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

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

by MetallicaMetallica

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.]

Product Details

Release Date: 11/10/2017
Label: Blackened Recordings
UPC: 0858978005202
catalogNumber: 5
Rank: 5561

Tracks

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Metallica   Primary Artist
Kirk Hammett   Guitar,Group Member
James Hetfield   Rhythm Guitar,Vocals,Soloist,Group Member
Lars Ulrich   Drums,Group Member
Cliff Burton   Bass,Background Vocals,Soloist,Group Member

Technical Credits

Metallica   Producer
Kirk Hammett   Composer
James Hetfield   Arranger,Composer
Flemming Rasmussen   Producer,Engineer
Lars Ulrich   Arranger,Composer
Cliff Burton   Composer
Greg Fidelman   Reissue Executive Producer
Don Brautigam   Cover Illustration
Ross Halfin   Back Cover Photo,Inside Photo
Rob Ellis   Back Cover Photo
Rich Likong   Back Cover Photo

Customer Reviews