Metal Storm logo
Metallica - Master Of Puppets review



Reviewer:
9.3

3907 users:
9.25
Band: Metallica
Album: Master Of Puppets
Style: Bay Area thrash metal
Release date: February 21, 1986
Guest review by: Motoroverkill


01. Battery
02. Master Of Puppets
03. The Thing That Should Not Be
04. Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
05. Disposable Heroes
06. Leper Messiah
07. Orion
08. Damage, Inc.

Master of Puppets is a master class in structuring an album, The tracks and the way they're ordered is near perfection. A landmark album. Master Of Puppets is a timeless classic, A hybrid, Which features the best characteristics of many different kinds of metal. Many people consider it one of the greatest albums of all time and for good reason.

"Ride The Lightning" was ground breaking and "Master Of Puppets" is a reflection on how much the band have grown through the years, No more macho nonsense about killing posers or wearing metal and headbanging. The lyrics this time are a lot more mature, Dealing with insanity, drugs, brainwashing done by religion etc. The solos are melodic and meaningful, The title track "Master Of Puppets" is easily one of the most recognizable and original songs in history.

"Master Of Puppets" probably features the best production values on any Metallica album, Cliff is audible unlike AJFA, in which Jason Newsted was virtually absent. Kirk really set the standard very high on this album with speedy and melodic solos, Lars was never the greatest drummer but for better or for worse, Lars was and still is perfect for Metallica, He just fits Metallica perfectly. James Hetfield's screams are as powerful as ever, Without being annoying at any point.

"The Thing That Should Not Be" is one of Metallica's heaviest songs, The guitar play is heavy, the atmosphere is dark, The song maintains a slow place and features one of Kirk's strangest and twisted guitar solos. "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)" is reminiscent of "Fade To Black" and Metallica's later "One", the song gradually gets heavier, James's vocals start off more melodic and get harsher towards the end. "Disposable Heroes" is a punishing track, With a very heavy intro, It features Lars's best drumming and will please the thrash-heads, The riffs are relentless and punishing. "Leper Messiah" is a nice change of pace and is one of the smarter tracks on the album. "Battery" and "Damage Inc" are punishing thrash tracks which appropriately start and end the album, These are much more traditional thrash tracks reminiscent of their older stuff.

Overall, From start to finish, The album is not perfect but it gets close. The album sticks to the "Dominance" theme and runs strong with it. This was the last time Cliff Burton was able to showcase his talents but he left us with a masterpiece. The album is a definite must have in any heavy metal fan's collection.


Rating breakdown
Performance: 10
Songwriting: 10
Originality: 10
Production: 10

Written by Motoroverkill | 25.01.2010




Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.

Guest review by
Cal Wolvington
Rating:
8.3
I know I am in the minority here, but I don't care. Coffee is not as bad for you as everyone says it is, ten million Coldplay fans are wrong and Master Of Puppets is not Metallica's best album. This album is considered to be a classic and it is a great effort, but it is no Ride The Lightning. Master Of Puppets may have become more popular than Metallica's first two albums and it may be every critic's darling but that alone does not make it a better album or the greatest thrash record of all time. What matters is the music itself and therein lies my problem with considering this album a mind blowing masterpiece, which it is not.

Read more ››
published 06.06.2012 | Comments (67)

Guest review by
Iced Iñigo
Rating:
10
A classic between classics and the top of Metallica like a band. The album that made history, the cd of the cds, the best album of the best band. The album that any person who wants to know what is that world called Metal music needs to have, and listen to.

