Monday, February 24, 2014

CLASSIC ALBUM SPOTLIGHT: MASTER OF PUPPETS

I'm going to get real personal on this one. In 1987 my older brother sat me down and told me I needed to listen to Master of Puppets by Metallica. I was young but I really wanted to start playing guitar and after listening to Master of Puppets just once there wasn't a doubt in my mind that playing guitar is what I wanted to do. I wasn't even a teenager yet and I just started digesting everything heavy metal after that. This is the record and Metallica is the band that made me who I am today. As for Metallica, at the start of the touring process they opened for Ozzy, it was the last time Metallica ever went on tour as a support act. Unfortunately it was while on tour in Europe later that year in support of this album that Metallica were involved in a bus accident that killed then bassist Cliff Burton. That makes this record even more important as we hear the peak of one of metal's greatest players.

Artist: Metallica

Album: Master of Puppets

Release Date: February 24, 1986

Recommended Listening: Battery, Master of Puppets, The Thing That Should Not Be, Welcome Home (Sanitarium), Disposable Heroes, Leper Messiah, Orion, Damage Inc. (Yes I know that's the entire track listing)

(Album artwork from Elektra Records)

"Even though Master of Puppets didn't take as gigantic a leap forward as Ride the Lightning, it was the band's greatest achievement, hailed as a masterpiece by critics far outside heavy metal's core audience. It was also a substantial hit, reaching the Top 30 and selling three million copies despite absolutely nonexistent airplay."

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