Metallica

From the Source

Ride The Lightning, Metallica's follow-up to Kill 'Em All, was a more polished, monumental affair than its predecessor. While the rapid-fire rhythms and James Hetfield's trademark shriek remained, the band had added much more complexity to their song-writing, creating a true metal classic in the process.

Centred around 'death', Ride The Lightning found Metallica exploring despair, pain, and horror with an intelligence that set them apart from mere metal heads. From the terror of drowning in 'Trapped Under Ice', the shock of the electric chair in the title track, and suicide in 'Fade To Black', the album revealed a band able to convey sensitivity without lightening up on the shredding guitars. And as well as showing how months of relentless gigging had allowed them to fine- tune their songwriting craft, Ride The Lightning was the album that helped to secure Metallica's first big label deal in the States.