Blast from the Past - Metallica – Master of Puppets

Blast from the Past

Metallica – Master of Puppets

After rewinding Metallica’s album, Faizul Khan Tanim believes it’s an epic album

Recorded at Sweet Silence Studios, Copenhagen, Denmark from September through December, 1985, Master of Puppets was Metallica’s third album released in 1986.

It is the epitome of metal and thrash at its peak and in spite of not containing any singles; it was the breakthrough to US rock radio airplay that they had been looking for. It was also the very last compilation to feature the bassist Cliff Burton dying later in a tragic bus accident while touring.

Running time a little under fifty-five minutes with eight powerful tracks of non-stop great riffs, killer solos, pounding drums and one of the best thrash voices of all time, Master of Puppets is arguably the band’s most successful thrash metal act.

There is not a single moment in this masterpiece of puppetry where it does not scream energy or is not lyrically intriguing. The punchiest numbers Battery, title track Master Of Puppets and Sanitarium are classic fast and heavy songs with hardcore thrash beats bearing testimony of what happens when pure metal amalgamates with symphony of rebel rock grenades to produce the most precious metal of all – thrash!

The album reached number 29 on the U.S. Billboard 200 album chart and was the band’s first gold record for sales of over 500,000 copies. This was done without any prior radio airplay or the release of a music video. The album eventually sold over six million copies in the United States and was certified 6 times platinum by the recording industry association of America (RIAA).

Metallica got tremendous inspiration from British heavy metal legend Iron Maiden, and then of course Motorhead, Misfits, Venom, Black Sabbath and more. They have successfully inspired other bands to continue their legacy, to name some – Trivium, Apocalyptica, Bullet For My Valentine, Lamb Of God, Linkin Park, Dream Theatre, Slipknot, System Of A Down, Anthrax, Children of Bodom, Slayer, Machine Head and others.

Metallica is coming to a South Asia tour in October this year and is expected to raise some hell.