Master of Puppets [Original recording remastered]

Metallica | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Original Release Date: 1986
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Elektra / Wea
• ASIN: B000002H33
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1,355 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #148 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #1 in Music > Hard Rock & Metal > Thrash & Speed Metal
  • #1 in Music > Hard Rock & Metal > Hard Rock
  • #6 in Music > Hard Rock & Metal > Pop Metal

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

One of the defining albums of thrash metal, Master of Puppets is arguably Metallica's best album (as well as their last with bassist Cliff Burton). Focusing on the concept of power and abuses thereof, this is a collection of complex, intelligent music, played at about a hundred miles an hour. Not that these are short songs; this eight-song album clocks in at over an hour, which makes it all the more impressive that not one moment on this recording is boring. In tackling various approaches to their subject, Metallica is insightful lyrically as well as musically: "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)" is from the point of view of an institutionalized inmate and "Disposable Heroes" is the perspective of a soldier. If all you've heard of Metallica is what's been on the radio recently, check this one out. You're in for a surprise. --Genevieve Williams

Product Description

No Description Available.
Genre: Popular Music
Media Format: Compact Disk
Rating:
Release Date: 11-JAN-1989

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

192 of 212 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars "DANCE PUPPETS! DANCE! " April 24, 2000

By Ilker Yucel

Format:Audio CD

THIS is one of the finest albums every produced, not just in the genre of thrash metal. Metallica rocked with their first two albums, but this is the album that I listen to most out of all of them. There is not a single dull moment on this masterpiece of puppetry. All the songs are played with lightning fast precision, and glorious heavy metal power. And yet, 1) The songs clock in mostly between 5-12 minutes long, and 2) Amidst the mayhem of wailing guitars and pounding drums is the sound of melody and classically influenced arrangments and composition. This is largely in part to bassist Cliff Burton, the most classically trained member of the band. Sadly this would be his final album, but if he had to give a final farewell before his sudden and unfortunate death, this album screams with a power that engraves into the listeners' minds, "Cliff was here!"

-"Battery": great acoustic intro leading into a maniacal barage of Hetfield's harsh vocals and Ulrich's pounding drums that literally batter their way through your ears.

-"Master of Puppets": a classic in the truest sense of the word. Like "Battery," this song is fast, hard, and it beckons with energy the question of who is truly the puppet and who is the puppeteer.

-"The Thing that Should Not Be": again, a great acoustic intro that leads into a hardcore thrash rhythm.

-"Welcome Home (Sanitarium)": the lyrics are the real gem here, telling the story of a mental patient from inside the patient's mind. The music is great, but the lyrics can haunt you if you're not careful....

-"Disposable Heroes": while I may like their later song "One" better in terms of the lyrical device of the soldier's point of view, I still give this one credit since it came first, and let's face it...everything on this album kicks serious arse, including this one.

-"Leper Messiah": I could say again that this song is fierce in its brutal greatness, but I've been saying that about every other song, so...let's just say this is still yet another great song on this great album.

-"Orion": great instrumental, with a militaristic march that echoes the gradeur of Wagner, but without being oppressive. This is something for the Metal Militia to use as a warcry.

-"Damage Inc.": the intro to this song is absolutely incredible. It is my favorite part of the song, and thus that makes it my favorite song on the album. As a closer...it is amazing, and it has to be one of the best songs Metallica ever recorded.

Top-notch production, speed-licks only Hammett and Hetfield could dish out to give Eddie Van Halen a run for his money, and let's face it...like I said, it is a sad, but glorious and powerful farewell to Cliff Burton. He left us too soon. Behold his legacy! DANCE PUPPETS! DANCE! Read more ›

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Master of Metal October 11, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Audio CD

Metallica truly shows their maximum talent in this amazing album. This 24k gold CD holds beautiful sound quality that will blow any fan away. This spectacular CD is defenitely worth the purchase, especially if you are a die hard fan...10 times better than regular "puppets" album.

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars 22 yrs after initial release, Master of Puppets still stands out July 21, 2008

By Stephen M. Lerch TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Vinyl|Amazon Verified Purchase

I own the CD of MoP and in comparison to the CD, I'd say the 1/2 speed mastered vinyl release, done by the originators of "audiophile" vinyl in the late 70s into the 80s, Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs, breathes a different kind of life into the album.

