Master of Puppets is the third studio album by Metallica, released on March 3, 1986, by Elektra Records. Recorded in Copenhagen, Denmark, at Sweet Silence Studios with producer Flemming Rasmussen, it was the band’s final album to feature bassist Cliff Burton, who died in a bus accident in Sweden during the album’s promotional tour.
The album’s artwork, designed by Metallica and Peter Mensch and painted by Don Brautigam, depicts a cemetery field of white crosses tethered to strings, manipulated by a pair of hands in a clouded, blood-red sky, with a fiery orange glow on the horizon.
The album is the band’s most recent to date to feature a runtime of under an hour. Instead of releasing a single or video in advance of the album’s release, Metallica embarked on a five-month American tour in support of Ozzy Osbourne. The European leg was canceled after Burton‘s death in September 1986, and the band returned home to audition a new bassist.
Master of Puppets peaked at number 29 on the Billboard 200 and received widespread acclaim from critics, who praised its music and political lyrics. It is widely considered to be one of the greatest and most influential metal albums of all time, and is credited with consolidating the American thrash metal scene.
It was certified six times platinum by the (RIAA) in 2003 for shipping six million copies in the United States, and was later certified six times platinum by Music Canada and platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).
In 2015, Master of Puppets became the first metal recording to be selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”
Tracklist:
- Battery
- Master Of Puppets
- The Thing That Should Not Be
- Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
- Disposable Heroes
- Leper Messiah
- Orion
- Damage, Inc.
Metallica
James Hetfield: vocals, rhythm guitar, 1st guitar solo on “Master of Puppets”, 2nd guitar solo on “Orion”
Lars Ulrich: drums, percussion
Kirk Hammett: lead guitar
Cliff Burton: bass, backing vocals
Production
Metallica: production
Flemming Rasmussen: production, engineering
Andy Wroblewski: assistant engineer
Michael Wagener: mixing
Mark Wilzcak: assistant mixing engineer
George Marino: mastering, remastering on 1995 re-release
Howie Weinberg, Gentry Studer: 2017 remastering
Artwork
Metallica, Peter Mensch: cover concept
Don Brautigam: cover illustration
Ross Halfin: inner sleeve photos
Rich Likong, Ross Halfin, Rob Ellis: back cover photos
Digital reissue bonus tracks
Jason Newsted: bass and backing vocals
Mike Gillies: mixing
Clifford Lee Burton (February 10, 1962 – September 27, 1986)
