METALLICA: Master of Puppets

Produced by Fleming Rasmussen

Released: 1986

There are albums that are called legendary, and then there are albums that truly are so. Master of Puppets is such a beast, a recording held in such high esteem even by people who don't ordinarily listen to heavy metal that it almost defies being reviewed. A breathtaking album when it was first released, this is still one that I come back to again and again among the hundreds and possibly thousands of other records in my collection almost two whole decades later. The reason for this is simple: Master of Puppets is easily one of the best albums ever made. It's almost superfluous to talk about the album's intro, the clunky, clean strumming that becomes a surging, orchestral-sounding clashing that in turn metamorphoses into one of the most memorable metal riffs of all. It seems equally redundant to discuss the crawling horror evoked by "The Thing That Should Not Be" or the magnificence of the title track. While it's true that Master follows almost the same kind of plan as its worthy predecessor, it's also true that Ride the Lightning was merely the prototype for what Metallica was to achieve.

Metallica got everything right here. There's a perfect balance between all the emotions of the band's music as they shift between menace, malevolence, anger, frustration and despair. There's James Hetfield's lyrical vision, putting together intelligent, thought-provoking songs about drug addiction, TV evangelism and war, not to mention his own vocal performance which is the best to be found on any Metallica album. There's also the mix, again among the best of the catalogue, and the playing itself, centred around Hetfield's wrist-achingly tight and complex rhythms, complemented by what is perhaps Lars Ulrich's best ever drumming and guided by Cliff Burton's amazing gift for musical arrangement, perhaps best exemplified by the expansive genius of "Orion", arguably one of the finest rock instrumental tracks of all time.

As with all Metallica releases, at the very heart of Master of Puppets is some stupefyingly incredible songwriting. This is the key reason why this album still stands so tall after such a long time: where other albums from the period, even the very good ones, are beginning to sound dated, Master of Puppets is as powerful and as relevant now as in was in 1986. With a mere eight songs but at just under an hour in length, Metallica's third album epitomises the very best that heavy metal has to offer and as close as others have come, it's still arguable that any have quite matched what they did here.

1. Battery


2. Master of Puppets


3. The Thing That Should Not Be


4. Welcome Home (Sanitarium)


5. Disposable Heroes


6. Leper Messiah


7. Orion


8. Damage, Inc.

Rating: 100%