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AlbumE · 1984

Ride the Lightning

by Metallica

Ride the Lightning is a 1984 thrash metal album by Metallica. It runs 63 tracks across 350 minutes on Elektra. Riffiter listeners rate it 4.3/5 from 163 ratings.

prod.Flemming RasmussenMark Whitaker+1 more15connections

Thrash Metal · Heavy Metal · Metal

Best albums of 1984→

#2 in Best albums of 1984 · #2 in Best thrash metal albums

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4.3 /5
163 ratings
91 /100
9 critics
63
Tracks
350 min
Runtime
140 bpm
Tempo
A# minor
Key

Ratings

163 ratings · avg 4.3

0.5★5★

Recent activity

Reviews

2 reviews

  • 3.5
    Jackson Futrell

    I think listening to Toxicity made me more used to the metal sound. Either that or I just are actually enjoyed this more than Master of Puppets, Although it definitely makes want to revisit that album. I think this album had a good variety of emotion while the metal didn’t bother me like sometimes it does. I think there is a nice inclusion of themes and sounds to keep it interesting throughout the album. I think they definitely had some epic moments like “Call of Ktulu”. I think this album and Toxcity will definitely be the albums I point back as the ones to help me get into Metal.

    Reply

  • 4.0
    EL Prosecco54 plays

    A great album, although the mixing isn't the best, the vocals are sometimes too loud and tinny

    Reply

37 people have played it start to finish

5 people are spinning it this week

People who scrobbled it: 4.5★ (7) · Everyone else: 4.6★ (27)

Critics

9 publications

Scores collected from the English Wikipedia ratings box (CC BY-SA). Ratings belong to the publications; follow a link to read the review.

Ride the Lightning album cover

2 ratings

Ride the Lightning album cover

The Ride the Lightning cover was designed by Ad Artists and photographed by Anthony Sommella, Fin Costello, Harald Oimoen, Peter Cronin, Rick Brackett and Robert Hoetink. Riffiter listeners rate it 4.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings.

Design
Ad Artists
Photography
Anthony Sommella, Fin Costello, Harald Oimoen, Peter Cronin, Rick Brackett, Robert Hoetink

