A collection of all-time great works can be found on Ride the Lightning, the album preceding Master of Puppets. Not just some of the very best songs from Metallica, but for the metal genre as a whole. They’re a band whose sense of drama has planted a heightened instrumental thrill at the core of their work. Once they lost that, they lost their wider audience. But still, they draw the big crowds because you cannot, truly, lose the magic of atmosphere when it’s as strong as it is on Ride the Lightning or Master of Puppets. Part of Metallica’s continuing popularity is their accessibility. They present the fundamentals of metal without the more cringe-inducing reliance on skull imagery or claims of greatness. Anyone can claim to be brilliant at what they do, showing they can do it is another game entirely. If Ride the Lightning didn’t convince you, then Master of Puppets won’t, either. It’s a continuation of what strength can be found on an amazing album.
More than anything, Master of Puppets will depend on your interest in the vocal style trying to keep up with the thrash metal style. A much clearer, quicker tempo is pulled in for album opener, Battery. It works well enough and then those explosive instrumental moments are, as expected, a thrill. But crucial to this atmosphere is the percussion. Whatever the vocals and spirited electric guitar work can provide, it falls apart without Lars Ulrich behind the kit. Battery relies on him to punctuate the very flow of the song. It’s like a guide for the guitar work, a steady foundation for James Hetfield to work with. Much of Master of Puppets is strong work, but it never betters the Ride the Lightning thrills. Its title track is essential listening, though. Battery may be a popular choice and set the scene well, but it’s the brilliant instrumental blur and lyrical quality of Master of Puppets that makes the A-side a force to be reckoned with.
Many of the songs featured on Master of Puppets are, individually, must-listens. As a project, it pales in comparison to what precedes and follows. By all means a great album still, essential for anyone with even a passing interest in rock music, let alone thrash metal, but there are some clunkier moments to Master of Puppets. The Thing That Should Not Be feels rather light on quality, while both Orion and Damage, Inc struggle to leave much of a mark. It’s the instrumental expectation, above all, that will guide listeners to the highlights found on Master of Puppets. It’s a solid A-side and a solid B-side, though neither has that killer instinct. Disposable Heroes is an ambitious piece of work, and then it softens from there. Metallica does not lose sight of their high bar, but it feel as though they can hear Ride the Lightning is their peak.
All they can do from here is repeat the process that made the magic happen. You cannot recapture that feeling, not so close to the feeling itself, anyway. Master of Puppets is a still formidable piece of work, and a credit to Metallica all the same. Popular does not always mean perfect, and where the strength of Master of Puppets is in its wider appeal, the previous album had much the same and better songs. There’s still a strong atmosphere at play, well-worked by Hetfield and the band throughout some blisteringly cool instrumental work, but the band has done better. Master of Puppets remains a remarkable piece of work all the same. Some experimental production additions and a focus on the frenetic and often satisfying electric guitar work is what holds it together. It’d be the fundamentals of every album they made from here on.
