Album
Ride the Lightning
Ride the Lightning is Metallica's second studio album, released on 27 July 1984. It was recorded in three weeks with producer Flemming Rasmussen at Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen. The title comes from a passage in Stephen King's The Stand, where it describes execution in the electric chair, and the sleeve shows exactly that, with lightning flowing from the band logo.
Still rooted in thrash, it moves well beyond the sheer speed of Kill 'Em All, bringing in acoustic guitars, longer instrumental stretches and richer harmonies. Bassist Cliff Burton introduced basic music theory to the band and had a bigger say in the writing. It is the last album with songwriting from Dave Mustaine and the first with Kirk Hammett's contributions. Elektra signed the band two months after release and reissued it, and critics have long counted it as a lasting influence on thrash metal.
Ride the Lightning on Riffology
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Ride the Lightning: tracklist, credits and charts
8 tracks · 47:29Tracklist
- 1Fight Fire With FireBurton, Hetfield, Ulrich4:45
- 2Ride the LightningBurton, Hetfield, Mustaine, Ulrich6:38
- 3For Whom the Bell TollsBurton, Hetfield, Ulrich5:12
- 4Fade to BlackBurton, Hammett, Hetfield, Ulrich6:55
- 5Trapped Under IceHammett, Hetfield, Ulrich4:05
- 6EscapeHammett, Hetfield, Ulrich4:24
- 7Creeping DeathBurton, Hammett, Hetfield, Ulrich6:37
- 8The Call of KtuluBurton, Hetfield, Mustaine, Ulrich8:55
- Produced by
- Metallica, Flemming Rasmussen, Mark Whitaker
- Recorded at
- Sweet Silence (Copenhagen)
- Recorded
- 20 February – 14 March 1984
- Mixed at
- Sweet Silence Studios
- Engineered by
- Flemming Rasmussen
- Label
- Elektra
- Length
- 47:29
Line-up
- Cliff Burton · electric bass guitar
- Kirk Hammett · electric guitar
- James Hetfield · electric guitar, lead vocals
- Lars Ulrich · drums (drum set)
Singles
- “Creeping Death” · 23 November 1984
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 · 1984–2023 | 48 |
| UK Albums Chart · 1984–2023 | 87 |
| Polish Albums · 1984–2023 | 4 |
| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) · 1984–2023 | 9 |
| US Top Rock Albums · 1984–2023 | 10 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) · 1984–2023 | 20 |
| German Albums · 1984–2023 | 21 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) · 1984–2023 | 31 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) · 1984–2023 | 32 |
| Canadian Metal Albums (Nielsen Soundscan) · 1984–2023 | 33 |
All 23 charts
| Portuguese Albums · 1984–2023 | 35 |
| Swiss Albums · 1984–2023 | 35 |
| Spanish Albums · 1984–2023 | 36 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1984–2023 | 38 |
| Hungarian Albums · 1984–2023 | 39 |
| Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) · 1984–2023 | 40 |
| Austrian Albums · 1984–2023 | 49 |
| Irish Albums (IRMA) · 1984–2023 | 55 |
| Italian Albums (FIMI) · 1984–2023 | 66 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 1984–2023 | 99 |
| Belgian Albums (Flanders) · 1984–2023 | 116 |
| French Albums (SNEP) · 1984–2023 | 126 |
| Belgian Albums (Wallonia) · 1984–2023 | 145 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Australia · 2024 | 3× Platinum |
| Canada · 1994 | Platinum |
| Denmark · 2017 | 2× Platinum |
| Germany · 2019 | Platinum |
| Italy · 2021 | Gold |
| Poland · 2021 | Platinum |
| United Kingdom · 2023 | Platinum |
| United States · 2025 | 7× Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
94.6
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
13k
ListenBrainz listeners
452k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
141k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 27 July
Every year →
More from Metallica
Full discography →
Kill ’Em All
1983
Master of Puppets
1986
The $5.98 E.P.: Garage Days Re‐Revisited
1987
Creeping Death / Jump in the Fire
1987
…And Justice for All
1988
1985-03-15: Kabuki Theater, San Francisco, CA, USA
1990
Metallica The Good the Bad & the Live: The 6½ Year Anniversary 12″ Collection 1990
The Good the Bad & the Live: The 6½ Year Anniversary 12″ Collection
1990
Metallica
1991
Live Shit: Binge & Purge
1993
Load
1996
Hero of the Day EP
1996
Reload
1997
Garage Inc.
1998
Cunning Stunts
1998
S&M
1999
St. Anger
2003
The Unnamed Feeling E.P.