From the intro of "Battery" to the last guitar riff of "Damage Inc." the cd is just perfect, incredible and all the adjectives you want. In this album Metallica composed the song of songs: "Master of Puppets", astonishing. 8 minutes 38 seconds of pure Metal. The virtuosity on composing of Metallica appears clearly in that song. In Master of Puppets some songs are really dark and paranoid like "The Thing that should not Be". A ballad is also included, which is called "Welcome Home " and Metallica still includes in this album an instrumental track: "Orion"

Read more ››
published 22.09.2003 | Comments (125)


Comments

Comments: 23   Visited by: 191 users
25.01.2010 - 12:42
Rating: 10
In Bone Factory
Cool review.i've always been a sticky fan of metallica.
this album contains lots of metal rules. m/
----
The End Is Nigh ...
Loading...
25.01.2010 - 13:10
THE_BLACK_GOD
Account deleted
Nice review but something as album names are against the rules (in the review), anyway; this album is not the best album of all time for me. for me its Ride The Lightning, but Master of Puppets is one of the most important albums of metal ever for sure.
Loading...
25.01.2010 - 14:52
Rating: 9
K✞ulu
Seeker of Truth
It's weird that you have described many songs but didn't mention "Orion." Also (and I don't mean to be rude but) why would one want to write a review of Master of Puppets in 2010, an album, which every metalhead knows and express basically the same opinion that most people have about this album. If you had an alternative look on the album or somehow described it from a different perspective or something, that would have some value, but writing something like this just doesn't have any value. I do understand that this is your first review (and I have done the same with my first several ones), but it's better to write a review of something that not many know, and with your review to open some new band to others. Like, you are from India and you could write a review of a Rudra or Demonic Resurrection album or something. You know what I mean?
----
Savor what you feel and what you see
Things that may not seem important now
But may be tomorrow

R.I.P. Chuck Schuldiner

Satan was a Backstreet Boy
Loading...
25.01.2010 - 18:16
Rating: 10
I know K+ulu, Just felt like doing it, thanks mate. I just wanted to give a review now after 10 years of owning it. I think i gave a pretty fair rating without getting carried away with burton. I'll review more stuff for sure. thanks.
----
The word "Overrated" is Overrated.
Loading...
25.01.2010 - 19:24
SatyriconChick
Awesome review. MOP is deifnitely one of my favorite albums ever.
Loading...
25.01.2010 - 22:54
DP_Megachiva
Account deleted
Great review of a legendary album

