Album was band’s sophomore effort
A test pressing of Metallica’s 1984 album Ride The Lightning has sold for $5,000 on Discogs. The release tops their Top 30 Most Expensive Records List from August, and could be out sold by another listing of it for $7k.
The vinyl is housed in a white sleeve with sticker featuring the band’s famous logo and the album’s title. Handwritten notes are written on the cover in blue marker. The test pressing was released by The Music Connection for Megaforce Records, which was their last album on the indie label before signing with Elektra.
Ride The Lightning is Metallica’s sophomore album and featured Lars Ulrich on drums, James Hetfield on vocals, Kirk Hammett on guitar and original bassist Cliff Burton. It’s the last album to credit original guitarist Dave Mustaine as a songwriter for its title track and “The Call Of Ktulu.”
Sessions for the album began in February 1984 at Sweet Silence Studios in Denmark, Copenhagen. The album was released in August of that year and featured “Creeping Death,” “Fade To Black” and “For Whom The Bell Tolls.” Less than two months after its release, the band signed with Elektra which reissued it in November.
Ride The Lightning has been certified 6x platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.
In 2016, the band reissued the album on CD, LP and as a deluxe numbered box set featuring four vinyl records, six CDs, one DVD, a deluxe book including unseen photos, a mini-book of lyrics handwritten by James Hetfield and a set of three posters.
The Beatles, David Bowie, Nirvana, ABBA, Pearl Jam, Pink Floyd and others are among the 30 high priced LPs and CDs ranging in price from $1,914-$5,000.
