- Ride the Lightning
Infobox Album
Name = Ride the Lightning
Type = studio
Artist =Metallica
Released =July 27 ,1984 [ [http://www.metallica.com/timeline.asp?page=events&n_categoryid=808&year=1984 Metallica.com ] ]
Recorded = September 1983 - June 1984 at Sweet Silence Studios inCopenhagen ,Denmark
Length = 47:27
Label = Megaforce, Elektra
Producer = Metallica,Flemming Rasmussen
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|4.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:2hdsa93gb23h link]
*"Kerrang! " Rating|5|5
Last album = "Kill 'Em All "
(1983)
This album = "Ride the Lightning"
(1984)
Next album = "Master of Puppets "
(1986)"Ride the Lightning" is the second album by American heavy metal band
Metallica , released on July 27, 1984 byMegaforce Records and re-released byElektra Records on November 19, 1984. [ [http://www.metallica.com/timeline.asp?page=events&n_categoryid=808&year=1984 Metallica.com ] ] 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, [ [http://www.epinions.com/musc_mu-125330 Compare Prices and Read Reviews on Ride The Lightning by Metallica at Epinions.com ] ] 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 [http://metal-rules.com/polls/index.php?id=6 Top 100 Metal Albums of All Time] and #5 by IGN Music on the [http://music.ign.com/articles/755/755929p6.html 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" will be included in "
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."Covers
"
Creeping Death " was covered by Welshglam metal bandTigertailz for a B-side in 1990, Welshmetalcore bandBullet for My Valentine onKerrang! 's 25th Anniversary Higher Voltage complication disk, the Italian Epic Black Metal band Stormlord as a live track on their EPThe Curse Of Medusa and byalternative metal bandDrowning Pool atOzzfest 2002."Escape" was covered by
death metal band Gojira on their 2005 album "From Mars to Sirius ".Track listing
tracklist
writing_credits = yes
title1 = Fight Fire with Fire
writer1 =James Hetfield ,Lars Ulrich ,Cliff Burton
length1 = 4:45
title2 = Ride the Lightning
writer2 = Hetfield, Ulrich, Burton,Dave Mustaine
length2 = 6:37
title3 = For Whom the Bell Tolls
writer3 = Hetfield, Ulrich, Burton
length3 = 5:10
title4 = Fade to Black
writer4 = Hetfield, Ulrich, Burton,Kirk Hammett
length4 = 6:57
title5 = Trapped Under Ice
writer5 = Hetfield, Ulrich, Hammett
length5 = 4:04
title6 = Escape
writer6 = Hetfield, Ulrich, Hammett
length6 = 4:24
title7 =Creeping Death
writer7 = Hetfield, Ulrich, Burton, Hammett
length7 = 6:36
title8 = The Call of Ktulu
writer8 = Hetfield, Ulrich, Burton, Mustaine
length8 = 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 , lead vocals, acoustic guitar on "Fade to Black"
*Lars Ulrich – drums, percussion
*Cliff Burton –bass guitar
*Kirk Hammett –lead guitar ingles
*"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 ""): covers of "Am I Evil? " (originally by Diamond Head) and "Blitzkrieg" (originally by Blitzkrieg).Charting Positions
Album
Certification
References
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