10 Bands Who Released Genre Defining Second Albums

In 1983, Metallica released their debut album Kill Em All, which was a rough around the edges prototype for the fresh emerging metal style that was being born on the west coast of America; a sound heavily influenced by the New Wave of British Heavy Metal style from the likes of Iron Maiden, but with added speed and aggression.

But it would be with their follow-up record Ride The Lightning, released just one year later in 1984, that Metallica would create one of the all time classic examples of what would become known as thrash metal, and which still holds up today as one of the finest records in the genre. This was when Metallica shook off the teenage rust they had on Kill Em All, and where their songwriting significantly matured. Tracks such as For Whom The Bell Tolls and Creeping Death are still staples of the mammoth metal band’s live sets, and Fight Fire With Fire may just be the most intense opening on any metal record from the era.

They also showed another side of their songwriting evolution with the acoustically written Fade To Black, which progresses to be one of their deepest and most emotional songs. Ride The Lightening has sold over 5 million copies and was the penultimate Metallica record to feature key songwriter and bassist Cliff Burton, before he tragically died in a tour bus crash during the cycle of their following album, Master of Puppets.