Master of Puppets

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Not to be confused with Puppet Master or Puppeteer.
This article is about the Metallica album. For the title track of the album, see Master of Puppets (song).
Master of Puppets
Studio album by Metallica
Released February 24, 1986 (1986-02-24)[1]
Recorded September 1 (1-09)–December 27, 1985 (1985-12-27) at Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen, Denmark
Genre Thrash metal[2]
Length 54:46
Label Asylum
Producer Metallica, Flemming Rasmussen
Metallica chronology
Ride the Lightning
(1984)		 Master of Puppets
(1986)		 ...And Justice for All
(1988)
Singles from Master of Puppets
  1. "Master of Puppets"
    Released: July 2, 1986 (1986-07-02)[3]

Master of Puppets is the third studio album by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released on February 24, 1986, by Asylum Records.[1] The album peaked at number 29 on the Billboard 200 chart.[4] It was the first thrash metal album to be certified platinum,[2] and on June 9, 2003, it was certified six times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), having shipped six million copies in the United States.[1] Master of Puppets received positive reviews. This is the band's last album to feature bassist Cliff Burton, who died in a bus crash in Sweden while touring to promote the album.

Contents

Reception and legacy [edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 5/5 stars[5]
BBC Music very favourable[6]
Robert Christgau B–[7]
Kerrang! 5/5 stars[8]
Rolling Stone favorable[9]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide 5/5 stars[10]
Piero Scaruffi 8/10[11]
Sputnikmusic 4.5/5[12]

Allmusic's Steve Huey commented that Master of Puppets was "the band's greatest achievement." "Some critics have called Master of Puppets the best metal album ever recorded," Huey noted.[5]

Master of Puppets has been featured on several "best albums of all time" lists. The album is present in the list "The All-TIME 100 Albums", published by TIME magazine in November 2006.[13] In TIME critic Josh Tyrangiel's opinion, "Metallica didn't bother with hooks or pop discipline" in writing Master of Puppets.[13] IGN ranked it number 1 in a list of the "Top 25 Metal Albums" issued in January 2007.[14] The album is featured in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die and Q magazine counted it among the 50 heaviest albums of all time. In 2003, the album was ranked number 167 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Music critic Piero Scaruffi ranks Master of Puppets as the second best metal album of all time.[15] In 2012, Slant Magazine listed the album at number 90 on its list of "Best Albums of the 1980s".[16] Many have regarded Master of Puppets as the most influential and important metal album ever made, surpassing Black Sabbath's popular album Paranoid. The album has frequently been tagged by critics as "one of the most influential thrash metal albums of all time."[5]

As an early parody of the PMRC's "explicit lyrics" warning labels, many prints of Metallica's 1986 release of Master of Puppets featured an octagonal sticker on the front stating:

"The only track you probably won't want to play is 'Damage, Inc.' due to the multiple use of the infamous 'F' word. Otherwise, there aren't any 'Shits,' 'Fucks,' 'Pisses,' 'Cunts,' 'Motherfuckers,' or 'Cocksuckers' anywhere on this record" (six of George Carlin's Seven Dirty Words).[17]

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of its release, Metallica played the album in its entirety on its Escape from the Studio '06 tour for the first time ever at the Rock am Ring festival on June 3, 2006. These concerts included the first-ever complete performances of the instrumental "Orion" (previously, only portions of the song's lengthy middle section had been performed onstage, as part of instrumental medleys and bass solos).

The title track was ranked number 51 on The Greatest Guitar Solos from Guitar World. In 2006, the album was voted the fourth "greatest guitar album of all time" in Guitar World.[citation needed] The April 5th edition of Kerrang! was dedicated to it, providing readers with the cover album Master of Puppets: Remastered.[citation needed] In March 2007, the guitar magazine Total Guitar ranked it in the 100 greatest riffs of all time and the main riff of the album's title track was ranked number one.[citation needed]

All of the songs from the album, with the exceptions of "Leper Messiah" and "Damage, Inc." are playable on the music video game Guitar Hero: Metallica.[18] The song "Battery" is also featured as a playable track on Rock Band 2.[19]

Live performance [edit]

The title track has become an almost permanent staple of the band's live setlist and is currently the most played Metallica song. "Battery" and "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)" are also regularly played live.[20] "Orion" is the least played song from the album, having been played only 37 times.[20] The album was played in its entirety in 2006 at Rock Am Ring.[citation needed]

Track listing [edit]

All lyrics written by James Hetfield. 

