Released on 27 July 1984, "Ride The Lightning" was the second studio album by American band Metallica, recorded in just three weeks under the production of Flemming Rasmussen, the name of the album was taken from a passage in Stephen King's novel The Stand, in which a character uses the phrase to refer to execution by electric chair. The album spawned the single "Creeping Death".
Showcasing the band's musical growth and lyrical sophistication, the bassist Cliff Burton introduced the basics of music theory to the band and had more input in the songwriting, separated from the fast tempos of its debut Kill 'Em All,
Metallica broadened its approach by employing acoustic guitars,
extended instrumentals, and more complex harmonies.
Peaked at No. 1000 on the Billboard 200 and by November 1987, the album sold half a million of copies. The album released originally on the label Megaforce, and helped to establish trash and heavy metal subgenre defined by its brisk riffs and intense production, the band began composing new music after their promotional tour, although at the time had little money and James Hetfield felt uneasy to perform double duty on vocals and rhythm guitar, gradually built confidence as a lead vocalist and kept his original role, so the band started recording on 1984 in Copenhagen, Denmakr under the production of Flemming Rasmussen.
Four tracks were already arranged, and others such as "For Whom The Bell Tolls", "Trapped Under Ice", and "Escape" were written mostly in Copenhagen,
and the band put finishing touches on "Fight Fire with Fire", "Ride the
Lightning", "Creeping Death", and "The Call of Ktulu". Innitially the band had difficulty recording because gear was stolen three weeks before the band arrived in Copenhagen, so the band slept in the studio by day as they could not afford a hotel and recorded by night because the studio was booked by other artists during the daytime and also because the group was looking for a major
label deal, several A&R representatives from different labels visited the studio. At first, it seemed that Metallica was going to sign with Bronze Records, but the deal was canceled, because Bronze executive Gerry Bron did not appreciate the work done at Sweet Silence Studios, and wanted the US edition to be remixed by engineer Eddie Kramer,
and even considered re-recording the album in another studio.
The band had to record quickly because of European shows
scheduled 29 days after entering the studio. Recording finished on March
14, and Megaforce released the album on July 27. Although the original album budget was $20,000, the final expense was above US$30,000 (equivalent to $91,774 in 2023). Metallica's European label Music for Nations paid the studio costs because Megaforce owner Jon Zazula could not afford them. Metallica was unhappy with the lack of promotion by Megaforce, and decided to part ways with Zazula. Major label Elektra Records
A&R executive Michael Alago noticed Metallica at The Stone gig in
San Francisco, and invited Elektra's chairman and the head of promotion
to see the August show in New York. The performance at Roseland Ballroom, with Anthrax and Metallica opening for Raven, pleased the Elektra staff, and the band was offered a contract the following morning.
The album exhibits greater musical maturity, with sonically broader songs than its predeccesor which was noted for its one-dimensional sound. This development is partially because of bassist Cliff Burton's
knowledge of music theory. He showed Hetfield how to augment core notes
with complementary counter-melodies and how basic guitar harmony works,
which reflected on the song compositions. Hetfield developed more socially aware lyrics, as well as ominous and semi-philosophical references.Ulrich explained that Metallica opted not to rely strictly on fast
tempos as on the previous album, but to explore other musical approaches
that sounded powerful and heavy.
Opened with the major-key acoustic introduction "Fight Fire With Fire" displaying and huge evolution towards more harmonically complex style of songwriting, a tremolo-picked riffs in the verses and chorus and extended solo at the end, to cover a song about a nuclear annihilation, "Ride The Lightning" has a suiting for morbid lyrics, emphasized the misery of the criminal justice system from the perpective of a death row inmate anticipating execution by the electric chair, "From Whom The Bell Tolls" begins with a bell tolling followinf by a marching riff and high bass melody, inspired by Ernest Hemingway 1940's novel on the same name explores the horror and dishonor of modern warfare, "Fade To Black" is a power ballad with lyrics about suicide, written by Hetfield in a time in wich he felt powerless after the band's equipment was stolen, with an acoustic introduction then the song becomes heavier and feaster ending with multi-layered guitar solos, "Trapped Under Ice" is about a person who wakes from a cryonic
state, realizing there is nowhere to go, and no-one will come to the
rescue, the person helplessly awaits impending doom. The song is built
on a fast-picked galloping riff, reminiscent of the album's opener, "Escape"
was originally titled "The Hammer" and was intended to be released as a
single due to its lighter riffs and conventional song structure. The
intro features a counterpoint bass melody and a chugging guitar riff
that resolves into a standard down-picked riff, according to Heltfield this is his most disliked Metallica song, due to it being
the result of the record company forcing Metallica to write something
more radio friendly, then "Creeping Death" describes the Plague of the Death of the Firstborn (Exodus 12:29). The lyrics deal with the ten plagues visited on Ancient Egypt; four of them are mentioned throughout the song, as well as the Passover. The title was inspired by a scene from The Ten Commandments while the band was watching the movie at Burton's house and finally "The Call of Ktulu", tentatively titled "When Hell Freezes Over", was inspired by H. P. Lovecraft's book The Shadow over Innsmouth, which was introduced to the rest of the band by Burton. The title was taken from one of Lovecraft's key stories featuring Cthulhu, The Call of Cthulhu,
although the original name was modified to "Ktulu" for easier
pronunciation. The track begins with a D minor chord progression in the
intro, written by Mustaine
The album received a widespread acclaim from music critics, confirmed the band's status as the leading heavy metal and of the modern era, focusing on the album's maturity and musical intelligence that eventually helped Metallica to expand the genre boundaries, a charming and powerful sound at the same time due the band`s rich musical imagination and lyrics that avoided heavy metal cliches.
Ride The Lightning Track List:
1. Fight Fire With Fire
2. Ride The Lightning
3. For Whom The Bell Tolls
4. Fade To Black
5. Trapped Under Ice
6. Escape
7. Crepping Death
8. The Call Of Ktulu
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