167 - Metallica - Master of Puppets

This was an important album during my teen years. It was a distillation of what other bands seemed to be trying, but Metallica meshed the classical guitars and thrash in a way that transcended what I heard from others at the time. This was a metal album I listened to for the complete experience not because it contained certain songs I liked.

Master of Puppets' juxtaposition of thumping and thrashing along with stretches of intricate instrumentation is beautiful even when it is at its most menacing. Sure, by the time I reached “Orion” (next to last track), the epic songs had taken a toll on my patience, but there is nothing like the aggressive thrash and slashing guitars of “Damage, Inc.” to snap my attention right back...just in time for the album to be done. It is probably the shift in excitement that I have between the first and second half of the album that keeps me from getting too enthusiastic from singing its praises.

Songs I Knew I Liked: “Battery,” “Master of Puppets,” “The Thing That Should Not Be,” and “Welcome Home (Sanitarium)”

Songs I Now Like: Nothing new, but I have a greater appreciation of “Orion” and “Damage, Inc.”

Songs I Don't Want to Ever Hear Again: None