Style: heavy metal
Label: Elektra
Year: 1986
Home: California
Members: James Hetfield ~ vocals/guitars
Kirk Hammett ~ lead guitar
Cliff Burton ~ bass/b. vocals
Lars Ulrich ~ drums
Today it seems like we either make fun of Metallica or dismiss them, or at least those of us older fans who remember when "Enter Sandman" could be heard playing on the radio nearly daily. We likely do both things, with a bit of sadness, as we remember when Metallica was a beast to behold & the greatest metal band on earth. We remember when their albums were the litmus test of true raging metal. We also remember when they didn't publicize their therapy sessions or shit on fans for downloading, or cut their hair short & put on make-up. At one point in time there were bands that were faster, louder, crazier, more proggy, better songwriters, better singers, but somehow Metallica put all the pieces together so it was just perfect. Even when they slipped, the fall was a short one. They made metal that slammed into your head as an ear worm every time you heard it, without fail, not to mention metal that even non-metal heads connected with. Everyone I knew growing up was a Metallica fan & I knew few metal fans at the time. Perhaps it was the era when hair metal Bon Jovi wannabes & angry young man grunge were dominating & folks desperately, & sometimes secretly, wanted an alternative. Perhaps Metallica just had a good promotion campaign with big label support. Perhaps they sold their souls to the devil to ensure the stars lined up in their favor. Its hard to precisely say, other than at one point in time Metallica were 5 gods (Cliff Burton RIP) whose position in the metal hierarchy was not up for debate. Love them or leave ... that is, you leave, not them. Their riffs & albums were were instant classics every metal fan needed to hear as a right of passage. I remember when "One" was on MTV. It was fierce & haunting to my young ears, almost frightening. It was something I wanted to hear, but not with my mother in the room. Yet, before that was
Master Of Puppets, which I didn't know until after hearing "One". On delivery this was enshrined as a classic. In the decades since it might have moved up or down the ladder, but it still gets on every list of classic metal albums. If you don't believe me, I'll tell you about the time I saw a Dragonforce concert in Manhattan, back when ZP was still singing with them. Maybe 1000 of us at the intimate standing only venue. It was before showtime & the obligatory background music was playing. "Master Of Puppets" came on. When it hit the chorus I realized this was a different version than I knew. Then I started looking around. I was standing not far from the stage. I suddenly realized this was the same version, but the audience of young men & women were actually singing along. Imagine a room of folks all in their own worlds, drinking, on their phones, talking to each other, lost in their own thoughts, but all on cue sing "Master, master of puppets...". I've never seen such happen in any other concert I've been to. That says something about the legacy of this song. If
Master Of Puppets had been the finale album by Metallica I believe their legacy would be secure. Yet, listening again while writing this review, even having praised the album, does it hit my 40-something ears like it did my teenage ears, or my 30-something ears when I heard it sang in concert? Is it as good as I remember? I think it is. I might be a bit more critical now, but I still think its a must hear for every metal fan. What I loved & still love about this album is the distortion isn't so much you don't hear notes ring out. I really don't like the over-driven side of metal. The lyrics are fierce, but not growled & is some of James Hetfield's best & most raw singing. I wish he still sang like this, but we all fall into bad habits with time & put more focus into other aspects of our craft. The solos are technical moments up there with Eddie Van Halen, but don't dominate or take-over the song as the only thing the songs have going for them. While there's no real filler on this album. There's some obvious singles, but the other songs are great moody moments. While there's nothing slick in the sound, a problem with too many of their peers & would be a criticism of the entire hair metal movement. I'd actually forgotten how good a non-live version of "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)" is, let alone how different it is from the other songs. This is not a one note album.
Master Of Puppets very well might be Metallica's greatest moment, even better the self-titled,
Black Album, coming a few years later. Is it the greatest metal album? No, I don't think so. I don't know what is, but this is up there as one of the greatest alongside albums by Megadeth & Black Sabbath. It doesn't have to be the greatest, as is without doubt a classic.
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