History Music / MasterOfPuppets

--> ''Master of puppets I'm pulling your strings''

The lyrics by James Hetfield deal with manipulation and a lack of control, but the diversity of the ideas which tackle these themes somewhat defeat the idea of a concept album. Following the template set by [[Music/RideTheLightning its predecessor]], ''Master of Puppets'' was an immediate commercial success, becoming the first ThrashMetal album to be certified Platinum.

* Music/JasonNewsted - bass, vocals[[note]]On the live bonus tracks only[[/note]]

--> ''Just call my name, 'cause I'll hear you scream''
--> ''Master! Master!''
* ToTheTuneOf: Metallica borrowed the intro of Bleak House's "Rainbow Warrior" for "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)"; the bridge is based on "Tom Sawyer" by Music/{{Rush}}. The latter was acknowledged by thanking Rush in the album liner notes.

* WarIsHell: "Disposable Heroes", which alternates between the soldier turned into a BloodKnight, an overlooking narrator noting how dehumanized he got, and a commanding officer who treats the troops as CannonFodder. The post-solo part even goes as close to the trope name as possible:

''Master of Puppets'' is the third studio album by Music/{{Metallica}}, released in 1986. It is their final album to fully feature bassist Cliff Burton, who was killed in a bus crash while touring in Sweden to support this album. Burton does appear on the B-sides that wound up appearing in ''[[CoverAlbum Garage Inc.]]''. While his death was traumatic, the band eventually decided to continue and replace Burton with Music/JasonNewsted. This album is also their first to be released on a major label - Creator/ElektraRecords.

!! Tracklist:

!! Bonus Tracks (Digital Reissue):

!! Principal Members:

* [[Music/ExodusBand Kirk Hammett]] - guitar
* James Hetfield - lead vocals, guitar

* Music/JasonNewsted - bass, vocals [[note]] On the live bonus tracks only [[/note]]

!! Troper of Puppets:

* ContinuityNod: "Damage Inc." contains the line "fuck it all and fucking no regrets", which would reappear on their album ''St. Anger'' in 2003, immediately followed by "I hit the lights on these dark sets", which is a reference to an even older song, 1983's "Hit the Lights".

* FilkSong: "The Thing That Should Not Be" (H.P. Lovecraft, with even parts of his text), and "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)" (''Film/OneFlewOverTheCuckoosNest'').

* Lars Ulrich - drums, percussion

* EpicRocking: The only songs that ''don't'' qualify are "Battery", "Leper Messiah", and "Damage, Inc.", being less than six minutes long

* NonAppearingTitle: The title "Disposable Heroes" doesn't appear on the song.

* SomethingSomethingLeonardBernstein: "Battery".
** Also "Damage Inc." with the only decipherable lyrics being "BLOOD WILL FOLLOW BLOOD!!!..." [--Damage Incorporated--].

* SurprisinglyGentleSong: "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)" starts out like this, but build up in intensity.

* UncommonTime: "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)" is in 10/4 for most of its first half. It's probably not the only example on the album, either.

* CosmicHorrorStory: "The Thing That Should Not Be", along with "The Call of Ktulu" from ''Music/RideTheLightning'' and "All Nightmare Long" from ''Death Magnetic''. All of which were directly inspired by the Franchise/CthulhuMythos.

** Also "Damage Inc." with the only decipherable lyrics being "BLOOD WILL FOLLOW BLOOD!!!..." [--Damage Incorporated--]

** Also "Damage Inc." with the only decipherable lyrics being "BLOOD WILL FOLLOW BLOOD!!!..." [-Damage Incorporated-]

** Also "Damage Inc." with the only decipherable lyrics being "BLOOD WILL FOLLOW BLOOD!!!..."
-Damage Incorporated-

** Also "Damage Inc." with the only decipherable lyrics being "BLOOD WILL FOLLOW BLOOD!!!..." -Damage Incorporated-

** Also "Damage Inc." with the only decipherable lyrics being "BLOOD WILL FOLLOW BLOOD!!!..."
--> Damage Incorporated

** Also "Damage Inc." with the only decipherable lyrics being "BLOOD WILL FOLLOW BLOOD!!!..." -->"Damage Incorporated"

** Also "Damage Inc." with the only decipherable lyrics being "BLOOD WILL FOLLOW BLOOD!!!...-Damage Incoporated-"

* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: About half the album is an 8. "Sanitarium" and "Orion" are a little hard to place on this scale, as their heavier portions are 7 or 8, while their softer portions are 3 or 4. "Disposable Heroes" and "Damage, Inc." are 9.

The lyrics by James Hetfield deal with manipulation and a lack of control, but the diversity of the ideas which tackle these themes somewhat defeat the idea of a concept album. Following the template set by [[Music/RideTheLightning its predecessor]], ''Master of Puppets'' was an immediate commercial and critical success, becoming the first ThrashMetal album to be certified Platinum.

In 2006 ''Magazine/TimeMagazine'' included "Master of Puppets" in their [[TimeAllTime100Albums list of 100 timeless and essential albums of all time]]. The album was also listed at number 167 in Magazine/RollingStone's [[UsefulNotes/RollingStone500GreatestAlbumsOfAllTime 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time]], being elevated to number 97 on the [[UsefulNotes/RollingStone500GreatestAlbumsOfAllTime2020 2020 revision]].

The lyrics by James Hetfield deal with manipulation and a lack of control, but the diversity of the ideas which tackle these themes somewhat defeat the idea of a concept album. Following the template set by [[Music/RideTheLightning its predecessor]], ''Master of Puppets'' was an immediate commercial and critical success - becoming the first ThrashMetal album to be certified Platinum.

* ShoutOut: The title "Leper Messiah" comes from Music/DavidBowie's "[[Music/TheRiseAndFallOfZiggyStardustAndTheSpidersFromMars Ziggy Stardust]]".

In 2006 ''Magazine/TimeMagazine'' included "Master of Puppets" in their [[TimeAllTime100Albums list of 100 timeless and essential albums of all time]]. The album was also listed at number 97 in Magazine/RollingStone's [[Music/RollingStone500GreatestAlbumsOfAllTime2020 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time]].

In 2006 ''Magazine/TimeMagazine'' included "Master of Puppets" in their [[TimeAllTime100Albums list of 100 timeless and essential albums of all time]]. The album was also listed at number 97 in Magazine/RollingStone's [[Music/RollingStone500GreatestAlbumsOfAllTime 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time]].

[[caption-width-right:300: "Master of Puppets, I'm pulling your strings..."]]
%%

* PrecisionFStrike: "Damage Inc." became Metallica's first song with profanity.
** Actually, "Whiplash" was the first Metallica song to include the F word. "Damage Inc." was the second.

In 2006 ''Magazine/TimeMagazine'' included "Master of Puppets" in their [[TimeAllTime100Albums list of 100 timeless and essential albums of all time]]. The album was also listed at no. #197 in Magazine/RollingStone's [[Music/RollingStone500GreatestAlbumsOfAllTime 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time]].

In 2006 ''Magazine/TimeMagazine'' included "Master of Puppets" in their [[TimeAllTime100Albums list of 100 timeless and essential albums of all time]]. The album was also listed at no. #167 in Magazine/RollingStone's [[Music/RollingStone500GreatestAlbumsOfAllTime 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time]].

** "Master of Puppets" has a bar of 5/8 in its main riff.