Line #116 Music/MasterOfPuppets


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_metallica___master_of_puppets_cover.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:300:''"Master of Puppets, I'm pulling your strings..."'']]
3
4	''Master of Puppets'' is the third studio album by Music/{{Metallica}}, released on March 3, 1986. It is their final studio album to fully feature bassist Cliff Burton, who was killed in a bus crash while touring in Sweden to support the 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.
5
6	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 its predecessor ''Music/RideTheLightning'', ''Master of Puppets'' was an immediate commercial success, becoming the first ThrashMetal album to be certified Platinum.
7	----
8	!!Tracklist:
9	[[AC:Standard Edition]]
10
11	# "Battery" (5:12)
12	# "Master of Puppets" (8:36)
13	# "The Thing That Should Not Be" (6:37)
14	# "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)" (6:27)
15	# "Disposable Heroes" (8:17)
16	# "Leper Messiah" (5:40)
17	# "Orion" (8:28)
18	# "Damage, Inc." (5:29)
19
20	[[AC:Bonus Tracks (Digital Reissue)]]
21
22	# "Battery (Live 1989)" (4:53)
23	# "The Thing That Should Not Be (Live 1989)" (7:02)
24
25	!!Principal Members:
26
27	[[AC:Original Album]]
28	* James Hetfield - rhythm guitar, lead vocals
29	* Kirk Hammett - lead guitar
30	* Cliff Burton - bass, vocals
31	* Lars Ulrich - drums, percussion
32
33	[[AC:Live Bonus Tracks]]
34	* Music/JasonNewsted - bass, vocals
35
36	----
37	!!Troper of Puppets:
38
39	* AudienceParticipationSong: The TitleTrack is a prominent example when played live.
40	* BedlamHouse: "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)", where the protagonist is locked away in an insane asylum.
41	* BigWordShout: "MASTER! MASTER!" Also, given [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDLZix8NVjg Metallica likes Death]], "I was born for DYIIIIIIIING!"
42	* ConceptAlbum: This album has the thematic element of those whose fates are controlled by others or who control others' fates, which links their songs together.
43	* ContentWarnings: The album originally came with a self-made parody sticker of content warnings, which read:
44	--> ''The only track you probably won't want to play is "Damage, Inc." due to the multiple use of the infamous "F" word. Otherwise, there aren't any "Shits", "Fucks", "Pisses", "Cunts", "Motherfuckers" or "Cocksuckers" anywhere on this record.''
45	* 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 another reference to "Hit the Lights" from ''Kill 'Em All''.
46	* CorruptChurch: "Leper Messiah:"
47	--> ''Send me money, send me green''
48	--> ''Heaven you will meet''
49	--> ''Make a contribution and you'll get a better seat''
50	--> ''Bow to leper Messiah''
51	--> ''Marvel at his tricks, need your Sunday fix''
52	--> ''Blind devotion came, rotting your brain''
53	--> ''Chain, chain, join the endless chain''
54	--> ''Taken by his glamour, fame, fame''
55	* CosmicHorrorStory: "The Thing That Should Not Be", is directly inspired by the Franchise/CthulhuMythos and features the typical tropes of the genre.
56	* DrivenToMadness: "The Thing That Should Not Be":
57	--> ''Drain you of your sanity\
58	Face the thing that should not be''
59	* DrugsAreBad: "Master of Puppets:"
60	--> ''Taste me, you will see\
61	More is all you need\
62	Dedicated to\
63	How I'm killing you''
64	* EldritchAbomination: "The Thing That Should Not Be" is inspired by the works of Creator/HPLovecraft, specifically "Literature/TheShadowOverInnsmouth", in which the eponymous Thing is Dagon.
65	* EpicInstrumentalOpener: Aside from the downright instrumental "Orion", all others take at least one minute before the lyrics start.
66	* EpicRocking: The only songs that ''don't'' qualify are "Battery", "Leper Messiah", and "Damage, Inc.", being less than six minutes long. Kirk has said in interviews that at the time, "Master" was the fastest song they'd written, eighth notes at 220 beats per minute.
67	* GreedyTelevangelist: "Leper Messiah" attacks the televangelist practice of promising heavenly rewards for those donating to their cause.
68	* HiddenVillain: Franchise/{{Cthulhu\|Mythos}} from "The Thing That Should Not Be":
69	--> ''Fearless wretch\
70	Insanity\
71	He watches\
72	Lurking beneath the sea''
73	* {{Instrumental\|s}}: "Orion" is an instrumental.
