You’d be hard-pressed to find Metallica songs that hit harder than the four that open Ride the Lightning. If you were there in July of ’84, you remember where you were the first time you gazed at the album’s cover, which depicts an electric chair in the middle of a midnight thunderstorm.
Based on that grim imagery, it’s expected that themes of death and destruction would run rampant throughout Ride the Lightning. But this was a thrash metal album, and the rage nestled up against sociopolitical commentary. Despite Metallica’s inherent youth, Ride the Lightning found success tackling tricky subjects… and chugging riffs and hair-raising solos.
