Released in 1986 Master Of Puppets is one of (if not the) best Metallica albums ever. It reached a chart position of 29 but that would have been much higher if the band were as well known then as they are today. Although Metallica had a ever growing fan base at that time it was this record which really got them on the world wide scale that they are today.The album has only eights songs but still clocks up nearly an hour. The songs on the album are long but seem to go really quicky. If I ever need to pass ten minutes I'll just listen to Orion and thats eight minutes gone in what feels like three or four.
This album was Cliff Burton's last album due to his unfortunate premature death whilst on tour in 1986. By this time Metallica had tried to move away from being knowing purely as a speed thrash band but many of the songs on this album still have that feel.
On many albums you have your favourite songs and you have the songs that you skip. On this record there is not one song that you don't want to listen to and so many times you find yourself just putting on the album to listen to one song but then listening to the whole album through.
If you are a metal fan this is a must have album!
Track By Track
1. Battery (Hetfield/Ulrich); Before the release of the black "Metallica" album it was the opener to Metallica's concerts and was the first hit out of three more off of the "Master of Puppets" album. It is still a fixed part of Metallica's live show. The song "Battery" is an indirect tribute to the "Old Waldorf Club" in San Francisco on Battery street.
2. Master Of Puppets (Hetfield/Ulrich/Burton/Hammett); The solo of "Master of Puppets" reached the 51st place in the "100 Best Solos Ever Reader's Choice" in the september 1998 issue of Guitar World.
Since its release it has almost always been a fixed part of Metallica's live show. Metallica plays two versions of "Master of Puppets" live. One version ends before the slow and soften part of the song - and the other one is the complete version as it was released on the same entitled album.
It is about the drug (especially heroin) addiction and its consequences.
3. The Thing That Should Not Be (Hetfield/Ulrich/Hammett); It's another song which has been inspired by a story of H.P. Lovecraft. The song is based upon the short story "Shadow Over Innsmouth" by H.P. Lovecraft which has been written in 1936. "Shadow Over Innsmouth" was Lovecraft's sole story which has been released as a book when he was alive. His further short stories only appeared in his lifetime in a magazine called "Weird Tales".
Since it's release till the "Poor Re-Touring Me '98" tour it has often been a fixed part of Metallica's live shows.
4. Welcome Home (Sanitarium) (Hetfield/Ulrich/Hammett); The song writing was inspired by the movie which is based on the same entitled book "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest".
Hetfield: The idea for that song came from the movie "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest". "Fade to Black" worked well, and we wanted to have another slow, clean picking type of song, this time with a chorus. I had trouble singing that chorus. It's really high, and when I went singing it in the studio, I remember Flemming [Rassmussen] looking at me like, "You're kidding." I said "Shit, I don't know if I can do this!" So I ended up singing it lower than I intended, but we put a higher harmony on it and it worked pretty well.
5. Disposable Heroes (Hetfield/Ulrich/Hammett); The first time the song was performed live was on September 14, 1985. Which is also the only time the song was played live with Cliff. Afterwards it was performed sporadically throughout the "Justice" tours. The most notably thing is that it was a set part of the "'94 Summer Shit" tour.
The lyrics basically suggest that the whole drafting procedure within the military is as bad as the war itself.
The song is pointing out that war is glorified, but in the reality it is the simple hell - where aren't any winners.
6. Leper Messiah (Hetfield/Ulrich); Because of the instrumental style of the song it has also become one of Cliff's trademark songs for many fans.
It is about so called messiahs who make a good profit on other people's faith.
"Send me money, send me green"
"Heaven you will meet"
"Make a contribution"
"And you'll get a better seat"
7. Orion (Hetfield/Ulrich/Burton); Metallica learned more about playing with harmony and to use different styles during a song. "Orion" with its changings from speed to slowly parts is probably the best example for their new improved technique of song writing and is one of my favourite tracks ever.
To Metallica the middle part of the song sounded a kind of spacey and starry so they named the song after the star constellation Orion.
The song "Orion" was the music Metallica had chosen for Cliff's funeral on October 7th, 1986. Services were held in his hometown of Castro Valley. He was cremated, and his ashes were spread at the Maxwell Ranch.
8. Damage, Inc (Hetfield/Ulrich/Burton/Hammett); A live version of the song was included on a B-side of the Australian "Die, Die My Darling" single release. It is about senseless violence and destruction.
