| Product Summary | | Label: Wea/elektra Entertainment | | UPC: 00075596043922 | | Release Date: 1/11/1989 | | Buy.com Sku: 60077822 | | Item#: MRWC7N | | Buy.com Sales Rank: 25079 | Format:  CD |
|
|
|
|
| Song Listing |  |
Disc 1
| | Song Title | Sample | | 1. Battery ~ Metallica |  | | 2. Master Of Puppets ~ Metallica | | | 3. Thing That Should Not Be, The ~ Metallica | | | 4. Welcome Home (Sanitarium) ~ Metallica | | | 5. Disposable Heroes ~ Metallica | | | 6. Leper Messiah ~ Metallica | | | 7. Orion ~ Metallica | | | 8. Damage Inc. ~ Metallica | |
|
"...impresses with well-crafted arrangements and solid technique..." Billboard
| | Album Notes and Credits |
Notes & Personnel Info |  | MASTER OF PUPPETS was Metallica's last album with bass player Cliff Burton. Burton was killed in a traffic accident. He was replaced by Jason Newsted. | | Metallica: James Hetfield (vocals, guitar); Kirk Hammett (guitar); Cliff Burton (bass); Lars Ulrich (drums). | | Recorded at Sweet Silence Studios, Copenhagen, Denmark from September through December, 1985. | | Even though Master of Puppets didn't take as gigantic a leap forward as Ride the Lightning, it was the band's greatest achievement, hailed as a masterpiece by critics far outside heavy metal's core audience. It was also a substantial hit, reaching the Top 30 and selling three million copies despite absolutely nonexistent airplay. Instead of a radical reinvention, Master of Puppets is a refinement of past innovations. In fact, it's possible to compare Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets song for song and note striking similarities between corresponding track positions on each record (although Lightning's closing instrumental has been bumped up to next-to-last in Master's running order). That hint of conservatism is really the only conceivable flaw here. Though it isn't as startling as Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets feels more unified, both thematically and musically. Everything about it feels blown up to epic proportions (indeed, the songs are much longer on average), and the band feels more in control of its direction. You'd never know it by the lyrics, though -- in one way or another, nearly every song on Master of Puppets deals with the fear of powerlessness. Sometimes they're about hypocritical authority (military and religious leaders), sometimes primal, uncontrollable human urges (drugs, insanity, rage), and, in true H.P. Lovecraft fashion, sometimes monsters. Yet by bookending the album with two slices of thrash mayhem ("Battery" and "Damage, Inc."), the band reigns triumphant through sheer force -- of sound, of will, of malice. The arrangements are thick and muscular, and the material varies enough in texture and tempo to hold interest through all its twists and turns. Some critics have called Master of Puppets the best heavy metal album ever recorded; if it isn't, it certainly comes close. ~ Steve Huey | | Metallica's irresistible rise to the top continued with this enigmatic 1986 album. Metallica was a constant touring unit by this point, and their combination of light and dark and their deft staccato delivery, especially on the title track, came brusquely through. Their ever-lengthening arrangements (three songs came in at over eight minutes), bolstered by the precise snap of Hetfield's vocals, testified to their undeniable power. The striding "Battery," the darkly lit "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)," as well as the complex instrumental "Orion" all gave powerful testament to their ever-developing skill and vision. |
Producer: Metallica; Flemming Rasmussen |
Engineer: Flemming Rasmussen |
| | Artist Overview | | Metallica deflated the pomposity of 1970s rock, while reinvigorating heavy metal with their fast, fierce, and surprisingly melodic sound. Pioneers of the thrash metal subgenre, vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich set down the foundation for the virtuoso playing of lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Cliff Burton. When Burton died in a tragic bus accident, the band grudgingly moved on, recruiting Jason Newsted and eventually launching the highly successful ...AND JUSTICE FOR ALL tour. With a common-man image and no-frills approach, the band lent a hand in slaying '80s glam metal. By the '90s, Metallica's non-stop touring and landmark albums made them one of the biggest--and most respected--rock bands on the planet. |
