![Metallica ‘Ride the Lightning’ Test Pressing Sells for $5,000 on Discogs](https://townsquare.media/site/366/files/2020/07/GettyImages-1080027056.jpg?w=980&q=75)
Metallica ‘Ride the Lightning’ Test Pressing Sells for $5,000 on Discogs
A vinyl test pressing of Metallica's 1984 Ride the Lightning album has sold for a whopping $5,000 on Discogs, the recorded music database and marketplace that's all the rage with record collectors.
The high-dollar sale was the largest transaction on the site this August, as evidenced in a summary of the Top 30 Most Expensive Items Sold on discogs.com for that month. Besides Metallica's sophomore effort, others included a copy of Nirvana's first-ever vinyl single, 1988's "Love Buzz" b/w "Big Cheese" (which sold for $3,499), and an original U.K. pressing of the Beatles' 1963 debut LP, Please Please Me (purchased at $3,369).
While, in 2020, both of those vinyl records' first issues are notoriously hard to find — especially in tip-top condition — none are as elusive as a test pressing of a Metallica release.
Just by sheer numbers, any test pressing of an album is going to be a lot rarer than its retail counterparts. That's simply because vinyl test pressings are only ever manufactured in limited quantities for artists, producers and record labels to approve before a release gets sent off for full-scale fabrication.
The sale page for the particular test pressing of Ride the Lightning shows that nine other Discogs users claim to have possession of the uncommon Metallica album. While $5,000 is undoubtedly the most it's ever sold for on the website, a collector in Russia is currently attempting to sell another copy for $7,000.
The one purchased in August is displayed in generic white slip sleeve plastered with a sticker bearing Metallica's logo and the name of the album. Written in blue ink on the sleeve are a few identifying markers. The record itself bears a center label from the Music Connection, but nothing's inscribed on the label.
It just goes to show that a rare Metallica album can draw top dollar in the right marketplace. Would you pay $5,000 for a test pressing of Ride the Lightning?
All Metallica Songs Ranked
More From Loudwire
![Eight New Rock + Metal Tours Announced This Past Week (July 19-25, 2024)](http://townsquare.media/site/366/files/2024/07/attachment-Metallica-Fit-for-an-Autopsy-Deftones.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![The Letter Glenn Danzig Wrote to Cliff Burton About Metallica Covering Misfits](http://townsquare.media/site/366/files/2024/07/attachment-cliff_burton_metallica_glenn_danzig_misfits.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Photos – How Woodstock ’99 Progressed Into Absolute Chaos](http://townsquare.media/site/366/files/2024/07/attachment-woodstock_99_photos.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![See James Hetfield in Gun Shootout in First Trailer for Upcoming Western Film ‘The Thicket’](http://townsquare.media/site/366/files/2024/07/attachment-james_hetfield_thicket_trailer.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Metallica Launch Digital Cliff Burton Exhibit in Online Museum](http://townsquare.media/site/366/files/2024/07/attachment-metallica_cliff_burton.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Metallica Album Becomes Fourth Ever to Reach Historic Chart Record](http://townsquare.media/site/366/files/2024/07/attachment-metallica_album_chart_record.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![44 Rock + Metal Bands Who Have Songs With Over One Billion Spotify Streams](http://townsquare.media/site/366/files/2024/07/attachment-rock_metal_artist_one_billion_spotify_streams.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![10 Hard Rock + Metal Albums You Should Play at a Summer BBQ](http://townsquare.media/site/366/files/2024/07/attachment-guns_n_roses_bbq_van_halen.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![20 Rock + Metal Artists Showing Patriotism](http://townsquare.media/site/366/files/2024/07/attachment-rockers_showing_patriotism.jpg?w=980&q=75)