Order your world exclusive Metallica Ride The Lightning t-shirt with Metal Hammer

Metallica Ride The Lightning shirt with exclusive illustration — (Image credit: Future)

To celebrate 40 years of Metallica's seminal second album Ride The Lightning, Metal Hammer have teamed up with the band themselves for this world exclusive t-shirt design that you can't get anywhere else. Featuring specially commissioned artwork by Puis Calzada, the t-shirt also comes with a copy of our latest issue, featuring a version of the mag with a special 'clean' edition of the artwork on the cover that you can't buy in shops.

This special bundle is a true one-off and will not be on sale anywhere else in the world, so order your copy now while you can.

Order your exclusive Metallica Ride The Lightning t-shirt and Metal Hammer magazine here

Inside the magazine itself, we celebrate both Ride The Lightning and the year it was released, 1984 - an incredible twelve months in heavy metal that saw thrash take over the scene.

Elsewhere in the issue Lamb Of God revisit the era-defining Ashes Of The Wake. Made at a time of heightened political tension in the US, it put them at the vanguard of the New Wave Of American Heavy Metal. We also follow rising Japanese stars Hanabie on the road, as their Harajuku-core explodes across Europe.

Plus, Guns N' Roses legend Duff McKagan dishes out his Life Lessons, CKY reveal how they made Jackass anthem 96 Quite Bitter Beings, and Tom Morello explains how he made the journey from Harlem to Harvard and Rage Against The Machine.

We tell the chaotic story of Rasta punk trailblazers Bad Brains, get in the studio with The Black Dahlia Murder as they make their first record without the much-missed Trevor Strnad, and meet BloodMagic – the twisted brainchild of Stranger Things/Vecna actor Jamie Campbell Bower.

All this, along with our Download festival 2024 review, Powerwolf, Leprous, Arka’n Asrafokor, Hammerfall, Charlotte Wessels, much, much more.

Order your bundle here

Metallica shirt — (Image credit: Future)

Merlin was promoted to Executive Editor of Louder in early 2022, following over ten years working at Metal Hammer. While there, he served as Online Editor and Deputy Editor, before being promoted to Editor in 2016. Before joining Metal Hammer, Merlin worked as Associate Editor at Terrorizer Magazine and has written for Classic Rock, Rock Sound, eFestivals and others. Across his career he has interviewed legends including Ozzy Osbourne, Lemmy, Metallica, Iron Maiden (including getting a trip on Ed Force One courtesy of Bruce Dickinson), Guns N' Roses, KISS, Slipknot, System Of A Down and Meat Loaf. He has also presented and produced the Metal Hammer Podcast, presented the Metal Hammer Radio Show and is probably responsible for 90% of all nu metal-related content making it onto the site.