| | Compilation Appearances |
| | Associated Artists and Works | | Plays Metallica by Four Cellos ~ Apocalyptica | | Apocalyptica | | Overload: A Tribute To Metallica ~ Artists, Various | | The Blackest Album ~ Artists, Various | | The Blackest Album 2: Metallica Tribute ~ Artists, Various | | A Metal Tribute To Metallica ~ Artists, Various | | Artists, Various | | Metallic Assault: A Tribute To Metallica ~ Artists, Various | | Total Overload 1 & 2: Tribute To Metallica ~ Artists, Various | | The Blackest Album 3... Tribute To Metallica ~ Artists, Various | | Artists, Various | | Stardust Sisters (The) | | Overload: A Tribute To Metallica ~ Various Artists | | Blackest Album: An Industrial Tribute to Metallica ~ Various Artists | | Blackest Album, Vol. 2: An Industrial Tribute to M ~ Various Artists | | A Metal Tribute To Metallica ~ Various Artists | | Various Artists | | Metallic Assault: A Tribute To Metallica ~ Various Artists | | Total Overload, Vol. 1 & 2: Tribute to Metallica ~ Various Artists | | Various Artists | | Blackest Album, Vol. 3: An Industrial Tribute to M ~ Various Artists | | Various Artists | | The String Quartet Tribute to Metallica ~ Various Artists | | The Blackest Album, Vol. 4: An Industrial Tribute ~ Various Artists | | Metallica: The Ultimate Tribute Album ~ Various Artists | | Various Artists | | Various Artists | | Various Artists | | Various Artists | | Various Artists | | Various Artists | | Various Artists | | Various Artists | | Various Artists | | Various Artists | | Various Artists | | More Maximum [Slipcase] ~ Various Artists | | Various Artists | | And Christmas For All! The Holiday Tribute To Meta ~ Various Artists | | Buddha Lounge Redititions Of Metallica: the Black ~ Various Artists |
| | Technical Info | | Release Date : n/a | | Original Release Date : 1986 | | Catalog ID : 60439 | | Label : Elektra Entertainment | | Number of Discs : 1 | | Runtime : 54m : 49s | | Studio/Live : Studio | | Mono/Stereo : Stereo | | SPAR Code : AAD | | UPC : 00075596043922 |
|
| | Professional Reviews | | Q (7/01, p.88)
- Included in Q's "50 Heaviest Albums of All Time" - "...Metallica's finest 55 minutes....showing them at their most acerbic...and at their most face-pullingly heavy..."Kerrang (Magazine)
(p.55)
- "Fifty-four near-perfect minutes, MASTER OF PUPPETS is a genuine classic that will survive even the mortal lives of its creators." Rolling Stone 10 of 10
...the members of Metallica pour out pure apocalyptic dread. Their version of heavy metal is the sound of global paranoia. Not for them is the tra-la-la music of escapism... Master Of Puppets is the real thing. Metallica has the chops, and yes, subtlety to create a new metal. If they ever award a titanium album, it should go to Master of Puppets. - Tim Holmes
|
|
| | Bio | | Since they formed in 1981, San Francisco Bay Area band Metallica has gone from underground heavy metal band to one of the most successful acts in the world, with an intensely loyal fan base. Metallica albums have earned gold and/or platinum certifications in over 40 countries. In addition, a live box-set release (containing over 8 hours of live music and video, retailing at over $80), has sold over 600,000 units worldwide, making it the biggest selling box set of its kind in history. Metallica has garnered numerous awards and accolades throughout the world in their career, 4 Grammy Awards, 2 American Music Awards, 2 MTV Music Video Awards and 26 California Music Awards. When it comes to touring, there are few, if any, bands who deliver live the way Metallica does. Their shows, which began in clubs and garages in the early 80's, are now selling out in arenas and stadiums throughout the world, and continue to be the most intense, powerful and visually stimulating concert experience ever delivered. The most impressive achievement that bears mentioning is the fact that Metallica continues to be a strong attraction in the touring world; a truly rare feat in today's mercurial entertainment business, where fans often change allegiance to bands as often as they do hairstyles. Metallica is a band whose success can be directly attributed to a passion and no-compromise attitude in every project they undertake.
|
|
| |
|
|