Your rating for the cover

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4.0 · 2 ratings

Tracklist

63 tracks · 350 min

Every song on one board, your ratings already placed. S to D, then save it as a list.
  1. 01Fight Fire With Fire
  2. 02Ride the Lightning
  3. 03For Whom the Bell Tolls
  4. 04Fade to Black
  5. 05Trapped Under Ice
  6. 06Escape
  7. 07Creeping Death
  8. 08The Call of Ktulu
  9. 01The Ecstasy of Gold
  10. 02Fight Fire with Fire (Live at the Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles, CA – Mar. 10th, 1985)
  11. 03Ride the Lightning (Live at the Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles, CA – Mar. 10th, 1985)
  12. 04Phantom Lord (Live at the Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles, CA – Mar. 10th, 1985)
  13. 05(Anesthesia)—Pulling Teeth (Live at the Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles, CA – Mar. 10th, 1985)
  14. 06For Whom the Bell Tolls (Live at the Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles, CA – Mar. 10th, 1985)
  15. 07No Remorse (Live at the Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles, CA – Mar. 10th, 1985)
  16. 08Fade to Black (Live at the Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles, CA – Mar. 10th, 1985)
  17. 09Seek & Destroy (Live at the Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles, CA – Mar. 10th, 1985)
  18. 10Creeping Death (Live at the Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles, CA – Mar. 10th, 1985)
  19. 11Am I Evil? (Live at the Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles, CA – Mar. 10th, 1985)
  20. 12Motorbreath (Live at the Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles, CA – Mar. 10th, 1985)
  21. 01Am I Evil?
  22. 02Blitzkrieg
  23. 01Ride the Lightning (Studio Demo)
  24. 02When Hell Freezes Over (The Call of Ktulu) [Studio Demo]
  25. 03Creeping Death (Studio Demo)
  26. 04Fight Fire with Fire (Studio Demo)
  27. 05Ride the Lightning (Garage Demo)
  28. 06When Hell Freezes Over (The Call of Ktulu) [Garage Demo]
  29. 07Fight Fire with Fire (Garage Demo)
  30. 08Ride the Lightning (Boom Box Demo)
  31. 09Blitzkrieg (Rhythm Track Rough Mix)
  32. 10Am I Evil? (Rhythm Track Rough Mix)
  33. 01Fight Fire with Fire (Live at Kabuki Theatre, San Francisco, CA – Mar. 15th, 1985)
  34. 02Ride the Lightning (Live at Kabuki Theatre, San Francisco, CA – Mar. 15th, 1985)
  35. 03Phantom Lord (Live at Kabuki Theatre, San Francisco, CA – Mar. 15th, 1985)
  36. 04The Four Horsemen (Live at Kabuki Theatre, San Francisco, CA – Mar. 15th, 1985)
  37. 05(Anesthesia)—Pulling Teeth (Live at Kabuki Theatre, San Francisco, CA – Mar. 15th, 1985)
  38. 06For Whom the Bell Tolls (Live at Kabuki Theatre, San Francisco, CA – Mar. 15th, 1985)
  39. 07No Remorse (Live at Kabuki Theatre, San Francisco, CA – Mar. 15th, 1985)
  40. 08Fade to Black (Live at Kabuki Theatre, San Francisco, CA – Mar. 15th, 1985)
  41. 09Creeping Death (Live at Kabuki Theatre, San Francisco, CA – Mar. 15th, 1985)
  42. 10Guitar Solo (Live at Kabuki Theatre, San Francisco, CA – Mar. 15th, 1985)
  43. 11Am I Evil? (Live at Kabuki Theatre, San Francisco, CA – Mar. 15th, 1985)
  44. 12Motorbreath (Live at Kabuki Theatre, San Francisco, CA – Mar. 15th, 1985)
  45. 01Phantom Lord (Live at the Lyceum Theatre, London, UK – Dec. 20th, 1984)
  46. 02The Four Horsemen (Live at the Lyceum Theatre, London, UK – Dec. 20th, 1984)
  47. 03(Anesthesia)—Pulling Teeth (Live at the Lyceum Theatre, London, UK – Dec. 20th, 1984)
  48. 04For Whom the Bell Tolls (Live at the Lyceum Theatre, London, UK – Dec. 20th, 1984)
  49. 05No Remorse (Live at the Lyceum Theatre, London, UK – Dec. 20th, 1984)
  50. 06The Call of Ktulu (Live at the Lyceum Theatre, London, UK – Dec. 20th, 1984)
  51. 07Seek & Destroy (Live at the Lyceum Theatre, London, UK – Dec. 20th, 1984)
  52. 08Whiplash (Live at the Lyceum Theatre, London, UK – Dec. 20th, 1984)
  53. 09Creeping Death (Live at the Lyceum Theatre, London, UK – Dec. 20th, 1984)
  54. 10Guitar Solo (Live at the Lyceum Theatre, London, UK – Dec. 20th, 1984)
  55. 11Metal Militia (Live at the Lyceum Theatre, London, UK – Dec. 20th, 1984)
  56. 01Creeping Death (Live at Castle Donington, UK – Aug. 17th, 1985)
  57. 02Ride the Lightning (Live at Castle Donington, UK – Aug. 17th, 1985)
  58. 03For Whom the Bell Tolls (Live at Castle Donington, UK – Aug. 17th, 1985)
  59. 04The Four Horsemen (Live at Castle Donington, UK – Aug. 17th, 1985)
  60. 05Fade to Black (Live at Castle Donington, UK – Aug. 17th, 1985)
  61. 06Seek & Destroy (Live at Castle Donington, UK – Aug. 17th, 1985)
  62. 07Whiplash (Live at Castle Donington, UK – Aug. 17th, 1985)
  63. 08Motorbreath (Live at Castle Donington, UK – Aug. 17th, 1985)

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Also released as

Every pressing below shares this page's rating and reviews — they are the same record.