No. Title Music Length
1. "Battery"   James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich 5:12
2. "Master of Puppets"   Hetfield, Ulrich, Cliff Burton, Kirk Hammett 8:36
3. "The Thing That Should Not Be"   Hetfield, Ulrich, Hammett 6:37
4. "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)"   Hetfield, Ulrich, Hammett 6:27
5. "Disposable Heroes"   Hetfield, Ulrich, Hammett 8:17
6. "Leper Messiah"   Hetfield, Ulrich, Mustaine 5:40
7. "Orion" (instrumental) Hetfield, Ulrich, Burton 8:28
8. "Damage, Inc."   Hetfield, Ulrich, Burton, Hammett 5:29
Total length:
 54:46
Digital reissue bonus tracks[21]
No. Title Length
9. "Battery" (Live in Seattle 1989) 4:53
10. "The Thing That Should Not Be" (Live in Seattle 1989) 7:02
Total length:
 66:35

Personnel [edit]

Metallica
Technical personnel

Chart positions [edit]

Year Chart Position
1986 Billboard 200 29
1986 UK Albums Chart 41
2004 Finnish Album Chart[23] 7
2008 Australian ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart 33
2009 Mexico Album Chart 66

Certifications [edit]

Since the beginning of the SoundScan era in 1991, Master of Puppets has sold 4,578,000 copies.[24]

Country Certification
United States (RIAA) 6x Platinum
Canada (MC) 6x Platinum[25]
Australia (ARIA) Platinum
Finland (IFPI) Platinum[26]

References [edit]

  1. ^ a b c "American album certifications – Master of Puppets". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. Retrieved December 27, 2012. 
  2. ^ a b Walser, Robert et al. (November 19, 1998). Nicholls, David, ed. The Cambridge History of American Music. Cambridge University Press. p. 378. ISBN 0521454298. 
  3. ^ Master of Puppets single release date
  4. ^ Pareles, Jon (10 July 1988). "HEAVY METAL, WEIGHTY WORDS". The New York Times (USA: The New York Times Company). p. 8. Retrieved 14 November 2010. 
  5. ^ a b c Huey, Steve. "Master of Puppets". Allmusic. Retrieved January 30, 2008. 
  6. ^ Stack, Eamonn (April 23, 2007). "Master of Puppets Review - Metallica". BBC Music. Retrieved February 28, 2012. 
  7. ^ Christgau, Robert (May 1986). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice (New York). Retrieved January 28, 2012. 
  8. ^ Wall, Mick (6 Mar 1986). "Master Blaster". Kerrang! 115. London, UK: Morgan Grampian. p. 23. 
  9. ^ Holmes, Tim (June 5, 1986). "Master of Puppets". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 3, 2012. 
  10. ^ "Metallica: Album Guide". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 3, 2012. 
  11. ^ Scaruffi, Piero (1999). "Metallica". pieroscaruffi.com. Retrieved April 26, 2013. 
  12. ^ Butler, Nick (June 26, 2006). "Metallica - Master of Puppets". Sputnikmusic. Scroll down to Nick Butler (staff). Archived from the original on January 28, 2013. Retrieved January 28, 2013. 
  13. ^ a b Josh Tyrangiel (October 13, 2006). "The All-TIME 100 Albums: Master of Puppets". TIME. 
  14. ^ Spence D.; Ed. T (January 19, 2007). "Top 25 Metal Albums". IGN. 
  15. ^ Scaruffi, Piero. "Best heavy-metal albums of all time". Retrieved March 7, 2011. 
  16. ^ http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/feature/best-albums-of-the-1980s/308/page_2
  17. ^ "7 words". Cba.uni.edu. Retrieved November 13, 2010.
  18. ^ Greenhough, Chris (January 26, 2009). "Full Guitar Hero: Metallica track list revealed, Wii version arriving late". Joystiq. Retrieved May 21, 2012. 
  19. ^ Yoon, Andrew (July 14, 2007). "Rock Band 2 on-disc track list revealed, features over 80 songs". Joystiq. Retrieved May 21, 2012. 
  20. ^ a b "Songs". Metallica.com. Retrieved May 21, 2012. 
  21. ^ Kaufman, Gil (June 26, 2006). "Metallica Put Catalog On iTunes — Quietly". MTV. Retrieved April 11, 2012. 
  22. ^ Saulnier, Jason (13 January 2013). "Flemming Rasmussen Interview, Producer talks Master of Puppets". Music Legends. Retrieved 2 May 2013. 
  23. ^ Finnish Album Chart - Search. Retrieved on July 8, 2009.
  24. ^ "METALLICA's 'Black' LP Is Top-Selling Album Of SOUNDSCAN Era". BlabberMouth. 
  25. ^ "Music Canada – Gold & Platinum". Music Canada. Retrieved September 28, 2012. 
  26. ^ IFPI Finland Searchable database - Gold and Platinum. Retrieved July 7, 2009.

External links [edit]

Metallica
Studio albums
Live albums
Cover albums
Collaboration projects
Extended plays
Box sets
Singles
Promotional singles
Other songs
Video albums
Tours
Related articles
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