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 the 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. Although rooted in the thrash metal genre, the album showcased the band's musical growth and lyrical sophistication. This was partly because bassist Cliff Burton introduced the basics of music theory to the rest of the band and had more input in the songwriting. Instead of relying strictly on fast tempos as on its debut Kill 'Em All, Metallica broadened its approach by employing acoustic guitars, extended instrumentals, and more complex harmonies. The overall recording costs were paid by Metallica's European label Music for Nations because Megaforce was unable to cover it. It was the last album to feature songwriting contributions from former lead guitarist Dave Mustaine, and the first to feature contributions from his replacement, Kirk Hammett.
Metallica is the fifth studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica. Released on August 12, 1991 by Elektra Records, it received widespread critical acclaim and became the band's best-selling album. Metallica produced five singles that are considered to be among the band's best-known songs, which include "Enter Sandman", "The Unforgiven", "Nothing Else Matters", "Wherever I May Roam", and "Sad but True". A sixth song, "Don't Tread on Me", was also issued to rock radio shortly after the album's release, but the song did not receive a commercial single release. The album marked a change in the band's sound from the thrash metal style of the previous four albums to a slower and heavier one rooted in heavy metal. Metallica promoted the album with a series of tours. In 2003, the album was ranked number 255 on Rolling Stone's 500 greatest albums of all time.
Bathory were an extreme metal group formed in Vällingby, Sweden, in 1983 named after Hungarian countess Elizabeth Báthory. The band's frontman and main songwriter was Quorthon. Considered to be one of the most influential acts in heavy metal, Bathory's first four albums are considered to be "the blueprint for Scandinavian black metal". The band departed from this style on their fifth album, Hammerheart (1990), which is often cited as the first Viking metal album. Bathory continued in the Viking metal style throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, although the band experimented with thrash metal on the albums Requiem (1994) and Octagon (1995). Bathory ended when Quorthon died from heart failure in 2004.
Clifford Lee Burton was an American musician and songwriter, best known as the bass guitarist for the American band Metallica from December 1982 until his death in September 1986.
James Alan Hetfield is an American musician, singer, and songwriter known for being the co-founder, lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and main songwriter for the American heavy metal band Metallica. Hetfield is mainly known for his intricate rhythm playing, but occasionally performs lead guitar duties and solos, both live and in the studio. Hetfield co-founded Metallica in October 1981 after answering a classified advertisement by drummer Lars Ulrich in the Los Angeles newspaper The Recycler. Metallica has won nine Grammy Awards and released ten studio albums, three live albums, four extended plays and 24 singles.
Robert Trujillo, is an American musician and songwriter. He has been the bassist of the American heavy metal band Metallica since 2003. He was also a member of crossover thrash band Suicidal Tendencies, funk metal supergroup Infectious Grooves, heavy metal band Black Label Society, and has worked with Jerry Cantrell and Ozzy Osbourne.
"Whiplash" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released as the first single from their debut album, Kill 'Em All. The song has been covered a number of times, most notably by Motörhead whose version won a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance.
"Master of Puppets" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica, released in July 2, 1986 as the only single from the band's 1986 studio album of the same name. It was also issued as a promo single in the US by Elektra Records.
Nifelheim is a Swedish black metal band. The band was formed in 1990 by the twin brothers Erik and Per Gustavsson, under the stage names Tyrant and Hellbutcher and is known for their "old school" style of black metal.
Mendeed was a Scottish metalcore band formed in Dumbarton, Scotland in 2000 and disbanded in 2007.
"Eye of the Beholder" is a song by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released as the second single from their fourth studio album, ...And Justice for All released on October 30, 1988.
Sound Farm Studio & Recording Environment was a 6,000-square-foot (560 m2) full-service recording studio and production facility with an attached residence located in Jamaica, Iowa built in 2003. Matthew Sepanic, owner, producer and engineer; worked on projects by Slipknot (All Hope is Gone, Iowa, Murderdolls, and Stone Sour amongst others. He also co-produced and engineered The Envy Corps's debut album Dwell which was released in 2008 on Mercury Records/Vertigo Records. The band recorded and resided at Sound Farm in late 2006 and early 2007.
Metallic Attack: The Ultimate Tribute is a tribute album to thrash metal band Metallica. Motörhead's cover of "Whiplash" from this album won a Grammy for "Best Metal Performance" in 2005. The album contains covers of songs from Metallica's first 5 studio albums.
"Seek & Destroy" is a song by the American heavy metal band Metallica and ninth track from their debut studio album, Kill 'Em All. It was also featured on the demo No Life 'til Leather. It was the first song the band recorded in a studio. "Seek & Destroy" has been frequently performed at the group's concerts since its live debut in 1982 and had been Metallica's closing song from the Madly in Anger with the World Tour to the Metallica By Request Tour. It is the second-most performed song in the band's history, having been played 1,491 times as of November 2017, ahead of "Creeping Death" (1,461), but behind only "Master of Puppets" (1,561).
Hardwired... to Self-Destruct is the tenth studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica, released as a double album on November 18, 2016 by their vanity label Blackened Recordings. It is their first studio album in eight years following Death Magnetic (2008), marking the longest gap between two studio albums in the band's career. It is also their first studio album released through Blackened. Hardwired... to Self-Destruct was produced by Greg Fidelman, who engineered and mixed Death Magnetic.
Overload: A Tribute to Metallica Is a tribute album, released on August 18, 1998, and did by Metal bands such as Steel Prophet, and others. The album features 12 Metallica Covers performed in Power Metal form.
