Today: Celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Metallica’s Ride the Lightning with MetalSucks!

Kill ‘Em All is a fantastic record — no metal fan in his or her right mind would dispute that — but, inarguably, it was Ride the Lightning which started Metallica down the path to becoming METALLICA, one of the most, if not the most, popular, influential, and successful metal bands of all time. It was the first Metallica album to ease the listener in via a soft opening, the first Metallica album to have fans crying “SELL OUTS!” (thanks, “Fade to Black”!), the last Metallica album to feature material written by Dave Mustaine, and one of only three albums the band would get to create with Cliff Burton. It’s sold six million copies to date and inspired countless kids to learn to play an instrument and devote their lives to this thing we call “metal.” Calling it “legendary” undersells it somewhat.

Today, on the thirtieth anniversary of Ride the Lightning‘s release, the staff of MetalSucks will celebrate the album via a track-by-track retrospective, which will be published throughout the course of the day. We hope you enjoy revisiting this classic as much as we have… and we hope you feel inspired to play Ride the Lightning AS LOUDLY AS POSSIBLE at least once today!

Metal Up Your Ass,
Everyone at MetalSucks