Thrashcast Episode 74: Metallica's "Ride The Lightning" album from 1984
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Thrashcast is the place to find riveting discussions on classic thrash albums, news and reviews. Your hosts are three thrash loving maniacs who grew up during the golden age of the genre. Kenneth, Billy and Jim will get together weekly to bring you a deep dive on some of your favourite thrash records.
Show Notes:
Episode Seventy-Four: This week we delve deep into Metallica's sophomore epic Ride The Lightning. Released July 27th, 1984 on Megaforce Records and showcasing the band's musical growth. Bassist Cliff Burton was instrumental introducing the band into new ways to write music; including complex musical theory, as well as having a large input into the songs. The album had extended instrumentals and greater complex harmonies that wasn't heard on Kill'em All.
Ride The Lightning received wide acclaim from critics; proving the band was on to something big. Just two months after it was released, Elektra Records signed the band to a multi-year deal and reissued the album. Ride peaked at number 100 on the Billboard 200 with virtually no radio play, but managed to sell half a million copies by 1987. Eventually it was certified platinum six times over by the year of 2012.
Many of songs have gone on to become fan favourites in the live sets due to a greater emphasis on the lyrics and sing a-long choruses. Frontman James Hetfield became more sensitive about his lyrical ideas that covered such topics as capitol punishment, suicide, nuclear devastation, biblical prophecy and homages to both H.P. Lovecraft and Ernest Hemingway, Ride The Lightning become an important cornerstone of the thrash metal genre and it paved the way for greater success for the band over the next several years.
Fun fact: The album's title was taken from a line in Stephen King's The Stand when a charater on death row was quoted as saying he would be riding the lightning. Guitarist Kirk Hammet was a huge horror fan and was reading King's The Stand at the time.
Kenneth Gallant, HMS
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