This is the album that got me into metal many years ago...
Loading...
25.01.2010 - 23:50
Rating: 8
Oskmrgo83
Oskmrgo83
I gotta say that this album is a masterpiece. I really enjoy listening to "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)" and "Disposable Heroes". I love Metallica.
----
Now it's time to... rock!!!!!
Loading...
22.04.2010 - 06:40
BloodFireDeath
I honestly think this album is very good but also very over rated. I think people just say its the best Metallica album because their peers expect them too. My votes will always belong to Kill 'Em All and Ride the Lightning the latter of which is one of the most balance and consistant metal releases of all time.
----
Goodspeed on the Devils Thunder
Loading...
04.03.2011 - 19:39
FaStRmAn
This IS the GREATEST METAL ALBUM OF ALL TIME !!!! Although there are some albums that rival its perfection (ie. Helloween, Keeper of the Seven Keys pt.1), no other band has been able to capture all that is METAL on one disk and smash it into the face of society with a resounding death blow! The tracks on this album are without equal in their reproduction of what Metal Music is all about. The tracks are placed masterfully with regard to order and heaviness. Master of Puppets is a grand tour of METAL force. If someone who was ignorant of what METAL really is all about wanted to experience what METAL music is, they need only play the Title track of this album "Master of Puppets" to be enlightened (or darkened...) From start to finish, Master of Puppets is the crowning achievement of METALLICA and is one of the most critically acclaimed albums and best selling METAL albums of all time. The first track "BATTERY" is a Ripping track that hits you like a combination of punches to your FACE! The second and title track "MASTER OF PUPPETS" is such an influential and timeless piece of METAL history, that it is considered by many to be the best METAL song ever written. Every facet of METAL is contained within the song. It's undertones of drug addiction or use is stunning and full of impact! The 3rd track "THE THING THAT SHOULD NOT BE" is my personal favorite metal song of all time. It is loosely based on H.P. Lovecraft's science fiction short "Call of the Cthulhu" about a race of ancient aliens of a horrific nature who hide in silence waiting to be reawakened. I have read several books by Lovecraft (August 20, 1890 - March 15, 1937) and he is a stunning author of Science Fiction and Horror who has only in recent decades been recognized for his brilliance. The 4th track, "WELCOME HOME (SANITARIUM)" is a METAL Guitar EXPLOSION! Kirk Hammet is invincible in his guitar solos on this entire album. Kirk Hammet's solos on this album have solidified his triumph over all other metal gutarists. 5TH track "DISPOSABLE HEROES" is another punishing and road grating punch of METAL intensity. The song contains lyrics that are apparently a social commentary on the horrors of war.Track 6, "LEPER MESSIAH" is an expose of religion that is the product of the Drummer Lars Ulrich's Atheism that is revisited on several albums on which he has written lyrics. Musically, the song is intense and hits you like a tank. The 7th Track, "ORION" will never be played perfectly again live because of the death of the writer/bassist Cliff Burton. It is a bass solo to top ALL bass solos. Even without words the song is spellbinding. And then to bring the album to a close, the 8th and final track "DAMAGE INC" is a return to the METAL ASSAULT that began with "BATTERY" to begin the album. It is a classic METAL song that is filled with passion and violence! As a METAL album, from start to finish "MASTER OF PUPPETS" is the greatest METAL album of all time by the greatest METAL band of all time! After this album, the band had some success with "And Justice for All", but this album while good never reached the visceral intensity of "PUPPETS". There were a few quasi commercial albums after "JUSTICE" that were somewhat mediocre until the bands released of "DEATH MAGNETIC" in 2010 which has re-energized the entire METAL community! But if you take METALLICA's entire discography into account, "MASTER OF PUPPETS" was and is their crowning achievement. The fact that the album went 6x Platinum without any radio play or videos is a testament to the greatness of the album. The first song METALLICA made that actually received radio airtime was "ONE" from the "BLACK" album several years after "PUPPETS", yet they were STILL able to achieve monumental success with little or no publicity or airplay. That alone speaks volumes about METALLICA as a band and the loyalty of the quasi cult like following they have. Commercial success meant NOTHING in the production of "PUPPETS". The band fanatically stayed true to their core beliefs about what METAL was supposed to be regardless of the critics and the old payola system that prevented any of the songs on the album to be played on the radio when it was released. They just made it and it was Perfection without critical acclaim! It stands alone in this regard as THE album that began the assault on the Radio infrastructure of their day.

If you call yourself a METALHEAD, and you have NOT heard this entire album from start to finish, you are a POSER! If you do not have this album in your collection and have at least 2 of the songs in rotation on your ipod, you are missing what METAL is all about. If you want to know what REAL METAL sounds like, then by all means download this from ITUNES or however you get your music and turn your headphones up to 11 and play the entire album from start to finish! It will make your ears BLEED and your vision blurry, but you will have heard what REAL METAL is supposed to sound like. METALLICA IS THE STANDARD BY WHICH OTHER METAL BANDS ASPIRE TO ! "Bang that head that does not bang" the Bridge Militia.
Loading...
04.03.2011 - 22:10
Marcel Hubregtse
Grumpy Old Fuck
Elite
Written by FaStRmAn on 04.03.2011 at 19:39

...There were a few quasi commercial albums after "JUSTICE" that were somewhat mediocre until the bands released of "DEATH MAGNETIC" in 2010 which has re-energized the entire METAL community!



