Hold Me Thrill Me was the first song that made me realize just how versatile U2 could be. These guys could explore the wicked side of rock and do it with excellence.
Think about the timing. The song came out right after Zooropa, which is a trippy sonic experiment in itself. Even though the song was made at the time of the Zooropa recordings, it sounds fairly different than anything on that album. Maybe a few riffs in Dirty Day sound along the same lines, but that is about it.
Summer 1995. Bang, Batman Forever is coming out. And out of nowhere came this scintillating, wicked, vicious, devastating guitar riff...which oscillates to create a sound I have never heard before or since. And then they drop the hammer and take you into a symphony of darkness. I listened to that song on repeat throughout the summer (every day!). I never got tired of it. The distorted vocals are classic Achtung Era and the lyrics are wonderfully sarcastic and satirical, like a rant from hell.
Hold Me Thrill Me is a song that will stand for all time. Period.
AJ