74	* IsntItIronic: The use of "Master of Puppets" in the film ''Film/OldSchool'' is a little odd during the scene where Beanie, Mitch, and Frank are kidnapping the pledges, seeing as the song is about drug addiction.
75	* LaughingMad: The TitleTrack ends in this kind of laughter.
76	* MotorMouth: The TitleDrop of the last song is James [[SpokenWordInMusic saying]] "Damage Incorporated" really fast as the song slows down.
77	* NonAppearingTitle: The title "Disposable Heroes" doesn't appear in the song.
78	* OncePerEpisode: "Are you alive? How does it feel to be alive?", usually said by James before the solo to "Battery".
79	* OneWordTitle: "Battery" and "Orion".
80	* PeoplePuppets: Invoked by the title track and the album cover.
81	* PrecisionFStrike: "Damage Inc." became Metallica's second song with profanity after "Whiplash" dropped the F-Bomb on ''Kill 'Em All''.
82	* ProgressiveMetal: Has a lot of characteristics of the then-nascent genre and, if you don't consider it to be one of the first examples of the style, then you'll probably consider it an UrExample instead. To give an example of the album's prog credentials, Music/DreamTheater has covered it in its entirety.
83	* ProtestSong: "Disposable Heroes", which is an anti-war song about a young soldier whose fate is controlled by his superiors.
84	* ReligionRantSong: "Leper Messiah":
85	--> ''Marvel at his tricks, need your Sunday fix''
86	--> ''Blind devotion came, rotting your brain''
87	--> ''Chain, chain''
88	--> ''Join the endless chain''
89	--> ''Taken by his glamour''
90	--> ''Fame, Fame''
91	--> ''Infection is the game, stinking drunk with power''
92	--> ''We see''
93	* SanitySlippageSong: "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)":
94	--> ''Sleep my friend and you will see''
95	--> ''That dream is my reality''
96	--> ''They keep me locked up in this cage''
97	--> ''Can't they see it's why my brain says Rage''
98	* SexDrugsAndRockAndRoll: "Master of Puppets", but it offers a far less positive view of the lifestyle. It was partially inspired by a friend of theirs who was drug addicted and wound up dying of AIDS.
99	* ShoutOut:
100	** Two to Music/DavidBowie: the title "Leper Messiah" comes from a lyric in [[Music/TheRiseAndFallOfZiggyStardustAndTheSpidersFromMars "Ziggy Stardust"]], while the guitar riff just before the final verse of the TitleTrack interpolates a section of [[Music/HunkyDory "Andy Warhol"]].
101	** The warning sticker parody above may be a nod to Creator/GeorgeCarlin. The only one of his SevenDirtyWords not in their list is "Tits", which Carlin said didn't even belong on the list. And they ''only'' listed his other six.
102	* SomethingSomethingLeonardBernstein: "Battery". and "Damage Inc." sometimes get pegged as this due to James' fast delivery.
103	* SongStyleShift: "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)" has this as the song progresses. "Orion" has this happen in the middle but reverts back to straight-up heavy metal in its outro.
104	* StepUpToTheMicrophone: James plays the first guitar solo in "Master of Puppets", something he'd never done before on an album and would do only rarely going forward.
105	* SurprisinglyGentleSong:
106	** "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)" starts out like this, but build up in intensity.
107	** "Orion" is this to some extent, especially in the middle.
108	* TakeThat: "Leper Messiah" is an attack upon televangelism.
109	* TitleTrack: "Master of Puppets:"
110	--> ''Master of puppets, I'm pulling your strings''
111	--> ''Twisting your mind and smashing your dreams''
112	--> ''Blinded by me, you can't see a thing''
113	--> ''Just call my name, 'cause I'll hear you scream''\
114	''Master! Master!''
115	* 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\|Band}}. The latter was acknowledged by thanking Rush in the album liner notes.
116	* UncommonTime:
117	** "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)" is in 10/4 for most of its first half. It's probably not the only example on the album, either.
118	** "Master of Puppets" has what is commonly believed to be a measure 5/8 in its main riff, but [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRBmavn6Wk0 it's actually 21/32.]] (One more 32nd note than 5/8.)
119	* VillainSong: "Master of Puppets" and portions of "Disposable Heroes".
120	* WarIsHell: "Disposable Heroes", which alternates between a 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:
121	--> ''Why, am I dying?\
122	Kill, have no fear\
123	Lie, live off lying\
124	Hell, hell is here''

Context Music / MasterOfPuppets