Master of Puppets [30th Anniversary Edition] [1 CD]

by Metallica

Overview

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. [To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Master of Puppets, the band reissued the album in a variety of editions in 2017, ranging from a single CD to an exhaustive multi-disc, multi-format box set. This single CD remastered version was packaged in a digipack and included an eight-page booklet.] ~ Steve Huey

Product Details

Release Date:	11/10/2017
Label:	Bkn / Blackened Recordings / Rhino
UPC:	0858978005202

Tracks

1. Battery
2. Master of Puppets
3. The Thing That Should Not Be
4. Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
5. Disposable Heroes
6. Leper Messiah
7. Orion
8. Damage, Inc.

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Metallica   Primary Artist
John Marshall   Guitar (Rhythm)
Scott Heller   Conductor
Kirk Hammett   Guitar,Lead Guitar
Lars Ulrich   Drums
James Hetfield   Guitar,Vocals,Soloist,Keyboards,Guitar (Rhythm)
Cliff Burton   Bass,Soloist,Guitar (Bass),Vocals (Background)
Jason Newsted   Bass,Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

Steven Wilson   Composer
George Marino   Remastering
Howie Weinberg   Remastering,Mastering Engineer
Brian Tatler   Composer
Dave Mustaine   Composer
Mark Wilczak   Mixing Assistant
Reuben Cohen   Mastering
Peter Mensch   Cover Art Concept
Ross Halfin   Photography
Don Brautigam   Illustrations
Lindsay Chase   Mastering Engineer,Mastering Coordination
Tal Miller   Mixing Engineer,Audio Restoration,Transfer Engineer,Mixing,Transfers
Robert Ellis   Photography
Mark Wilzcak   Mixing Assistant
Gentry Studer   Remastering,Mastering Engineer
Kent Matcke   Mixing,Transfers,Mixing Engineer,Audio Restoration,Transfer Engineer
Kirk Hammett   Composer,Producer
Lars Ulrich   Arranger,Composer,Producer,Recording Arranger
James Hetfield   Arranger,Composer,Producer,Recording Arranger
Cliff Burton   Composer,Producer
Flemming Rasmussen   Mixing,Engineer,Producer
Greg Fidelman   Mixing,Transfers,Mixing Engineer,Audio Restoration,Transfer Engineer,Reissue Executive Producer
Robb Flynn   Composer
Sean Harris   Composer
Michael Wagener   Mixing,Mixing Engineer
Metallica   Producer,Cover Art Concept