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Band Name: Metallica
Album Name: Master Of Puppets
Rating: 5 / 5 User Rating: 4.7 / 5
Label: Elektra Records
Buy Album: Amazon.com
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Tracklist
Battery
Master of Puppets
Thing That Should Not Be
Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
Disposable Heroes
Leper Messiah
Orion (Instrumental)
Damage, Inc.
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San Francisco based Metallica would turn a lot of heads with 1984's crushing thrash manifesto, 'Ride The Lightning', but it would be with the release of 'Master Of Puppets' that the group would set their sights directly on world domination. Unpretentious, furious and most certainly heavier than hell, this record was a deafening roar in the face of an unsuspecting metal audience, many of whom were at the time unprepared for a hammering onslaught such as 'Battery.' One smoking stereo system later, the band dives head on into the muscular title cut. This song would prove to be one of metal's all-time classic tracks, bringing the spotlight directly on thrash metal during the group's subsequent tour with wasted metal madman Ozzy Osbourne.
This record established Flemming Rasmussen as a top-notch heavy metal producer, as the expert knob-twister pulled every bit of heaviness out of the band while giving them a full yet slick overall sound that would become the benchmark for many metal albums to follow. Providing an amply spooky atmosphere, the colossal, massively detuned 'The Thing That Should Not Be' possesses one of the preeminent doom-laden riffs that a metal band has undertaken to date. James Hetfield's singing on this track cannot be underestimated in any fashion. In retrospect, his voice here is as cool sounding and awe-inspiring as it ever has been. Metallica, by this point, have gelled into a cohesive unit with a common goal of complete musical destruction at whatever tempo.
A track that would easily make the top ten Metallica songs of all time, 'Welcome Home (Sanitarium)' mashes a forlorn, melodic verse with a weighty, commanding chorus. On 'Master Of Puppets', the group had gotten much better at combining melody with pure heaviness. This is plainly noticeable on the brooding plea entitled 'Welcome Home', which displays intentional, intricate harmonic subtlety as well as Metallica's patented, overpowering forcefulness. Both 'Disposable Heroes' as well as 'Leper Messiah' resonate songwriting strength and substantial thickness and bass guitarist Cliff Burton's amazing instrumental 'Orion' offers the listener a devastating array of riffing and sharp metal licks, showing that Burton had a tremendous impact on the intricacy of the band's songwriting overall.
Enter 'Damage Inc.', the album's closer. Doubtlessly, this track is the most severe thrashing that many a metal fan had ever encountered, with a blistering pace that made it the most extreme thing going in 1986. Lars Ulrich shows here why he deserves to be the drummer for the world's largest heavy metal band, his sharp attention to detail surpassed only by his precise bashing. Having just created a metal masterpiece, the group would unfortunately be stricken by tragedy before they had even finished properly promoting the album.
Timeless, boundary-obliterating and brimming with a furious energy, 'Master Of Puppets' is a cornerstone in the kingdom of heavy metal.
Review by: EF
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