2004
Some Kind of Monster
2004
Limited‐Edition Vinyl Box Set
2004
The Videos: 1989–2004
2006
Death Magnetic
2008
Orgullo, pasión, y gloria: Tres noches en La Ciudad de México
2009
Six Feet Down Under, Part II
2010
Melbourne Magnetic - November 18 2010
2010
Live at Grimey's
2010
Lulu
2011
Beyond Magnetic
2011
2011-12-07: The Fillmore, San Francisco, CA, USA
2011
Through the Never (Music From the Motion Picture)
2013
Hardwired… to Self‐Destruct
2016
S&M2
2020
Leftovers From the Black Album Box Set
2023
72 Seasons
2023
The best of 1984
All of 1984 →
Powerslave
Iron Maiden · 1984
The Works
Queen · 1984
Iron Maiden Christmas EP 1984
Christmas EP
Iron Maiden · 1984
Fistful of Metal
Anthrax · 1984
’74 Jailbreak
AC/DC · 1984
Projects in the Jungle
Pantera · 1984
The Warning
Queensrÿche · 1984
Live Undead / Haunting the Chapel
Slayer · 1984
Live Undead
Slayer · 1984
Haunting the Chapel
Slayer · 1984
No Remorse
Motörhead · 1984
Prince of Darkness
Ozzy Osbourne · 1984
More on Elektra
The label →Kill ’Em All
Metallica · 1983
News of the World
Queen · 1977
The Game
Queen · 1980
Sheer Heart Attack
Queen · 1974
Jazz
Queen · 1978
A Day at the Races
Queen · 1976
Stiff Upper Lip
AC/DC · 2000
Reinventing the Steel
Pantera · 2000
Greatest Hits
Queen · 1981
Flash Gordon
Queen · 1980
Sound of White Noise
Anthrax · 1993
The Nothing
Korn · 2019
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + wikidata; also seen: 1984-11-19 (musicbrainz)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 19 November 1984 | ignored lone early release dated 1984-07-27 |
| Wikipedia infobox | 27 July 1984 | |
| Wikidata | 27 July 1984 | |
| US release | 27 July 1984 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 1984 | earliest UK or European date |
59 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | XW | Blackened | 00602547914590 | remaster |
| — | XE | Vertigo | 042283814028 | other |
| — | US | Elektra | 075596039628 | other |
| — | FR | Phonogram | 042283814028 | other |
| 1984 | US | Elektra | 075596039642 | other |
| 1984 | XE | Roadrunner Records | other | |
| 1984 | FR | Music for Nations | other | |
| July 1984 | FR | Music for Nations | 5016583102715 | other |
| 27 July 1984 | US | Megaforce Records | original | |
| November 1984 | GB | Music for Nations | other | |
| 19 November 1984 | US | Elektra | 075596039611 | other |
| 21 December 1984 | JP | NEXUS | other | |
| 1986 | XE | Music for Nations | other | |
| 1986 | GB | Music for Nations | 5016583102708 | other |
| 1987 | GB | Music for Nations | 5016583102739 | other |
| 1987 | US | Elektra | 075596039628 | other |
| 1987 | CA | Elektra | 075596039628 | other |
| 21 November 1988 | JP | CBS/Sony | 4988009629155 | other |
| 1989 | IL | Vertigo | 042283814028 | other |
| 1989 | DE | Vertigo | 042283814028 | other |
| 1989 | GB | Vertigo | 042283814028 | other |
| 1989 | AU | Vertigo | 042283814028 | other |
| 1989 | MX | Metallica Inc. | 7509967211779 | other |
| 1989 | AU | Vertigo | 042283814028 | other |
| 1989 | AR | Vertigo | other | |
| 1989 | XE | Vertigo | 042283814028 | other |
| 1989 | MX | Vertigo | 042283814028 | other |
| 1989 | XE | Vertigo | 042283814028 | other |
| 1989 | XE | Vertigo | 042283814042 | other |
| November 1989 | ES | Vertigo | 042283814011 | other |
| 13 November 1989 | GB | Vertigo | 042283814011 | other |
| 1990 | US | Elektra | 075596039628 | other |
| 1995 | CA | Elektra | 075596039628 | other |
| 1995 | US | Elektra | 075596039628 | other |
| 1998 | US | Elektra | 075596039628 | other |
| 22 February 2000 | US | DCC Compact Classics | 010963113624 | other |
| 6 November 2003 | JP | Sony Music Japan International Inc. | 4547366012934 | other |
| 2006 | KR | Vertigo | 8808678200898 | other |
| 25 July 2006 | CA | — | other | |
| 9 August 2006 | JP | Vertigo | 4988005440020 | other |
| 2008 | KR | Vertigo | 8808678237801 | other |
| 15 April 2008 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 093624988267 | other |
| 22 September 2010 | JP | Vertigo | 4988005628633 | remaster |
| 2 November 2011 | JP | Universal International | 4988005690654 | other |
| 2013 | US | Blackened | 856115004484 | other |
| 2016 | CA | Blackened | 093624986584 | remaster |
| 2016 | XE | Blackened | 602547885241 | other |
| 15 April 2016 | US | Blackened | deluxe | |
| 15 April 2016 | US | Blackened | 858978005141 | remaster |
| 15 April 2016 | XW | Blackened | 602547914828 | remaster |
| 15 April 2016 | JP | — | 602547914583 | remaster |
| 15 April 2016 | JP | — | 602547914590 | remaster |
| 15 April 2016 | XE | Blackened | 602547885227 | remaster |
| 15 April 2016 | US | Blackened | 858978005141 | other |
| 15 April 2016 | US | Blackened | remaster | |
| 15 April 2016 | US | Blackened | 858978005066 | deluxe |
| 13 April 2018 | JP | Blackened | 4988031272602 | other |
| 13 March 2020 | US | Blackened | 850007452100 | other |
| 2022 | US | Blackened | 858978005059 | other |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · native: native 1500x1500
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 1500×1500 | native: native 1500x1500 |
| itunes | 1425×1425 | upscaled |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |