Album · Metallica
Ride the Lightning by Metallica
Ride the Lightning is an album by Metallica, released in 1984. 6 songs from it have charted on rock radio countdowns, with 106 countdown appearances in total. The biggest is “Fade to Black”, on 50 lists with a best position of #14.
Ride the Lightning, Metallica's second album, came out on the independent Megaforce label on July 27, 1984, and it's where thrash grew a brain without losing its teeth. They cut it in three weeks with Flemming Rasmussen at Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen, on Music for Nations' dime because Megaforce couldn't pay. The title comes from Stephen King's The Stand, where it means death in the electric chair, and that's the cover: a chair struck by lightning pouring out of the band's logo.
Cliff Burton had been teaching the others some music theory, and it shows. Next to the breakneck speed of Kill 'Em All, there are acoustic guitars, long instrumental stretches and richer harmonies, and "Fade to Black" and "For Whom the Bell Tolls" move with a new weight. It's Kirk Hammett's first album as a writer and the last with songs from Dave Mustaine. Elektra signed the band two months after release, and with virtually no radio it went on to ship six million copies in the US.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs from Ride the Lightning on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fade to Black | 50 | #14 | – | 1990–2026 | |
| 2 | For Whom The Bell Tolls | 41 | #3 | – | 1990–2026 | |
| 3 | Creeping Death | 8 | #27 | – | 1990–2025 | |
| 4 | Ride the Lightning | 4 | #8 | – | 1990–2025 | |
| 5 | Trapped Under Ice | 2 | #573 | – | 1990–2002 | |
| 6 | Fight Fire With Fire | 1 | #465 | – | 2024 |
Only songs that appear on at least one countdown are listed. Release data from MusicBrainz.