Editing Lightning to the Nations (section)

== Release and promotion ==
There were originally only 1,000 copies pressed of the album, which were only available at the band's concerts or through mail-order at a price of £3.50. The only mail-order advertisement appeared in British music magazine '[[Sounds (magazine)|Sounds]]' and ran for four weeks. However, the band did not pay for any advertisements and ended up being sued.

This album has become one of the most sought-after items from the time for record collectors. Later, there was a second pressing of 1000 copies that included track listings. The only original one-and-a-quarter-inch master tapes were lost for years after the band sent them to the German record company Woolfe Records, who did release the album (theirs having a front cover with a map of the world burning).

In 1993, Metal Blade Records released the first official CD version of the entire album. They did not attempt to find the master tapes or create a professional transfer from the original vinyl version and used a remix instead (made in 1986). Additionally, the track "It's Electric" has a major mastering error: the intro of the song is missing and it skips in shortly before the vocals start. High Vaultage Records released another version of the album in 1997, this time sourced from the German Woolfe Records LP. As a bonus, most of the 7" single tracks from that era were included. In 2001, a Sanctuary Records release came out. It includes the same mastering as the High Vaultage CD, which had since gone out of print. The 2011 Deluxe Edition, remastered by Andy Pearce, includes the original album sourced from the rediscovered master tape. This release, the 2016 HNE Recordings Ltd release, and the 2022 Silver Lining Music release are the only CD releases sourced from the original tapes; all other CD versions include either the 1986 remix or the High Vaultage vinyl dubs.