Metallica Rides the Lightning Again to Host Record Store Day

The thrash metal titans host the annual celebration of vinyl and indie record stores.

Metallica
ESPN

Vinyl may be something that HBO execs never want to be mentioned, but today it’s flying off the shelves at indie record stores nationwide for the ninth annual Record Store Day. It’s a holiday to remember what it was like to comb through piles of albums for something interesting and new before the music industry started shrinking in on itself.

This year’s Record Store Day hosts: Metallica, whose crusade in the name of physical music has been long and sometimes controversial, (Napster, anyone?)

Metallica is offering remastered versions of their first two albums, “Kill ‘Em All” and “Ride the Lightning,” as well as a live album featuring nine songs performed at the Bataclan in Paris in 2003. Proceeds from the live album will go to the victims of the Bataclan shooting this past November.

Along with Metallica, hundreds of artists are offering re-releases and new offerings on vinyl. Artists on the list include Justin Bieber, Bob Dylan, Fleetwood Mac, and Florence + The Machine.

Even soundtracks are getting in on the special offers, as Disney is releasing John Williams’ soundtrack for “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”

But the most sought-after releases will likely be those from the late David Bowie. In honor of his career, a picture disc of his 1970 album “The Man Who Sold the World” is getting a limited release, along with a 7-inch single of “TVC 15” and a six-track EP featuring his earliest works.

Check out the entire list of Record Store Day offers here.

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