Metallica, one of the greatest bands and biggest letdowns. What are they now but another corporate band? This album goes back to a time before that before MTV when Metallica were at their peak and and just released this mind-blowing album that is up there with Iron Maidens Number of the Beast and Paranoid. The guitars are perfect with crunching riffs and there is always a melody. Cliff Burton builds on the musicianship of Ride the Lightning experimenting with tempo changes dynamics and his bass is as prominent as ever. Hetfields voice is brilliant not as harsh or raspy as earlier releases and doesn't have the hollowness of Justice. Kirk Hammets leads are a carefully blended mixture of melody and sheer speed.
Battery starts off with a slow classical intro a, fitting introduction to this song. As it fades away you brace yourself for the sudden blast, which then becomes a full-blown riff. Lars Ulrich's blistering skin work gives this song the extra edge. Burton’s bass gallops along and really pounds your ears on this song. Then its Hammets solo its absolutely terrible but a release of energy before that heavy
riff slices it up. This song is raw and very thrashy.
Next is the title track and my favourite song. Four loud beats signal the intro and then we get another razor sharp riff. On this song Metallica experiment more with dynamics creating layers to the song and you can hear an underlying melody. This song is about drug abuse and how it wrecks people’s lives. Hetfield s voice is at its peak as he belts out those unforgettable words "MASTER MASTER". This is one of those songs that seems to get bigger and bigger until it stops. There is a quiet melody playing which gradually becomes a solo but this was played by Hetfield who maybe slower but much more melodic then what Hammet has done until some heavily distorted guitar crushes all that. Now Hammets solo is much faster then Hetfields and is a noticeable improvement on Battery. gradually the song fades away to the sound of harrowed voices. A classic.
Next is quite a slow sludgy song based on a Lovecraft story (yes they love him). Although slow bruising and undeniably heavy it is not focused enough and gets dragged out a bit too long, it is a good song none the less. If I had to say it would be the weakest song on the album but is still a brilliant song.
Sanatarium is a song about how mental patients are treated like animals. The slow eerie intro gathers pace as Hetfields chilling voice sings over the top of it and finally in the chorus we hear a thick distorted guitar. It then goes back to that clean melody until the climax where we hear Hetfield sing those words with real conviction
"Fear living on Natives getting restless now Mutiny in the air Got some death to do Mirror stares back hard Kill is such a friendly word Seems the only way Of reaching out again."
We are treated to another stunning solo which help fades out the song
Disposable Heroes is a fast firey song. Its what you think of when you think of thrash. The height of this song is most definitely Lars drumming. He has come under fire for his drumming in the past but he really pounds the drum superbly. They are in time fast and gives the song extra potency and hard edge. The song is about how the government doesn't care about soldiers and forgets about them after the war.
Leper Messiah is a mid paced thrashy song with a brooding brutal riff. Another excellent drum performance (what was Lars on) and the bass pounds once again. A faster chorus and Hetfield gets higher then on any other song. The song chugs along and is aimed at TV Evangelists who are fake or "leper messiahs " who try and make money out of religion.
I lied earlier Orion is actually my favourite. Cliff mainly wrote this instrumental of epic proportions. The intro fades in and a steady drumbeat is heard. It get louder and louder until this riff breaks through going over and over changing and building up faster with all this time a stunning bass and some very good and melodic lead work until it disappears. This mid section is where the song got its name as a slower lead is played to a soft whispering bass. Wonderful! As one lead fades away another comes in with different time changes until wham. A loud beat is heard and a fast yet melodic solo slices through the song and that fast riff comes charging in until it fades away. This was Cliff's song and it goes to show what a genius he was.
To finish off we get a real thrashy song although it has a soft intro a sharp riff smashes it up and a thundering double bass runs it over. Hetfield belts out how the army abuses people. About half way the tempo slows but a speedy solo breaks that up.
If you haven't realised this is a work of genius a masterpiece call it what you want but all metalhead and music lovers should by it. I'm sorry if I've gone on a bit but if you don't want to spend an hour reading what I say spend an hour listening to the album.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
its very possible the best studio basd album they have done, although lets face it, their early stuff is far superior to the newer stuff, the song that they have done with ja rule is utter crap. Anyways, great op on a great album. Later dude
eaglesas 13.01.2002 00:56
Excellent review for a very deserving album... However corporate though, I still like Metallica... I don't care what they do, as long as I like the music. However, I'm extremely fearful when I hear the likes of DMX could well be appearing on the next album... Yipes... We want THRASH!!!!!!!!
One of the defining albums of thrash metal,Master of Puppetsis arguably Metallica's best ... more
album (as well as their last with bassist Cliff Burton). Focusing on the concept of power and abuses thereof, this is a collection of complex, intelligent music, p...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
One of the defining albums of thrash metal, Master of Puppets is arguably Metallica's best ... more
album (as well as their last with bassist Cliff Burton). Focusing on the concept of power and abuses thereof, this is a collection of complex, intelligent music,...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
One of the defining albums of thrash metal,Master of Puppetsis arguably Metallica's best ... more
album (as well as their last with bassist Cliff Burton). Focusing on the concept of power and abuses thereof, this is a collection of complex, intelligent music, p...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Advantages: Flawless Heavy Metal record, technically stunning time signature shifts with occasional classical structuring Disadvantages: 20 year old production job, could do with a re-mastering
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