The first metal album to take the art form to both uncompromising extremes while retaining an accessible tunefulness, Metallica’s breakout Ride the Lightning elevated heaviness to previously unforeseen heights and established the group as visionaries. Exploring death and mortality from myriad points of view – nuclear war on “Fight Fire with Fire,” on-field battle on “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” electric-chair execution on the title track, drowning on “Trapped Under Ice”, suicide on the classic “Fade to Black” – the 1984 thrash masterwork retains a level of intelligence and mature perspective that compliment the band’s refined assault and toughened hooks. Rapid-fire guitar riffs, roaring solos, James Hetfield’s trademark vocal growl, drummer Lars Ulrich’s sparse fills, and Cliff Burton’s lead-guitar-style bass lines form an impenetrable wall of sound, power, and strength. Ride the Lightning has never felt bigger – or better – than on this remastered 180g vinyl LP. Order from Music Direct today!

Ranked #4 in metal expert Martin Popoff’s The Top 500 Heavy Metal Albums of All Time, Ride the Lightning showed that metal could be aggressive, energetic, fast or slow, melodic, and inarguably artistic at once. As he writes: “Whether bludgeoningly fast, mountain-movingly slow, or two speeds at opposite ends of mid-velocity’s sweet spot, Metallica were well beyond the dependent, one-dimensional riff-centricity of Kill ‘Em All, crafting anthems that lesser-banged heads could potentially love, or at least untangle.” It has since sold more than 6 million copies in the U.S. alone and remains a musical touchstone.