Master Of Puppets LP

Album Details

Hands down one of the defining and most influential albums of thrash metal, Metallica's quintessential 1986 classic Master of Puppets finds the legendary band perfecting the metal hybrid they developed on groundbreaking releases Kill 'Em All (1983) and Ride the Lightning (1984) while redefining heavy metal in general in the process. Themed around the abuse of power, Master Of Puppets' 8-tracks are sonically complex, technically proficient and heavy - all played at maximum speed and intensity. From the explosive opener "Battery" through to the epic closer "Damage Inc," Master of Muppets is an onslaught of metal mastery. It would also serve as Metallica's last with founding bassist Cliff Burton who died in a bus accident in Sweden while touring in support of the album. "Metallica's third album has a lyrical theme: manipulation. "It deals pretty much with drugs," singer-guitarist James Hetfield said. "Instead of you controlling what you're taking and doing, it's drugs controlling you." It also has a sonic theme: really loud guitars, played fast, with no regard for the hair metal on the airwaves. When the band slows down on "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)," it just emphasizes the unrelenting nature of the rest of the songs." - #167 on Rolling Stone's '500 Greatest Albums of All Time'