MASTER OF PUPPETS

A great metal album, and one of the jewels of thrash metal, "Master of Puppets" deserves all the acclaim it receives. That being said, I have made no secret that I do not see Metallica as prog-metal in the slightest. As for being related to prog, the bands influences are the NWOBHM bands and more immediately...Punk, as well as the Speed Metal bands of the time. As for their impact on progressive metal, I jut do not hear it in their music. Aside from different tempos, and occasional acoustic guitar and mixing it up, there's no prog to be found. Queensrÿche, Fates Warning, and Dream Theater and the biggest influences I see on prog-metal (besides the original prog rock bands of course) and though DT is credited with keeping prog alive, and blending it with metal they give credit to Fates Warning for the latter.

That rant being over, "Master of Puppets" is indeed the most progressive work you will find by Metallica.

Battery. Begins with some wonderful acoustic guitar and melody before the thrash begins. Aside from a small break with melody this lasts for most of the song. One of the better solos from Kirk is in this song, and this is a rare song of good drumming from Lars, (who is merely adequate in my book).

Master of Puppets. The title song is pretty much a mid tempo song. There is a beautiful melodic section in the middle. It builds to a more shred solo from Hammett. The songs ends well enough.

The Thing that Should not be. A slower song, it has some cool sounds as well as nice slow heaviness, but overall is just kind of boring. One of those infamous Metallica songs that just goes for too long.

Welcome Home (Sanitarium). My favorite song on the album. A slow, ballad-esque song with some just great melody in it, and James' vocals are great as usual, really works in this song. A good piece, reminiscent of Fade to Black, also the fourth song its album (talk about un-progressive!).

The second half is for you to listen to! But I will say there is no real weak song. Orion is intriguing, though a bit too long. The album ends with Damage Inc. which really kicks in and is pretty unrelenting. Good finish.

Overall, a great album. As with all of Metallica's work James is the unsung hero. His rhythm guitar work is really the backbone of the album, and his vocals are superb. As usual Kirk is good, showing his shred capability but also melodicism. Lars is mediocre, not good nor bad but he gets the job done at least. Cliff is good, but I don't hear the bass too much and frankly I think his hype of bass God is a little much. He seems to mostly follow the guitar work, (more of a musician than virtuoso) but he is fine, and does have nice moments.

Like all their works, "Master of Puppets" is greater then the sum of its parts. Metallica's stability and musicianship make this album so great, as well as their legitimacy in making it. Perhaps the stability, (and legitimacy) is why they always outproduce Megadeth despite that bands always musically superior lineups. Anyway, I personally give this album a four. However, in the context of this site it has little impact and only metal fans/prog fans with large tastes need this.

For this website...Three Stars