:


Is all that has to be said about that line.
----
Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal

Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight
Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.)
05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996

Loading...
04.03.2011 - 22:35
!J.O.O.E.!
Account deleted
According to that guy I'm a poser ='[
Loading...
05.03.2011 - 01:09
Rating: 8
Troy Killjoy
perfunctionist
Staff
Written by [user id=4365] on 04.03.2011 at 22:35

According to that guy I'm a poser ='[

Who isn't?
----
"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
Loading...
05.03.2011 - 01:16
Rating: 7
X-Ray Rod
Skandino
Staff
Written by [user id=4365] on 04.03.2011 at 22:35

According to that guy I'm a poser ='[

yeah... I went to the corner and cried a bit after reading that line and thinking how much of a poser I am for not liking metallica at all but one or two songs (that Master Of Puppets isn't even part of)


I suck so much.
----
Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29
Like you could kiss my ass

Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
Rod, let me love you.

Loading...
05.03.2011 - 14:43
!J.O.O.E.!
Account deleted
We might as well just kill ourselves.
Loading...
05.03.2011 - 17:06
RavenKing
Written by FaStRmAn on 04.03.2011 at 19:39

This IS the GREATEST METAL ALBUM OF ALL TIME !!!! Although there are some albums that rival its perfection (ie. Helloween, Keeper of the Seven Keys pt.1), no other band has been able to capture all that is METAL on one disk and smash it into the face of society with a resounding death blow! The tracks on this album are without equal in their reproduction of what Metal Music is all about. The tracks are placed masterfully with regard to order and heaviness. Master of Puppets is a grand tour of METAL force. If someone who was ignorant of what METAL really is all about wanted to experience what METAL music is, they need only play the Title track of this album "Master of Puppets" to be enlightened (or darkened...) From start to finish, Master of Puppets is the crowning achievement of METALLICA and is one of the most critically acclaimed albums and best selling METAL albums of all time. The first track "BATTERY" is a Ripping track that hits you like a combination of punches to your FACE! The second and title track "MASTER OF PUPPETS" is such an influential and timeless piece of METAL history, that it is considered by many to be the best METAL song ever written. Every facet of METAL is contained within the song. It's undertones of drug addiction or use is stunning and full of impact! The 3rd track "THE THING THAT SHOULD NOT BE" is my personal favorite metal song of all time. It is loosely based on H.P. Lovecraft's science fiction short "Call of the Cthulhu" about a race of ancient aliens of a horrific nature who hide in silence waiting to be reawakened. I have read several books by Lovecraft (August 20, 1890 - March 15, 1937) and he is a stunning author of Science Fiction and Horror who has only in recent decades been recognized for his brilliance. The 4th track, "WELCOME HOME (SANITARIUM)" is a METAL Guitar EXPLOSION! Kirk Hammet is invincible in his guitar solos on this entire album. Kirk Hammet's solos on this album have solidified his triumph over all other metal gutarists. 5TH track "DISPOSABLE HEROES" is another punishing and road grating punch of METAL intensity. The song contains lyrics that are apparently a social commentary on the horrors of war.Track 6, "LEPER MESSIAH" is an expose of religion that is the product of the Drummer Lars Ulrich's Atheism that is revisited on several albums on which he has written lyrics. Musically, the song is intense and hits you like a tank. The 7th Track, "ORION" will never be played perfectly again live because of the death of the writer/bassist Cliff Burton. It is a bass solo to top ALL bass solos. Even without words the song is spellbinding. And then to bring the album to a close, the 8th and final track "DAMAGE INC" is a return to the METAL ASSAULT that began with "BATTERY" to begin the album. It is a classic METAL song that is filled with passion and violence! As a METAL album, from start to finish "MASTER OF PUPPETS" is the greatest METAL album of all time by the greatest METAL band of all time! After this album, the band had some success with "And Justice for All", but this album while good never reached the visceral intensity of "PUPPETS". There were a few quasi commercial albums after "JUSTICE" that were somewhat mediocre until the bands released of "DEATH MAGNETIC" in 2010 which has re-energized the entire METAL community! But if you take METALLICA's entire discography into account, "MASTER OF PUPPETS" was and is their crowning achievement. The fact that the album went 6x Platinum without any radio play or videos is a testament to the greatness of the album. The first song METALLICA made that actually received radio airtime was "ONE" from the "BLACK" album several years after "PUPPETS", yet they were STILL able to achieve monumental success with little or no publicity or airplay. That alone speaks volumes about METALLICA as a band and the loyalty of the quasi cult like following they have. Commercial success meant NOTHING in the production of "PUPPETS". The band fanatically stayed true to their core beliefs about what METAL was supposed to be regardless of the critics and the old payola system that prevented any of the songs on the album to be played on the radio when it was released. They just made it and it was Perfection without critical acclaim! It stands alone in this regard as THE album that began the assault on the Radio infrastructure of their day.

