Metallica – Ride The Lightning

Released July 27, 1984

Guitar, Vocals: James Hetfield
Drums: Lars Ulrich
Bass: Cliff Burton
Guitar: Kirk Hammett

Produced by Metallica
Assisted by Flemming Rasmussen & Mark Whitaker
Engineered by Flemming Rasmussen

Recorded & Mixed at Sweet Silence Studios, Copenhagen, Denmark — Spring 1984

Mastered by Tom Coyne
Remastered by Bob Ludwig (1984)
Remastered by George Marino at Sterling Sound, New York, NY (1995)
Remastered by Howie Weinberg at Howie Weinberg Mastering, Los Angeles, CA (2016)

Cover Concept: Metallica
Cover Design: Ad Artists

Photographers: Peter Cronin (Lars/Back Cover), Rick Brackett (Kirk/Back Cover & James/Back Cover), Harald O (Cliff/Back Cover), Fin Costello (B&W Group), Anthony D. Sommella (Live Pix Group), Robert Hoetink (Dressing Room)

Management: Q Prime, Inc.

All songs © 1984 Creeping Death Music (Global Music Rights)
℗ & © 1984 Blackened Recordings

Ride the Lightning is the second studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica.
Originally released by Megaforce.
Two months after its release, Elektra Records signed Metallica to a multi-year deal and reissued the album.

The album was recorded in three weeks with producer Flemming Rasmussen at Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen, Denmark. The overall recording costs were paid by Metallica's European label Music for Nations because Megaforce was unable to cover it.

The artwork, based on a concept by the band, depicts an electric chair being struck by lightning flowing from the band logo.

Title was taken from a passage in Stephen King's novel "The Stand"

Although rooted in the thrash metal genre, the album showcased the band's musical growth and lyrical sophistication. This was partly because bassist Cliff Burton introduced the basics of music theory to the rest of the band and had more input in the songwriting. Instead of relying heavily on fast tempos as on its debut Kill 'Em All, Metallica broadened its approach by employing acoustic guitars, extended instrumentals, and more complex harmonies.

It is the last album to feature songwriting contributions from former lead guitarist Dave Mustaine, and the first to feature contributions from his replacement, Kirk Hammett.

Ride the Lightning received a positive response from music critics, who saw it as a more ambitious effort than its predecessor. Metallica promoted the album on the Bang That Head That Doesn't Bang European tour in late 1984, and on its North American leg in the first half of 1985. The band performed at major music festivals such as Monsters of Rock and Day on the Green later that year. Ride the Lightning peaked at number 100 on the Billboard 200 with no radio exposure.

Although 75,000 copies were initially pressed for the American market, the album sold half a million by November 1987. It was certified 6× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 2012 for shipping six million copies in the United States. Many rock publications have ranked Ride the Lightning on their best album lists, saying it had a lasting impact on the genre.

Main runouts of the 1984 vinyl pressings per country.

US
MRI-769
MRI 769
ST-E-60396-1-A-AR / ST-E-60396-1-B-AR (Allied Pressing)
ST-E60396-1-A-SP / ST-E60396-1-B-SP (Specialty Pressing)

UK
MPO MFN 27 A¹ TY
MPO MFN 27 A¹ TY
MPO MFN 27 A¹ TY
MPO MFN 27 A¹ TY
MPO MFN 27 A1 ty

France
MPO MU SB 18026
MPO MU SB 18026
MPO MU SB 18026

Japan
K25P-501
K25P - 501A 121 ❇

Canada
BRC-1909A THIS SNB 230 EL DM 18
BRC-1909A THIS SNB 230 EL DM 18

EU
RR 9848 - A 55235

Finland
MFN-27 A MTV-MB

South Korea
MRI-769-A ▻