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Ride the Lightning is the second album of American thrash metal band Metallica. He was released on July 27, 1984 at Megaforce Records and Music for Nations. He was released at Elektra Records on November 19, 1984 after the band signed with Elektra Records in September 1984. Ride the Lightning was sold to more than six million copies in the United States alone and was credited seven times platinum.
Ride the Lightning is considered one of the thrash metal classics and a musical transition between the beginnings of Metallica, Kill 'em All and Master of Puppets, more melodic and progressive>. Musically, the band has expanded their style of arrangements more varied and more complex and it is, today still, a very sophisticated disc, as well on the musical level as on the level of the lyrics.
The band started working on their second album in autumn 1983>. Unlike the previous album, bassist Cliff Burton participates for the first time in writing songs (those of Kill 'Em All having been written before his arrival in the group in January 1983). Burton's classical musical knowledge and jazz had a great impact on the music of Ride the Lightning, which is melodic and technically more developed than the previous album.
