Ride the Lightning is the second studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica, released on July 27, 1984, by the independent record label Megaforce Records. The album was recorded in three weeks with producer Flemming Rasmussen at Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen, Denmark. The artwork, based on a concept by the band, depicts an electric chair being struck by lightning flowing from the band logo. The title was taken from a passage in Stephen King's novel The Stand, in which a character uses the phrase to refer to execution by electric chair.
Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrumentals, and aggressive musicianship made them one of the founding "big four" bands of thrash metal, alongside Megadeth, Anthrax, and Slayer. Metallica's current lineup comprises founding members and primary songwriters Hetfield and Ulrich, longtime lead guitarist Kirk Hammett, and bassist Robert Trujillo. Guitarist Dave Mustaine, who formed Megadeth after being fired from Metallica, and bassists Ron McGovney, Cliff Burton, and Jason Newsted are former members of the band.
Thrash metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo. The songs usually use fast percussive beats and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead guitar work. The lyrical subject matter often includes criticism of The Establishment, opposition to armed conflicts, and at times shares a disdain for the Christian religion with that of black metal. The language is typically direct and denunciatory, an approach borrowed from hardcore punk.
Kill 'Em All is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica, released on July 25, 1983, through the independent label Megaforce Records. Metallica began by playing shows in local clubs in Los Angeles. They recorded several demos to gain attention from club owners and eventually relocated to San Francisco to secure the services of bassist Cliff Burton. The group's No Life 'til Leather demo tape (1982) was noticed by Megaforce label head Jon Zazula, who signed them and provided a budget of $15,000 for recording. The album was recorded in May with producer Paul Curcio at the Music America Studios in Rochester, New York. It was originally intended to be titled Metal Up Your Ass, with cover art featuring a hand clutching a dagger emerging from a toilet bowl. Zazula convinced the band to change the name because distributors feared that releasing an album with such an offensive title and artwork would diminish its chances of commercial success.
Roberto Agustín Miguel Santiago Samuel Trujillo Veracruz is an American musician who is the bassist for heavy metal band Metallica. He first rose to prominence as the bassist of crossover thrash band Suicidal Tendencies from 1989 to 1995, while also collaborating with Suicidal Tendencies frontman Mike Muir for funk metal supergroup Infectious Grooves. After leaving Suicidal Tendencies, he performed with Ozzy Osbourne, Jerry Cantrell, and heavy metal band Black Label Society. Trujillo joined Metallica in 2003 and is the band's longest-serving bassist. He was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Metallica in 2009.
Discharge are an English hardcore punk band formed in 1977 in Stoke-on-Trent, England. The band is known for influencing several sub-genres of extreme music and their songs have been covered by some of the biggest names in heavy metal and other genres. The musical sub-genre of D-beat is named after Discharge and the band's distinctive drumbeat.
"Stone Cold Crazy" is a song written and performed by British rock band Queen for their 1974 album Sheer Heart Attack. The song is the eighth track on the album. Although the song was not released as a single at the time, it was performed live at almost every Queen concert from 1974 to 1978. "Stone Cold Crazy" is included on the band's 1992 compilation album, Classic Queen.
Raven are an English heavy metal band, formed in 1974 by the Gallagher brothers, bassist and vocalist John and guitarist Mark. They have released fifteen studio albums to date, and had a hit with the single "On and On". Often referred to as "athletic rock", the band gained notoriety as part of the early-to-mid 1980s new wave of British heavy metal scene and is considered to be an influence and inspiration on the development of the thrash metal genre, including "the big four", as well as other bands such as Testament, Exodus, Overkill, Kreator, Destruction, Sodom, Onslaught, Death Angel, Flotsam and Jetsam, Coroner, Annihilator, and Razor. Raven are also notable for headlining Metallica's first-ever national tour in 1983.
Epidemic was an American death/thrash metal band which was part of the Bay Area thrash scene.
