Maps of Music

Ride the Lightning (1984)

Where the lyrics of Ride the Lightning take you, and where it was really made.

The band could not afford a hotel, so it slept in the recording studio by day and recorded at night.

Key places

Where the album was recorded (1984)

Recording site Sweet Silence Studios — The album was recorded in three weeks at Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen, Denmark, with producer Flemming Rasmussen, who also co-produced the record and founded the studio. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Ride the Lightning: second studio album by the American heavy metal band Metallica
• Released July 27, 1984 by the independent label Megaforce Records
• Recorded in three weeks with producer Flemming Rasmussen at Sweet Silence Studios, Copenhagen, Denmark
• Artwork shows an electric chair struck by lightning flowing from the band logo, based on a band concept
• Title taken from a passage in Stephen King's novel The Stand

Background

• Follows the debut Kill 'Em All, released July 25, 1983 on Megaforce
• Band had little money and often ate one meal a day during its earlier tour
• Recording began February 20, 1984 in Copenhagen
• Rasmussen co-produced the album and founded Sweet Silence Studios
• Drummer Lars Ulrich chose Rasmussen for his work on Rainbow's Difficult to Cure
• A Bronze Records deal was canceled; Music for Nations paid the studio costs
• Elektra Records signed Metallica on September 12, 1984

Recording

• Recording finished March 14, 1984
• Drums were recorded in an empty warehouse behind the studio, which was not soundproof
• Basic tracks were recorded live with rhythm guitar and drums; Hammett and Burton added parts later
• The studio was booked by other artists in the daytime, so the band recorded at night

Cover

• Artwork concept by the band, conceived before recording began
• Cover design by AD Artists

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich, later based in San Francisco for most of its career.
• Founded as one of the "big four" of thrash metal alongside Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer.

Members

• Current lineup: Hetfield, Ulrich, Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo.
• Former members include Ron McGovney, Cliff Burton, Jason Newsted and Dave Mustaine.

Career

• Commercial breakthrough with Master of Puppets (1986), often cited as one of the best metal albums of all time.
• The self-titled 1991 album moved the band toward a more mainstream audience and became its best-selling record.
• Returned to thrash roots with Death Magnetic (2008) and released 72 Seasons in 2023.
• Led the lawsuit against Napster in 2000.
• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009.
• Sold more than 163 million albums worldwide as of 2023.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Critics gave the album a highly positive response and saw it as more ambitious than its predecessor
• Q magazine said the album confirmed Metallica's status as the leading heavy metal band of the modern era
• Kerrang! said the album's maturity and musical intelligence helped Metallica expand heavy metal's boundaries
• Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune described it as a more refined extension of the group's debut

Reappraisal

• Sputnikmusic's Channing Freeman named it one of the few albums that can be charming and powerful at the same time
• AllMusic's Steve Huey called it an "all-time metal classic"
• The Rolling Stone Album Guide viewed it as a great step forward for the band
• Jason Anderson of Uncut considered it the second best Metallica album, reviewing the 2016 reissue
• IGN Music placed it fifth on its "Top 25 Metal Albums" list

Records

• Peaked at number 100 on the Billboard 200 with no radio exposure, later reaching number 48
• 75,000 copies initially pressed for the American market
• Sold half a million copies by November 1987
• Certified 6× platinum by the RIAA in 2012 for six million copies shipped in the United States
• Ranked 11th on Rolling Stone's list of "100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time" in 2017
• Remastered and reissued as an expanded box set in 2016

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The drums were recorded in an empty warehouse at the back of the studio, which was not soundproof and caused reverberation.
• The band members slept in the studio by day because they could not afford a hotel and the studio was booked by other artists during the daytime.
• Music for Nations paid the studio costs because Megaforce could not afford them, and Metallica was unhappy with Megaforce's lack of promotion.
• Dave Mustaine received writing credit on the title track and "The Call of Ktulu", the last Metallica album to feature his songwriting.
• "Escape" is Hetfield's most disliked Metallica song, as it was written under pressure from the record company to make something more radio friendly.
• The title "Creeping Death" was inspired by a scene from The Ten Commandments that the band watched at Burton's house.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Maps of Ages ↗ (mapsofages.com)

Privacy · Contact