most "what if" channels use

[@montythemetalman]

The drums here are actually programmed. Most other people just don’t know how to mix 💀

[@IgorGabriel-uo7jj]

@@montythemetalman really? It sounds so good, and bryce actually plays drums so I thought he recorded it

[@montythemetalman]

@@IgorGabriel-uo7jj Honestly, I thought so too until I read the description. It’s just so… palpable?

[@ibrahemkhames2298]

Cliff is back from the dead😂

[@mcgarnacle21]

@@IgorGabriel-uo7jj You can get programmed drums to sound pretty realistic if you just spend a lot of time on the midi to make it sound more dynamic and human. It's time consuming, but totally worth it.

[@bradybuchanan1423]

Yep, that’s cliff burton on bass

[@burtknighten4438]

Nope. Hes taking bass from the 4.95 garage days. I think the wait is what its called

[@metfan4l]

4:56 this part goes *HARD*

[@mrnohax5436]

Sore neck after that one… *worth it*

[@_metal.militia]

Love how a casual famous KZbinr is just in a random comment section

[@KBXband]

Sounds cool. Reminds me of their cover of The Wait.

[@joes-o3j]

good call

[@BradyA1124]

Yes, that little single note lick is from it

[@TGPilar]

Babe wake up a new banger just dropped

[@xi11ma]

5:48 "fock" 💀😂

[@jaymann5180]

Wow!! This song sounds so much better with bass!! Just shows how AJFA is lacking without Jason's part.

[@gustavsjoblom7864]

This just captures something about Ride the Lightning that i can´t put my words on. Vibe, sound, all of it just on POINT. Good fucking work man!

[@BryceBarilla]

Someone once commented about it, and I think he had the best description: "RTL always had that Frosty sound to it."

[@gustavsjoblom7864]

Indeed. Something cold and icey about it.@@BryceBarilla

[@TheCarbunkleofTruth]

Chromatic and also something that always reminds me of that clear cassette tape! 🤘

[@s.d.c5513]

​Frosty, like they were "Trapped Under Ice" ? ​@@BryceBarilla 🤘

[@klasrem]

​@BryceBarilla Honestly, the frosty description is perfect. Frosty is good for describing the sound. For the album's atmosphere, it's also perfect. The clouds are up high, and it's chiller in higher elevations, and the mood of the album is cold. Lots of the songs involve something dark, Creeping Death, Ride the Lightning, Fade to Black, and Fight Fire with Fire are definitely the best songs for that description

[@YeahWhiplash]

Damn this is some cool art, would love it on a shirt!

[@rogerowo]

1:30 I CAN'T BELIEVE I CAN'T BELIEVE THE BRYCE!!!! You did it again, my dude 🔥 I'll always thank you for existing. The Metallica community truly wouldn't be the same without you on here 🙏🏼💙 You're THE one and only GOAT

[@VortechBand]

Balls of justice painted green

[@trainspottter]

Hahaha,i like it😂😂

[@VincentiusTheSecond]

This is one of the most accurate ai vocals I've ever heard plus that guitar tone is identical man also how tf are you so good at changing the riffs to how they wouldve been played bruh you're insane 🤯

[@BearGaming7458]

I don't think its AI, more so just scraped off of Justice and mixed differently

[@VincentiusTheSecond]

@@BearGaming7458The description says thanks to @Greenmile for providing AI vocal scripts. I know what you mean though, the early days of "what if's" did just pitch up the justice mix and it sounds pretty damn close to lightning

[@BearGaming7458]

@@VincentiusTheSecond I didn't see that, my fault, mate

[@arickuntz8406]

This is such a clever compositional take on the song. It really nails the vibe of RTL. Hats off, this whips ass and owns bones

[@GreenmiIe]

Everything, to the last part, went hard. But 1:59 fucks so good.

[@jacksteroni007]

Do you just watch every Metallica remakes on yt? I swear I have seen you comment on like 75 videos that aren't yours lol

[@GreenmiIe]

@@jacksteroni007 basically

[@Atroz]

0:11 Ride the lightning intro 1:12 Ride the lightning chorus 3:33 amazing bass riff (tabs pls) 3:57 Guess what, another ride the lightning reference (90% of the solo is from this song lol) 5:23 Creeping death bridge (WHAT THE ACTUAL F*CK DID YOU SMOKE TO CREATE THAT MONSTER!?). Also, the sounds behind reminds me of the call of ktulu 5:49 Ciff's f*ck easter egg on for whom the bell tolls Pls, do Frantic on Master Of Puppets

[@WinrlR]

No. 1:12 - Trapped under ice

[@Atroz]

@@WinrlR no bro, ride the lightning

[@garfieldfan3892]

@@Atroz ride the lightning is C - B - Bb and so on trapped under ice is F# only (+ the fill), justice prechorus is F# too

[@Atroz]

@@garfieldfan3892 ok, but still listening rtl chorus 😂

[@burtknighten4438]

No mentiin of the wait on garage days? 0/10

[@ThePlamzJoker]

It's incredible how close this captures the Ride The Lightning sound. The way people like Bryce and StateOfMercury have managed to replicate the tones of Metallica's best albums are impeccable, and I absolutely love it!

