Master of Puppets

Metallica · 1986 · Thrash Metal

The thrash landmark that turned four Californians into architects of a genre.

Release

1986-03-03

Label

Elektra

Producer

Flemming Rasmussen

Master of Puppets is the record where thrash stopped being a scene and became a language. The arrangements are long but never loose; every riff arrives with intent, every tempo change earns its place. Hetfield's rhythm playing is the spine — tight, downpicked, relentless — while Burton's bass moves with a composer's logic underneath. Four decades later it still sets the bar for heavy songwriting.