After more than four decades, Metallica are sounding better than ever! The Four Horsemen brought the thunder big time with a masterful performance of the ‘80s classic “Ride the Lightning” in Mexico City on September 22, 2024. Kirk Hammett crushed the punishing, two-minute guitar solo in the metal anthem, and the 61-year-old made the lightning-fast runs look easy!
The man of metal James Hetfield was also firing on all cylinders, bringing the biffo big time on vocals and rhythm guitar on the heavy metal classic. The 61-year-old frontman put in a beastly vocal performance, switching up between melodic lines and brutal growls. The Music Man readers will know Hetfield is one of the greatest frontmen of all time, and this performance is a great reminder as to why!
Metallica really look after their fans by regularly uploading high-definition captures of their live shows on YouTube, and the mixes always sound massive. Fans enjoyed the show, adding comments such as “Sound quality is killer in this video. Metallica is the best live sounding band of all time!” and “Every video I have ever seen with Metallica in Mexico City has incredible energy. That crowd is epic.”
Metallica treated their fans to uploads of eight songs from their 2024 Mexico City dates. Another popular upload from Mexico City shows the boys playing the melodic number “Fade to Black,” which is also off their 1984 album Ride the Lightning. This version of the song is notable for featuring a beautiful bass melody in the intro from Robert Trujillo, which is not present on the studio version.
Metallica released their second studio album, Ride the Lightning, on July 27, 1984. The album is a deadset heavy metal classic and features many of their most loved songs, such as “Ride the Lightning,” “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” “Fade to Black,” and “Creeping Death.” Several of these songs have become setlist staples for the band in their legendary live shows. Ride the Lightning found Metallica expanding their sound from the more straight-ahead thrash metal of their 1983 debut album. Ride the Lightning is the first Metallica album to feature multiple songwriting credits from bassist Cliff Burton and lead guitarist Kirk Hammett. This, along with contributions from frontman James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, produced an album with more melodic sensibilities and a willingness to experiment with different sounds, such as the power ballad “Fade to Black” and melodic instrumental “The Call of Ktulu.”