[@marcotabone5032]

Absolutely incredible like wtf, its as if you cracked open a portal in the multiverse and just stole the master from them in that timeline💀

[@fclefjefff4041]

I generally think stuff like this is a goofy waste of time, but I gotta hand it to you, this is pretty amazing. I’d love to hear the whole album “fixed” like this 🤘

[@williamboyle8918]

Agree

[@CooperWitzberger]

Always excited to hear something from THE Bryce Barilla

[@hatimusic5716]

state of mercury level shit right here. matter of fact this is actually better, it's not just rewriting the parts and playing with a different tone, you actually rewrote the whole song and structure, fucking elite work this is.

[@kennyslg8914]

Proof that time travel and parallel realities are real. I'm almost convinced this is authentic lmao

[@danysharma4790]

Huge fan of RTL tone and specially James voice..

[@ludgerkres.1437]

I always joked that AJFA the song needs to be remixed on other albums and this blew me away. No one wanted to remix that monster of a song on any other album. Great work.

[@SideWays8Productions]

Your best work yet, man! The vocal mixing is absolutely perfect and sounds "original," if that makes sense! Can't wait to see what comes next!

[@BuLLeT2431]

This is honestly insane. I love that you not only brought the tone in but combined the elements absolutely seemlessly.. with ride the lightning, creeping death, trapped under ice and fight fire with fire making an appearance. Absolute insane dude. Thank you and idk how the fuck you got James the way you did but bravo. Simply bravo.

[@thatnorwegianguy937]

Respect for making this its own thing and getting creative with it. So thanks for going the extra mile. Cheers!

[@cjmpyt]

Do I hear The Wait? This is great as always, amazing job!

[@MetalboxJ]

I can't believe what Bryce, what Bryce just played.

[@D4RTH_TANO]

I didn't believe heaven exists. But this channel could be heaven. Never heard something crazy like this...

[@WTWTA5760]

I'm just shook, the tone (as usual) is spot on but the addition lf vocalsas well as the drums, make it such a better song. Also, the composition !! The real riff mania that's going on that is staple of early metallica, so great, love the reference to all the different RTL songs too, like you always do ;) I f0Okin love it

[@ztenfurz]

Finally a version with a bass on it 😁 Amazing version!! 👍🏻

[@PhantomLordOG]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/j5yudqiArNpqn68si=qBP0nGbSH5GVaDWR

[@sablyptical]

Just 0:11 seconds in and I got chills from this segment

[@mynamemyers5914]

You even add the Bell Tolls background "fuck". That was a nice touch to an already awesome reimagination

[@_kcy033]

2:52 i can't believe, i can't believe the FRIES

[@brendongregorysquires2]

...And Lightning for All!

[@alexanderkussatz143]

How awesome!👏 please do the whole „and lightning for all“ or „ride the justice“ album!

[@zogames8659]

Bro I always thought this song was kinda overrated but if it sounded like this it would genuinely be in my top Metallica songs

[@jimw281972]

I can't stop talking about it... It's a masterpiece!

[@lilschlagen]

Can't wait for the day when I can listen to every Metallica song on Ride the Lightning 🤘

[@MrPeperoni79]

Great to have the Epic outro harmonies in the intro; the AJFA outro harmonies regularly create goosebumps for me.

[@wolffs2]

amazing, just amazing

[@THE1REALJP]

Ah man! This is exactly what the doctor ordered! Sorry for being the late subscriber but shfuck yayuh! Keep em coming! 🤘😎

[@jimw281972]

Two great songs to one amazing track! Following!

[@depresane]

I love it so much, it sounds more aggressive.

[@BoneStack117]

I'd love to hear your take on Load/Reload crossovers

[@DeathshotSociety]

Love all the Easter eggs from different songs on RTL (Ride The Lightning and Creeping Death in particular). Sounds amazing, great work!

[@DeathshotSociety]

5:25 made me wanna start chanting DIE! lmao

[@kcmet79]

Wow! Bloody brilliant! Hell you even introduced stylistic changes more fitting of '84's Metallica. If AJFA (album) sounded like RTL (album), it'd probably be my favorite Metallica album instead of runner-up. Coincidentally, between the songs and the sound/production, RTL is my fave

[@SalamiSnak5150]

Gotta love the intro inspired by RTL and Blitzkrieg

[@OrionRahl]

I can almost feel the crowd pressing me against the rail. Straight-up fi-ah!

[@MetalliDay]

Another masterpiece from bryce jesus christ that solo 😍😍😍😍😍

[@zarahnator7764]

every one talk about the awsome cover...but that art cover WOW!

[@JGonzoDr85]

Holy fuck man, this is worthy! It's like a genuine alternative timeline, as if Hetfield and Lars of '88 got into black magic, and signalled to their former selves to record this... Oh and by the way, you will tour Scandinavia in a few years, look for another bus driver 🖤

[@Scotty_Russell_Music]

I only really like the first 4 albums and I've played them to death. These reworkings are pretty flippin good. New energy in old tunes. The style/tone/timbre matching is spot on. Good work Sir.

