Metallica - Master of Puppets

Elektra

Metallica, the masters of thrash metal, released their seminal third album on this day in 1986. Master of Puppets captures a band at the peak of their abilities. The powerhouse that packed it all and that much more. The confluence of accessibility and a knack for writing unforgiving metal masterpieces came to fruition on this record.

The primal nature of this record is hard to come by when it comes to riffery and sheer force. The power of the riff cannot be underestimated. I can imagine many souls have been shook to the core after indulging in this album. The take no prisoners attitude of Metallica around this time was no joke. The bands ability to pack in different segments of a track and still remain true to the core song is second to none and this record does it better than any. The fundamental essence of what makes metal magic is adhered to on each and every track without fail. The amount of 'moments' throughout the runtime is staggering.

Look at that album cover, good god. You know you're in for some shit the second you lay your eyes on it. The music that exists within that artwork can only be astounding. Great artwork doesn’t always lead to great music, of course, but when it works it becomes an essential add-on which in turn becomes just as important as the music itself. Dark Side of The Moon and Sgt. Pepper for example. You can only make one first impression after all. There's something to be said about art in general that feels like a first impression time after time and Master of Puppets belongs up there with the best of them. The studio sessions must have been nothing short of breathtaking.

A metal masterpiece if there ever was one. The stars aligned. As cliche as it is to say, they don’t make them like this anymore.

"Back to the front!"

RIP Cliff Burton.

March 3rd, 1986.