If you call yourself a METALHEAD, and you have NOT heard this entire album from start to finish, you are a POSER! If you do not have this album in your collection and have at least 2 of the songs in rotation on your ipod, you are missing what METAL is all about. If you want to know what REAL METAL sounds like, then by all means download this from ITUNES or however you get your music and turn your headphones up to 11 and play the entire album from start to finish! It will make your ears BLEED and your vision blurry, but you will have heard what REAL METAL is supposed to sound like. METALLICA IS THE STANDARD BY WHICH OTHER METAL BANDS ASPIRE TO ! "Bang that head that does not bang" the Bridge Militia.

What a shitload of retarded crap. Another one-cell brain who thinks Metal music is limited to Metallica, which I consider as the epitome of ignorance. From now on, I consider any opinion you can have on Metal as invalid.

The bad effect Metallica can have on weak-minded people is one more reason to hate this band. There's hardly a Metal band I can hate and despise as much as the shitty old has-been band Metallica became. A pathetic disgrace.
----
They shake your hand and they smile and they buy you a drink
They say we'll be your friends we'll stick with you till the end
But everybody's only looking out for themselves
And you say who can you trust I'll tell you nobody
Loading...
06.03.2011 - 02:08
Rating: 8
Troy Killjoy
perfunctionist
Staff
Written by RavenKing on 05.03.2011 at 17:06

The bad effect Metallica can have on weak-minded people is one more reason to hate this band.

Metallica: the Justin Bieber of metal.
----
"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
Loading...
06.03.2011 - 10:14
Slayer666
I guess I'm the biggest poser, since I think that both Master of Puppets and Ride The Lightning suck major ass.
Then again, I think most of 80's metal sucks...
Loading...
06.03.2011 - 16:03
RavenKing
Written by Slayer666 on 06.03.2011 at 10:14

Then again, I think most of 80's metal sucks...

You probably won't find lots of people to share this point of view but I agree.

We probably think like that because we are extreme metal fans. I don't know for you but most of the albums I'm listening to are from the 90s. Remember that this decade was a disaster for traditional Heavy Metal but a great period for extreme Metal. So yes, according to my tastes, Metal in general sucked in the 80s (though they're are exceptions and real gems to find).
And even if we speak of softer Metal, I think the 90s were much better than the 80s, since the second part of the decade has been great for Powermetal, which I consider as better, more advanced and evolved than traditional Heavy Metal, when Powermetal is done correctly.

So, imo, the 90s were better than the 80s. Both for extreme Metal (Black Metal and Death Metal) and for soft/melodic stuff (Powermetal, Melodeath).
The area in which the 80s utterly crush the 90s is when it comes to Thrash. OMG, the 90s sucked, as for Thrash.

People nowadays have an idyllic vision of the 80s that doesn't reflect reality.
----
They shake your hand and they smile and they buy you a drink
They say we'll be your friends we'll stick with you till the end
But everybody's only looking out for themselves
And you say who can you trust I'll tell you nobody
Loading...
06.03.2011 - 16:06
!J.O.O.E.!
Account deleted
I also agree. I listen to very little 80's metal outside of Candlemass. A few exceptions here and there but for the most part it doesn't to it for me. Modern shizzle all the way baby.
Loading...
07.03.2011 - 22:55
Rating: 9
Deadmeat
Necrobutcher
Written by RavenKing on 06.03.2011 at 16:03

Written by Slayer666 on 06.03.2011 at 10:14

Then again, I think most of 80's metal sucks...