[@WVA_on_yt]

dude that bass tone is so epic

[@HeatherKostli-zi8of]

And justice for all who will ride the lightning

[@ddduv]

This is as awesome as I expected it to be. Brutal and awesome, incredible job man!

[@jippalippa]

And Justice for all, alongside Battery, is my favourite metallica song. So cool to see a different spin on it.

[@themonotropicguitarist]

NOW I can get on board with this tune. Wasn't bad, but Ride is my fav album for a reason.

[@marcelodonati]

Wow! I luv Ride the Lightning, and so now I'm enjoying AJFA with your remix/remaster/reimagination...

[@the16doc]

This is an Amazing version of this song, but, more than that, I genuinely think this is the best mixed song I have ever listened to in my life. Amazing Job. God Bless.

[@Bart18231]

this is GODLY done

[@Un4GivNX]

Mind blowing!! This is pure gold!

[@rupert916]

Probably one of if not the best rework I’ve ever heard from any of the remakes…and I’ve been on the SOM, greenmile and razz stuff for a longtime

[@zangoofsgeerage5750]

I remember hearing master on ride the lightning (btw that album work should’ve been ride the puppets😉😂😂) and I’ve listened to just about everything album crossover. Dude your work is fucking badass. I love this because ride the lightning is my favorite album. If Justice sounded like this it would be hard to choose between Justice and rtl

[@vhb4048]

Literally the hardest I've ever smashed a subscribe button

[@amonynous9041]

So fing RAW POWER, I feel it in my bones. This is why love RTLightning so much. Electrified goosebumps.

[@thesaturnsound]

Brilliant and perfect

[@Mrp00p3rs]

No shit this made me cry, it felt just like Metallica and is making the creative process come back to me hearing Metallica in a different way

[@jantzenallen3077]

This is freakin incredible good stuff Bryce 3:50 is where it gets interesting ❤❤❤

[@jaredleslie]

Can we get tabs for this please this is so sick. Glad you're making content again man! Glad to have you back!

[@Granite165]

This is KILLER! (Anyone else get Cirith Ungol "King of the Dead" vibes at the solo section about 4 minutes in?)

[@carnage5688]

barilla i don’t know if you’re still making these but brother you add so much soul to these songs, you should do a what if of motorbreath in the style favorite album

[@michaelmarcuola1684]

This is killer man! And way more interesting than the new album! 🤟😎

[@lunchbox3730]

This was amazing!

[@Shadefecator]

This genre (?) has come so far that this are almost new songs made from scratch lol I love it!

[@kushking420]

Dude this sounds so good

[@triplesixchannel9393]

I listened to the first few seconds when writing this comment, already i can tell this is awesome

[@ValleySubRailfan4643]

Damn that art is sick!

[@adammackowiak3179]

The skill needed to create 5:23 is impossible to be put into words. Enormous fucking monster, adore that man.

[@masterprocrastinator6190]

Stop because why is this so fucking good

[@mikoriaaa8769]

it sounds like if trapped under ice, creeping death, ride the lightning and justice had a baby

[@jprrob4016]

both guitar and bass tone is insane

[@jonnyboimontoya1071]

This is the most cool ADHD riff mashup props to this hands down

[@jahriffn]

Dude! This makes Metallica sound like they got weaker on Justice. When that Chorus sneaks in and kicks you in the fking face... WHOO!

[@jakefriesenjake]

10:45pm. Here I'm thinking 5 minutes....

[@thegodk1ller]

😂

[@jantzenallen3077]

😂

[@ensomniiac]

Holy crap this is amazing!!

[@flandyc4513]

Ooh the second this starts Im hooked

[@epicchants]

This is a wow, I love it! Keep up the amazing work!

[@ina.aaahhh]

that "creeping death" part at 5:23 goes HARD, the instruments sound fucking HUGE

[@theironfist23]

AI is freaking me out, I feel like Im hearing old Metallica for the 1st time again, this is nuts

[@mikebelmont84]

This is great. How about a challenge? Mama said if recorded in Master of Puppets. There 👀

[@pierredesgranges7305]

And All The Wait For Justice!

[@robj6131]

This is way better to my surprise. I wish it sounded like this back in the day.

[@Abominog64]

Oh my god the Cliff "fuck" is in there from Bell Tolls

[@xxdamagicmanxx9625]

Absolute Banger Tone, vocals are very well balanced and i love hearing the bass, can’t wait for more what if with Ride the Lightning Tone🤟⚡️⚖️

[@khangbui446]

...And Justice for the Lightning Riders

[@maskedguy9753]

Damn, that pre-solo and solo section hits hard af Also post solo sounds heavy as balls

[@FinoruKarateDoTV]

Masterpiece 👍🏻

[@Blackened_70]

Thank you !

[@sevenfold_98]

I was surprised that the voice sounds like James from those times, as if it were from Ride the Lightning, knowing that in and justice for all there was already a change in James's voice, I don't know how you did it but great job brother.