Kill 'Em All
Kill 'Em All is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica, released on July 25, 1983 through independent label Megaforce Records. Metallica began by playing shows in local clubs in Los Angeles. They recorded several demos to gain attention from club owners and eventually relocated to San Francisco to secure the services of bassist Cliff Burton. The group's "No Life 'til Leather" demo tape (1982) was noticed by Megaforce label head Jon Zazula, who signed them and provided a budget of $15,000 for recording. The album was recorded in May with producer Paul Curcio at the Music America Studios in Rochester, New York. It was originally intended to be titled "Metal Up Your Ass", with cover art featuring a hand clutching a dagger emerging from a toilet bowl. The band was asked to change the name because distributors feared that releasing an album with such an offensive title and artwork would diminish its chances of commercial success.
Kill 'Em All
Metallica promoted the album on the two-month co-headlining Kill 'Em All for One tour with English heavy metal band Raven in the US. The album also generated two singles: "Whiplash" and "Jump in the Fire". Although the initial shipment was 15,000 copies in the US, the album sold 60,000 copies worldwide by the end of Metallica's Seven Dates of Hell European tour in 1984. The album did not enter the "Billboard" 200 until 1986, when it peaked at number 155, following Metallica's commercial success with its third studio album, "Master of Puppets"; the 1988 Elektra reissue peaked at number 120. "Kill 'Em All" was critically praised at the time of its release and has since been regarded as a groundbreaking album for thrash metal, because of its precise musicianship, which fuses new wave of British heavy metal riffs with hardcore punk tempos. It was also retrospectively placed on a few publications' best album lists. The album's musical approach and lyrics were markedly different from rock's mainstream of the early 1980s and inspired a number of bands who followed in similar manner. It was certified 3× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1999 for shipping three million copies in the United States.
Ride the Lightning
Ride the Lightning is the second studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica, released on July 27, 1984, by the independent record label Megaforce Records. The album was recorded in three weeks with producer Flemming Rasmussen at the Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen, Denmark. The artwork, based on a concept by the band, depicts an electric chair being struck by lightning flowing from the band logo. The title was taken from a passage in Stephen King's novel "The Stand". Although rooted in the thrash metal genre, the album showcased the band's musical growth and lyrical sophistication. This was partly because bassist Cliff Burton introduced the basics of music theory to the rest of the band and had more input in the songwriting. Instead of relying heavily on fast tempos as on its debut "Kill 'Em All", Metallica broadened its approach by employing acoustic guitars, extended instrumentals, and more complex harmonies. The overall recording costs were paid by Metallica's European label Music for Nations because Megaforce was unable to cover it. It is the last album to feature songwriting contributions from former lead guitarist Dave Mustaine, and the first to feature contributions from his replacement, Kirk Hammett. At 47 minutes, it is Metallica's shortest studio album.

Question: In what year did Metallica release the album which preceded "Master of Puppets"?
Answer: 1984