  • Ride the Lightning (Remastered) [2016 Remastered Version]Remaster · 1984 · 9 tracks
    1. 1Fight Fire with Fire
    2. 2Ride the Lightning
    3. 3For Whom the Bell Tolls
    4. 4Fade to Black
    5. 5Trapped Under Ice
    6. 6Escape
    7. 7Creeping Death
    8. 8The Call of Ktulu

Ranked by listeners

top 5 · 8 rated tracks

According to Riffiter listeners, the best track on Ride the Lightning is Creeping Death — rated 4.5/5 by 5 listeners.

  1. 1Creeping Death4.55 ratings
  2. 2Ride the Lightning4.220 ratings
  3. 3Fade to Black4.210 ratings
  4. 4Escape4.08 ratings
  5. 5Trapped Under Ice3.910 ratings

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About

Kill 'Em All may have revitalized heavy metal's underground, but Ride the Lightning was even more stunning, exhibiting staggering musical growth and boldly charting new directions that would affect heavy metal for years to come. Incredibly ambitious for a one-year-later sophomore effort, Ride the Lightning finds Metallica aggressively expanding their compositional technique and range of expression. Every track tries something new, and every musical experiment succeeds mightily. The lyrics push into new territory as well -- more personal, more socially conscious, less metal posturing. But the true heart of Ride the Lightning lies in its rich musical imagination. There are extended, progressive epics; tight, concise groove-rockers; thrashers that blow anything on Kill 'Em All out of the water, both in their urgency and the barest hints of melody that have been added to the choruses. Some innovations are flourishes that add important bits of color, like the lilting, pseudo-classical intro to the furious "Fight Fire with Fire," or the harmonized leads that pop up on several tracks.

Read more

Others are major reinventions of Metallica's sound, like the nine-minute, album-closing instrumental "The Call of Ktulu," or the haunting suicide lament "Fade to Black." The latter is an all-time metal classic; it begins as an acoustic-driven, minor-key ballad, then gets slashed open by electric guitars playing a wordless chorus, and ends in a wrenching guitar solo over a thrashy yet lyrical rhythm figure. Basically, in a nutshell, Metallica sounded like they could do anything. Heavy metal hadn't seen this kind of ambition since Judas Priest's late-'70s classics, and Ride the Lightning effectively rewrote the rule book for a generation of thrashers. If Kill 'Em All was the manifesto, Ride the Lightning was the revolution itself.

In brief

Is Ride the Lightning good?
Riffiter listeners rate Ride the Lightning 4.3/5 from 163 ratings.
What is the highest-rated track on Ride the Lightning?
Creeping Death, rated 4.5/5 by 5 listeners on Riffiter.
When was Ride the Lightning released?
Ride the Lightning was released in 1984 on Elektra.
How many tracks are on Ride the Lightning?
Ride the Lightning has 63 tracks, with a runtime of 350 minutes.
What genre is Ride the Lightning?
Ride the Lightning is catalogued under Thrash Metal, Heavy Metal, Metal.
What BPM is Ride the Lightning?
Ride the Lightning runs at a median tempo of 140 BPM across its tracks, most often in A# minor, measured from audio analysis.
What albums are similar to Ride the Lightning?
Listeners of Ride the Lightning also rate Rust in Peace by Megadeth, South of Heaven by Slayer, Among the Living by Anthrax.
Who produced Ride the Lightning?
Ride the Lightning was produced by Flemming Rasmussen, Mark Whitaker and Metallica. Flemming Rasmussen produced 8 of them.
Who wrote the songs on Ride the Lightning?
Ride the Lightning was written by Cliff Burton, James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich and Dave Mustaine, among 5 credited in total. Cliff Burton wrote 4 of them.

Credits

Produced by
Flemming RasmussenMark WhitakerMetallica
Written by
Cliff BurtonJames HetfieldLars UlrichDave MustaineKirk Hammett
Engineered by
Flemming Rasmussen
Played by
James HetfieldLars UlrichCliff BurtonKirk Hammett
Vocals by
James Hetfield

Lineage

15 connections

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  • Angel of DeathAngel WitchinterpolatesFor Whom the Bell Tolls

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