The year is 1987, and Metallica is already emerging as the most popular band of the thrash metal genre. Following the success of 1984’s Ride The Lightning, Metallica’s third studio album would have high expectations.
This is their most critically acclaimed album, (although die-hard Metallica fans may prefer the combination of rawness and technical proficiency heard in Ride The Lightning). However, this album blends the most brutal thrash metal sound with the most beautiful guitar solos. In just under 55 minutes, Master of Puppets is Metallica at their finest, beauty, anger, and metal all welded together into an album that transcends a genre.
Master of Puppets Track by Track
Battery (5:13):This album begins with a classical sounding melodic guitar intro played on an acoustic guitar. At 37 seconds it all comes crashing down and the quietus is ruptured heavy distorted guitar chords. After a minute, the song gives way to a powerful thrash metal riff. This is the shortest song on the album, and it’s a promising first track.
Master of Puppets (8:36): This epic is one of Metallica’s demonstrates Metallica’s guitar expertise; it was included in “Rolling Stone’s top 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time.” This song is composed of many different parts all linked together by time signature changes. The highlight of this song is a beautifully composed guitar solo that begins like an orchestra, and lasts for several minutes giving way to the most of brutal displays of shredding.
The Thing That Should Not Be (6:37): This is a powerful track, is deliberately slower and heavier that most Metallica tracks. This tracked is played at a mid-tempo. For what it lacks in speed it makes up for in attitude.
Metallica Ballad Song
Welcome Home (Sanitarium) (6:28): Begins with a clean dark sounding guitar progression that will become directly associated with Metallica’s sound in the future. This track is reminiscent of Ride The Lightning’s Fade to Black. This is a powerful track, both lyrically and musically. However, it lacks the complexity of musical progression heard in Fade to Black.
Disposable Heroes (8:17): The 5th song on Master of Puppets blends a speedy thrash metal guitar with explosive drum work by drummer Lars Ulrcih. There is a resounding chorus throughout the song as vocalist James Hetfield sings: “You will do, what I say, when I say.”
Leper Messiah (5:41): Possibly one of the most underappreciated Metallica songs, Leper Messiah includes a mid-tempo riff that invites all sorts of head banging. Hetfield’s vocals really stand out on this track, he has command over his voice in a way that really lends itself to the musical and lyrical themes of the album.
Metallica Instrumental Song
Orion (8:28): One word: epic. This is Metallica’s second full band instrumental and it is their best. This song is one of the most extravagant metal instrumental tracks. It begins with a crunching guitar riff by guitarist Kirk Hammett, and the riff slowly expands, adding additional guitar parts until the song slows down for a section of beautiful bass and guitar work that focuses on composition as opposed to speed. The guitar work begins to accelerate and raise in pitch until it is ended by a couple of crashing guitar chords.
Damage Inc. (5:30): While this album has started to stray away from conventional thrash metal this track will remind listeners that Metallica can still create great quick and technical riffs. This song is spilling with the anger that has become synonymous with Metallica.
The Future of Metallica
This is one of Metallica’s best albums and marks the last of what many consider to be their trash-metal phase. In just two years Metallica will release their fourth studio album entitled …And Justice For All, that would catalogue a significant shift in musical focus from thrash metal to progressive metal for Metallica.
 |