You probably won't find lots of people to share this point of view but I agree.

We probably think like that because we are extreme metal fans. I don't know for you but most of the albums I'm listening to are from the 90s. Remember that this decade was a disaster for traditional Heavy Metal but a great period for extreme Metal. So yes, according to my tastes, Metal in general sucked in the 80s (though they're are exceptions and real gems to find).
And even if we speak of softer Metal, I think the 90s were much better than the 80s, since the second part of the decade has been great for Powermetal, which I consider as better, more advanced and evolved than traditional Heavy Metal, when Powermetal is done correctly.

So, imo, the 90s were better than the 80s. Both for extreme Metal (Black Metal and Death Metal) and for soft/melodic stuff (Powermetal, Melodeath).
The area in which the 80s utterly crush the 80s is when it comes to Thrash. OMG, the 90s sucked, as for Thrash.

People nowadays have an idyllic vision of the 80s that doesn't reflect reality.

i am also an extreme metal fan, and i have to disagree. (i agree though with what you've said about the bad effects of metallica to weak minded people). 80's offered awesome albums in every category and was the beginner of the styles that offered also many awesome efforts in the 90's (death metal and black metal of course). also i dont believe that someone EXTREME METALHEAD should judge metallica as the pioneers of thrash cause probably he'll find them average and nothing more. they've created nice albums though especially those 2 mentioned are very good but not that extreme.

generally i agree with the idea of your 1st phrase that WE, extreme metalheads, find it difficult to recognize as awesome some bands that many people call METAL GODS.
----
Υou've sold your human essence to the cold world of dead and empty things... You're SOLD!
Loading...
08.03.2011 - 08:26
Void_Eater
Account deleted
Written by FaStRmAn on 04.03.2011 at 19:39

typical "Gay For Metallica" fan response

Gimme a break, this album is nothing special. It has 4 good tracks on it- Battery, the title track, Disposable Heroes, and Damage Inc., and the rest ranges from passable(Sanitarium, Orion) to downright boring and pathetic(Leper Messiah, The Thing That Should Not Be). No, I'm not some Metallica hating only loves underground metal guy- Killem All, RTL and AJFA are three of my favorite albums, but this album is just a bridge betweem RTL and AJFA. On the sngs where they just thrash, they do great-the four tracks I mentioned as good, even if Disposable Heroes is far to long for its own good. Battery in particular has one of the best thrash riffs ever. But the other four.... Sanitarium is weak when compared to Fade to Black, One, or even The Unforgiven. It sounds so much more forced than the other ballads they've done, except for Nothing Else Matters of course. Sanitarium sounds like it was written simply for radio play, as opposed to Fade to Black and One. Orion is fine at first, but drags on, and on, and on... Leper Messiah has the most dull main riff I've ever heard, and The Thing That Should Not Be is 6 minutes of a failed attempt at doom-albeit with a cool solo, although Kirk really is nothing special.

Such an ovverated album though, and a mystery why anybody would consider it their best.
Loading...
26.07.2015 - 17:20
Rating: 10
Bad English
Tage Westerlund
Cliff is audible unlike AJFA

what the hack is ajfa -- assault joint force - alfa ?
----
I stand whit Ukraine and Israel. They have right to defend own citizens.

Stormtroopers of Death - "Speak English or Die"

I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
Loading...
26.07.2015 - 17:26
Marcel Hubregtse
Grumpy Old Fuck
Elite
Written by Bad English on 26.07.2015 at 17:20

Cliff is audible unlike AJFA

what the hack is ajfa -- assault joint force - alfa ?

Of course you can't hear CLiff on And Justice For All because Cliff never a played a note on it because he was dead for a couple of years already.
----
Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal

Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight
Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.)
05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996

Loading...

Hits total: 11239 | This month: 16