Megadeth release the title of the bonus track off of their last album

We’ve all heard rumors, and frankly I didn’t believe them, but it seems they were correct: the last track off of Megadeth‘s self-titled album will be their version of “Ride the Lightning“, originally by Metallica.

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The independent record company Megaforce Records released the “Ride the Lightning” album by American heavy metal band Metallica on July 27, 1984. Flemming Rasmussen, the album’s producer, worked with the band for three weeks at Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen, Denmark. The band came up with the idea for the artwork, which shows lightning striking an electric chair and emanating from the band’s emblem. In Stephen King’s novel “The Stand”, the title was lifted from a scene where a character refers to being executed by electric chair.

The album demonstrated the band’s musical development and lyrical depth despite having a thrash metal foundation. Cliff Burton, the bassist, contributed more to the songwriting and taught the band the fundamentals of music theory. By using acoustic guitars, lengthy instrumentals, and more intricate harmonies, Metallica expanded their approach beyond the breakneck tempos of their debut album “Kill ‘Em All”. Megaforce was unable to afford the entire cost of recording, so Metallica‘s European label Music for Nations covered it. It is the first album to have songwriting contributions from Kirk Hammett, the band’s successor, and the final one to feature songwriting efforts from previous lead guitarist Dave Mustaine.

Metallica‘s “Ride the Lightning” is their first song to highlight the suffering of the criminal justice system. The lyrics are written from the viewpoint of a death row inmate who is about to be put to death in an electric chair. One of the two tracks on the album that Mustaine is credited with, the song starts off at a midtempo and progressively picks up speed as it goes along. Mustaine’s initial composition of one of the riffs was made simpler. Hammett’s soloing is the focal point of the instrumental middle part. “Guilty as charged/But damn it/It ain’t right” is the opening line of the song, which Hetfield claims tells the story of a guy who is put to death for a crime he did not commit rather than criticizing the death penalty.