Metallica: The Essential Album-by-Album Guide

RIDE THE LIGHTNING (1984)
Key Tracks: "Fade to Black," "The Call of Ktulu"
Quick Take: Ride the Lightning was a titanic step forward, codifying a format for the following two records: blitzkrieg opener, epic title track, spooky death march, slow-building ballad, three or four more thrashers, and an instrumental. Lightning took on capital punishment (the title track), mutually assured destruction ("Fight Fire With Fire"), suicide ("Fade to Black"), and, ahem, the book of Exodus ("Creeping Death").