Metallica- Master of Puppets

Metallica released this their third album in 1986.

About 20 years later, I got around to buying it, specifically for one song. Actually, to be exact, I bought it for the first half of one song! ... but while we're here, we might as well investigate the other 94% of the album...

Things start out very nicely with the acoustic guitar intro to Battery. Unfortunately, the rest of the song strikes me as quite disjointed.

Another gripe is the recording quality: it's like a checklist of all the bad '80s traits. Unfortunately, copping the brunt of the poor sound is Master of Puppets, which is greatly undermined by its sound. This is a huge shame, as it features a fantastic riff, tonnes of energy and brilliantly grand and bitter lyrics.

The Thing That Should Not Be works well with the nicely crunchy guitar sound and the slower tempo creating a menacing mood. Unfortunately, some of the sections are quite awkwardly composed, and what on earth is with the strange synth sound behind the vocals in the verse??

Disposable Heroes is an excellent journey into almost prog-rock territory. The chorus is a bit of a letdown for me, but the rest of the song is fantastically intricate. Damage Inc may be a technical masterpiece, but I don't find it actually that captivating.

Orion. Oh yes, the reason I own this album. The buzz of distortion guitars emerging from the misty swamp is always the start of a special experience for me. Then enters a riff to be enjoyed over and over again- possibly the most epic riff in the universe! The sound is awfully woofly, but this song has more than enough raw power to prevail. To maintain interest, the band play around with time signatures for a while and then turn the riff on its head. Then the riff returns in full headbanging glory. Bliss.

There's nothing wrong with the second half of Orion, it's just that nothing can compete with the first half! Over time, I'm beginning to appreciate the full song, the ballad section are actually very well done. Although the fade-out ending is a lazy effort.

Favourite songs

Master of Puppets, Disposable Heroes, Orion 

Worthwhile?

Maybe one day I'll mature and learn to appreciate this album for more than just one epic riff. But in the meantime, I'm still completely satisfied with the situation!