Mortal Sin were an Australian thrash metal band that formed in 1985 and existed over three distinct periods until 2012. The band released five albums and were the first Australian thrash metal band to tour internationally. According to Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, they were one of "two leading lights... [of] a small, but fervent underground thrash/speed metal scene."
"Over the Mountain" is the opening track of heavy metal musician Ozzy Osbourne's album Diary of a Madman. The song debuted at number 42 on the Billboard Top Tracks chart and reached number 38. The song was written by Osbourne, Bob Daisley, Lee Kerslake and Randy Rhoads. The song was later included on the Ozzy Osbourne compilation albums, The Ozzman Cometh on 11 November 1997, The Essential Ozzy Osbourne on 11 February 2003 and Prince of Darkness on 22 March 2005.
Brazilian thrash metal is a musical movement that originated in the 1980s. Though not as large or well known as the North American or European thrash metal movements, it bridged the gap of the mid-1980s and the death metal scene later in the decade and the first-wave of black metal. Although some bands have become mainstream, the scene is an underground icon.
Cromok is a Malaysian rock band. They are known to be the pioneers of Malaysian thrash metal music. Formed in 1987, original and current members consists of Shamsudin "Sam" Ali, Khairul Anuar "Karl" Shariff (guitarist), and Tarmizi "Miji" Mokhtar (drummer). The band best known for their songs "Misty", "Another You", "I Don't Belong Here" and has released 8 studio albums to date. Fans of Cromok were dubbed as 'Cromers'.
Australian heavy metal music has its roots in both the Australian hard rock and pub rock tradition of the 1970s and the American and British heavy metal scenes. Since the mid-1980s, Australian heavy metal has been particularly influenced by foreign bands, particularly Swedish death metal, American thrash metal and black metal from Norway. Within Australia heavy metal has always remained part of the underground but since the mid-1990s many Australian metal acts have found widespread acceptance in overseas markets, particularly in Europe.
Australian thrash metal is a regional scene of thrash metal music that originated during the late 1980s.
Brain Dead is a Malaysian heavy metal band, which originated from Taiping, Perak, Malaysia, and formed in 1988. Brain Dead consists of Ein, Malek, Hashim dan Lan "Bye".
Kahvas Jute were an Australian rock band formed in July 1970. Mainstay of the line-up was Dennis Wilson on guitar and vocals. Other founder members include Bob Daisley on bass guitar and Tim Gaze on lead guitar and vocals. Their debut album, Wide Open was released in January 1971. The group supported Bo Diddley on his second tour of Australia in October 1973. Australian rock music historian, Ian McFarlane, described their style as 'expansive and free flowing, strong on rhythm and melody and bristling with exceptional guitar work' . Kahvas Jute did a reunion gig in 1991 and in 1993, their album Wide Open was re-released on CD again. In 2005, they played a reunion show at The Basement in Sydney which was recorded and filmed. A DVD and album pack entitled Then Again: Live at the Basement was issued in 2006.
Ironchrist is an American crossover/thrash metal band founded in 1986 from the demise of the punk rock band Spastic Rats. Along with label mates Indestroy, Ironchrist was one of the biggest metal bands of the late 80s to early 90s in the mid-Atlantic region and considered a pioneer of the punk/metal crossover movement. After touring and recording for several years, Ironchrist disbanded in 1993 and members moved on to pursue other musical and artistic interests. In 2012, Divebomb/Tribunal Records Records re-released Ironchrist's entire discography in a deluxe edition, available as both CD and MP3 download.
Thrash Speed Burn is the tenth studio album by Canadian speed metal band Exciter, released in 2008. It marks the debut of new singer Kenny "Metal Mouth" Winter, who joined the band in October 2006. The album had previously been set to release on November 9 but was pushed back to February 22, 2008, by their label Massacre Records. Before its release, the band posted a live clip of their new song "In Mortal Fear", recorded during the group's 2005 appearance at the Bang Your Head!!! festival in Balingen, Germany. The album was released under their label Massacre Records in Germany and by Blistering Records in Sweden.
