Metallica to Reissue First Two Albums

Metallica today announced that they will reissue their first two albums Kill 'Em All and Ride The Lightning on April 15th. Both albums have been remastered for the most advanced sound quality and will be available in three formats - CD, vinyl, and Deluxe Box set. Both Deluxe Box sets include original source material from the band's personal collection with many never before heard OR seen recordings, along with a book including rare photos and essays from those who were there.

The deluxe numbered box set of Kill 'Em All includes four VINYL records, five CDs, one DVD, a deluxe book including rare photos and a patch while the deluxe numbered box set of Ride the Lightning includes four VINYL records, six CDs, one DVD, a deluxe book including more of those unseen photos, a mini-book of lyrics handwritten by James Hetfield and a set of three posters. The Deluxe Box sets are limited edition collectors' items. Check out metallica.com for the full package details and track listing.

Fans can pre-order both Deluxe Box sets at the Met Store now and all six new items will, of course, also be available at your local record store on Friday, April 15th, just in time for Record Store Day.

Formed in 1981 by drummer Lars Ulrich and guitarist and vocalist James Hetfield, Metallica have become one of the most influential and commercially successful rock bands in history, having sold 110 million albums worldwide and playing to millions of fans the world over. They have scored several multi-platinum albums, including 1991's "Metallica" (commonly referred to as "The Black Album"), which is the best selling album in the history of Soundscan, scanning 16 million albums in the United States alone. Their latest studio album, Death Magnetic, was certified platinum just six weeks after it debuted atop the Billboard Top 200 Album chart in October 2008. "Death Magnetic" charted at #1 in 32 countries and sold five million copies worldwide. Metallica have also garnered numerous awards and accolades, including nine Grammy Awards, two American Music Awards, and multiple MTV Video Music Awards, and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in 2009. The band celebrated its 30th-Anniversary in 2011 with a week's worth of fan club concerts at the Fillmore Theater in San Francisco, CA. In 2012, Metallica unveiled a brand new stage in Mexico City that featured iconic elements that spanned its 30-year career and is featured in the film Metallica Through the Never. They played eight shows to nearly 180,000 fans at the Sports Arena in Mexico City. Picturehouse released Metallica Through the Never in NORTH AMERICA on September 27, 2013. The music-driven, 3D motion picture film immerses audiences in a bracing, raw and visceral cinematic experience with spectacular live performance footage of Metallica's most iconic songs -- created exclusively for film -- combined with a bold, narrative story featuring imagery drawn from the band's trailblazing iconography. In December 2013, Metallica performed a rare concert in Antarctica where all attendees listened to the performance through headphones to protect the environment. With that show, the band made history by BECOMING the first act to ever play all seven continents (all within a year), earning themselves a spot in the 60th Anniversary Edition of the Guinness Book of World Records. Metallica performed "One" with Chinese Pianist and Grammy Ambassador Lang Lang on the 56th Annual GRAMMY AWARDS on January 26th andtwo days later Metallica Through the Never was released on DVD and Blu-Ray. On November 24, 2014, Metallica released a ten-year anniversary 2-disc Blu-Ray of their long out of print, groundbreaking movie, METALLICA: Some Kind of Monster.