Ride the Lightning
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Ride the Lightning
For the album by Marshmallow Coast, see Ride the Lightning (Marshmallow Coast album).
| Ride the Lightning | |||||
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| Studio album by Metallica | |||||
| Released | July 27, 1984[1] | ||||
| Recorded | September 1983 - June 1984 at Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen, Denmark | ||||
| Genre | Thrash metal | ||||
| Length | 47:27 | ||||
| Label | Megaforce, Elektra | ||||
| Producer | Metallica, Flemming Rasmussen | ||||
| Professional reviews | |||||
| Metallica chronology | |||||
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Ride the Lightning is the second album by American thrash metal band Metallica, released on July 27, 1984 by Megaforce Records and re-released by Elektra Records on November 19, 1984.[2] Bernett Records (a French label) misprinted the album cover as green instead of blue. This version is now a rare collectible. Ride the Lightning has sold over 5 million copies in the U.S. alone.
Reception and influence
Ride the Lightning is often hailed by fans as a classic of the thrash metal genre,[3] and a vital bridge between the band's albums Kill 'Em All and Master of Puppets, pushing the thrash metal of the debut into progressive territory more fully-realized on Master of Puppets and ...And Justice for All.
Ride the Lightning retains the speed of Kill 'Em All on songs like "Trapped Under Ice" and "Fight Fire with Fire", but also contains the first of Metallica's longer, more symphonically arranged tracks, such as "Fade to Black" and the nearly 9-minute closing instrumental "The Call of Ktulu".
Ride the Lightning was listed at #3 on a list compiled by metal-rules.com of the Top 100 Metal Albums of All Time and #5 by IGN Music on the Top 25 Metal Albums.
Q (Summer/01, p.127) - 5 stars out of 5 - "Reaffirms their status as the pre-eminent metal band of the modern era....They broke with the conventions of thrash metal to record the genre's first power ballad in 'Fade to Black'".
Kerrang! (p.50) - "[The album included] melody, maturity and musical intelligence. It was these traits which helped them broaden metal's scope."
The song "Ride the Lightning" is featured in the Metallica 3-Pack that is downloadable content for the music video game Rock Band.
"Trapped Under Ice" is featured as a playable track on Guitar Hero World Tour.
"The Call of Ktulu" is named after the short story "The Call of Cthulhu," by American horror/science fiction author H. P. Lovecraft, whose works were also a direct influence on a later Metallica song, "The Thing That Should Not Be."
In 1999, Ride the Lightning was re-released along with Master of Puppets in a remastered audiophile Gold CD edition mixed by renowned engineer Steve Hoffman.
Covers
"Creeping Death" was covered by Welsh glam metal band Tigertailz for a B-side in 1990, Welsh metalcore band Bullet for My Valentine on Kerrang!'s 25th Anniversary Higher Voltage complication disk, the Italian Epic Black Metal band Stormlord as a live track on their EP The Curse Of Medusa and by alternative metal band Drowning Pool at Ozzfest 2002.
The Hard Rock/Metal band Disturbed has covered "Fade to Black" in concert. The Power Metal band Sonata Arctica has also covered "Fade to Black" on the EP Takatalvi.
"Escape" was covered by death metal band Gojira on their 2005 album From Mars to Sirius.
Track listing
| # | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Fight Fire with Fire" | James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Cliff Burton | 4:45 |
| 2. | "Ride the Lightning" | Hetfield, Ulrich, Burton, Dave Mustaine | 6:37 |
| 3. | "For Whom the Bell Tolls" | Hetfield, Ulrich, Burton | 5:10 |
| 4. | "Fade to Black" | Hetfield, Ulrich, Burton, Kirk Hammett | 6:57 |
| 5. | "Trapped Under Ice" | Hetfield, Ulrich, Hammett | 4:04 |
| 6. | "Escape" | Hetfield, Ulrich, Hammett | 4:24 |
| 7. | "Creeping Death" | Hetfield, Ulrich, Burton, Hammett | 6:36 |
| 8. | "The Call of Ktulu" | Hetfield, Ulrich, Burton, Mustaine | 8:54 |
"Ride the Lightning" and "The Call of Ktulu" were the last Metallica songs to feature Dave Mustaine in the credits.
Personnel
- James Hetfield – rhythm guitar, vocals, acoustic guitar on "Fade to Black"
- Lars Ulrich – drums, percussion
- Cliff Burton – bass guitar
- Kirk Hammett – lead guitar
Singles
- "Fade to Black" was released as a promo single in 1984. Black vinyl & glow in the dark green.
- "For Whom the Bell Tolls" was released as a promo single with two versions of the song, an edited version on side A and the album version on side B.
- "Creeping Death" was released as an EP, with the B-side also known as "Garage Days Revisited" (precursor to 1987's "The $5.98 E.P.: Garage Days Re-Revisited"): covers of "Am I Evil?" (originally by Diamond Head) and "Blitzkrieg" (originally by Blitzkrieg).
Charting Positions
Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | The Billboard 200 | 100 |
| 1985 | UK Albums Chart | 87 |
| 2008 | Australian ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart | 37 |
Certification
| Country | Sales | Certification |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 5,598,000 | 5x Platinum |
References
History
View article history
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