Comparing this vinyl release to the CD, I have to say the CD does a very nice job in recreating the original sound and feel of the recording. If you're looking for a "WOW" factor from vinyl, then I don't believe the Metallica vinyl are the LPs for you to invest in.

However, if you're looking for audiophile quality vinyl recordings, knowing that what you're hearing is as close to being in the studio as you can get, you can't find better than this! MoP was done using a 1/2 speed mastering system from the original analog recordings. What this means is that the master vinyl created is given more time to accurately form the audio, pulling every tiny detail from the analog source. To facilitate a cleaner sound, it is then etched on virgin 180g vinyl. The heavier vinyl, less noise (hiss) is heard from the record itself. Playback is set at 45 RPM, allowing for more of the vinyl per song, which means better playback from your turntable. Mo-Fi Sound Labs really has this down to a science.

Why re-release on vinyl? Because this is the format "audiophiles" supposedly prefer, given the original recording is unmolested with dynamic range compression or cut off at the knees by the 44khz sampling rate. Vinyl makes an album sound closer to the music as it was played (on a good system).

On a decent audio system the music is allowed a better dynamic range that really shines. On the same system the CD also sounds really good....

As far as the album itself, more than likely you've heard all of the tracks considered true classics in the metal scene. Master of Puppets, Battery, The Thing That Should Not Be and Welcome Home (Sanitarium) aren't just Metallica classics, they are metal classics that stand the test of time. What of the other tracks then? They are classics that most non-fans don't know. Orion stands as a marvelous sounding, well written and perfectly executed musical and on this album there are nuances you hear, such as more accurately reproduced cymbals and snare that actually gives the vinyl an edge over the CD (if you have a good sound system).

So should you invest in Metallica on vinyl? The answer to that question is... it depends. If you have a moderately priced audio system and a good turn table, I'd say you would do worse than picking this album up. If all you have is tiny surround speakers connected to a budget priced surround system, purchasing this album won't sound better than the CD. Read more ›

85 of 96 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A milestone. July 17, 2001

By Lord Chimp

Format:Audio CD

Master of Puppets illustrates why Metallica was one of the most important metal bands ever.

After giving birth to thrash with Kill 'Em All, Metallica began refining their innovations with Ride the Lightning, which added a bit more maturity and compositional quality. Master of Puppets is a much larger step in the same direction, and had the band incorporating more progressive elements into their music. It'd be hard to count the metal bands doing half the pioneering things Metallica was doing.

The acoustic, quiet introduction to "Battery" explodes under an aggressive onslaught of hyperkinetic, muscular riffs and thick, heavy arrangements that characterize the entire album. That's not to say it's redundant, though. All eight songs are excellent, featuring enough variation of tempo and texture to ensure that they never get boring, which is crucial when some songs extend for eight minutes ("Master of Puppets," "Disposable Heroes," "Orion"). Cripes, you could dissect the riffery of the title track and probably create half a dozen normal metal songs. That"s part of Metallica's appeal: they cram a ton of ideas into their music, but all songs are perfectly crafted without the slightest sense of disjointed songwriting.

Speaking of the title track, it in particular sports a dynamic composition, where its middle section diminishes into a quieter, evocative guitar solo (one of the few played by Hetfield) before taking off all over again. "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)" mirrors "Fade to Black" in its progression of intensity. It starts with haunting melodies, turning up the crunch for the chorus, then kicks into high gear with a weighty, fast riff and a glistening lead that carries the song to its vengeful apogee.... Hetfield isn't quite a master lyricist, but for the first time in Metallica's career, the lyrics were insightful with effective diction. Note the telling and vitriolic "Disposable Heroes" or "Leper Messiah." Hetfield was never a great singer, but he was a good metal vocalist. Although his ferocity was tempered by youthful pipes, he still managed to convey the viciousness required of music so heavy, so furious.

And even when the band eschewed words and singing, they could impress. "Orion" is a marvel of metal songwriting, being an eight minute instrumental with precise, articulate solos (including a short-but-sweet one from the late bassist Cliff Burton) and big, chugging riffs. Most metal bands wrote instrumentals that were three or four minutes long...never eight. But Metallica did it, and they did it well enough to make songs like "Orion" and "To Live Is To Die" (from ...And Justice) among my favorite metal instrumentals.

Add my voice to the many, many fans who have rated this album five stars (about 362 at the time of this writing). If Master of Puppets isn't the best metal album ever, it's very very close. Read more ›