Metallica's Master of Puppets: The Ultimate Thrash Metal Album
Metallica's Master of Puppets is widely regarded as the ultimate thrash metal album, and for good reason. It's a 'perfect' album, with all killer and no filler, and arguably the greatest thrash metal LP ever recorded. But here's where it gets controversial: while Metallica's 'The Black Album' is their best-selling record, Master of Puppets is the band's finest hour. And this is the part most people miss...
Metallica, based in San Francisco, initially gained underground fame with their 1983 debut, Kill 'Em All, and 1984's Ride the Lightning. These albums merged the speed of Motörhead with the riffing of Black Sabbath, and Metallica was one of the first bands to merge punk and metal styles. After Ride the Lightning was reissued by Elektra Records, it was clear that Metallica was emerging from the underground and was on the path to massive success.
Metallica's fashion sense was also a reaction against the glam and glitz of hair metal. They dressed down, with long hair, no makeup, and an endless supply of Misfits T-shirts. The band, consisting of James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett, Cliff Burton, and Lars Ulrich, recorded Master of Puppets in Copenhagen with producer Flemming Rasmussen. The album, with its iconic cover of a cemetery with two hands pulling strings on the crosses below, was released in 1986 and peaked at No. 29 on the Billboard 200 chart, earning gold certification.
Master of Puppets' sonic success was due to the strength of the material and the band's airtight performance. The popularity of the 'guitar riff' had dwindled among metal acts, but Master of Puppets was packed with melodic riffs that you could actually sing along with. The album-opening 'Battery' and the masterful opus 'Master of Puppets' are prime examples. Hetfield's distinct style of rhythm playing, palm-muting the low E string and rapidly downpicking it, while playing a chug-chugging rhythm, was soon copied by countless others.
While most thrash bands chose nonstop mayhem, Metallica took cues from metal and hard rock forefathers like Sabbath and Led Zeppelin to break things up with serene tunes. This created a contrast between lighter and heavier moments, making the heavier moments even heavier. For example, the classical guitar interlude before 'Battery', the slower parts of 'Welcome Home (Sanitarium)', and portions of the mood-shifting instrumental 'Orion'. Of course, there are also moments of pure fury, such as 'Battery', 'Disposable Heroes', and the album-closing 'Damage, Inc.'
So, while Metallica's Master of Puppets may not be everyone's cup of tea, it's an album that deserves to be heard and celebrated. And this is the part most people miss... Do you agree with this controversial statement? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
