A Classic Revisited...

[edgeofthorns]

I've went back and listened to Metallica's (Master of Puppets) again after not hearing it for years actually. I've forgotten just how good that album is musically and lyrically. It would've been interesting to see where the band would've went if Cliff Burton had been able to stick it out with them. I'd be willing to bet that they wouldn't have sold out like they have! I don't want to get off about the band selling out, but I want to focus on the influence that (Master of Puppets) has had on metal fans and bands alike. With such classics such as "Battery", "Master of Puppets", and "Disposable Heroes" this record is bound to go down as one of the best of all time with most metal fans.

If you have a story, concert experience, or just an opinion related to (Master of Puppets) then share it with us. If I'm not mistaken, Metallica toured with Ozzy Osbourne for this tour, so if you were lucky enough to experience that tour, then tell us about it. At the time, I was only 10, so it wasn't an option for me.

~Brian~

 

[lee drummond]

i've got that album at it is really good and i think that them selling out overshadows how good some of their earlier stuff is. I do think that it's totally crap how VH1 ranked them as the top metal band

 

[DAVETHEMETALGUY]

Metallica dont deserve to be 're-visited'.

 

[Hal9000]

They should live the rest of their lives in shame. I hope their millions of dollars was worth it.
The saddest thing in life is wasted talent.

 

[VenomGA]

THis along with Slayer's Reign in Blood are metal's 2 best records PERIOD!

 

[Creeps]

That and the fact that they were still using Mustaine co-written material up until ...And Justice For All. I'm beginning to see where most of the talent lied when the songwriting came around.

At least Mustaine hasn't let me down yet.

 

[Ruthven]

I've forgotten just how good that album is musically and lyrically.

Same here. Metallica gets a lot of airplay on my local Nickelback format station, but mainly the post-Black Album stuff. How can people think that "Hey, Hey, Heeeeyyy" song is worth the airplay it gets? Ocassionally they'll throw on something from the old days, and it sounds so out of place. And that's the number one problem with Metallica. They used to stand out, now "Hey, Hey, Heeeeyyy" and all that dross sounds like just another part of that droning Godsmack-Creed-Nickelback-Trapt sonic mush.

 

[BenMech]

K-Rock here in New York played Trapped Under Ice for some unknown reason last week in mid day. I was kinda shaken strange by it.

 

[Perpet]

I have always said that Master Of Puppets is my fav Metallica album hands down. At one point or another i think i learned about every riff from that album and played along with it constantly. It is really a shame about what where Metallica has ended up.

On an off topic, I will say that the "And Justice For All Tour" was the loudest show i have ever been to. Having played in bands for a good part of my life and going to way too many shows in my life to mention, this tour was mind boggling loud. I remember my shirt was vibrating and I literally couldn't hear anything for like 4 days! Good times...

 

[Pellaz]

I have a decently longish history with Metallica, going back to "Ride the Lightning" as a listener, and to the "Justice" tour as a regular concertgoer. I'd say that "Master of Puppets" is a definite classic.

During the Black Album tour -- which seemed to go on forever, almost like they didn't want to move on to do a new album; might have been a wise choice -- I met and befriended Kirk Hammett, thanks to mutual literary interests. At the time I was president of author Michael Moorcock's international fan club, and Kirk was a serious fan, so.....things worked out well. (Last I heard, he is still a lifetime member, although my involvement with the club has ceased.)

Two of my closer friends had also befriended the band, and for the remainder of the Black tour we were treated like royalty....pre-show passes, post-show passes, Snake Pit passes.... Back then, 'Tallica was all about being fan-friendly, and they even scheduled time after their backstage meet'n'greet to talk to the fans who were waiting out by the fence. They reallly made an effort to connect with their fans.

Later, this practice declined.

So did Metallica.

Jason always stayed cool to their fans, BTW, to the point where the rest of the guys made fun of him for it. And that's pretty much when they began to suck teh suck out of suck.

Ask me later about the Ian Astbury and the Camera story.

 

[metalprof]

I'll spare you the stories of me and two friends playing air broom (guitar) to MoP in the late hours of the night in a chemistry lab at school. We played it in a tape deck - yes, my friend Ed had it on cassette. That's all I'll say about that

My favorite MoP story is that I went to see Ozzy Osbourne the year MoP came out, and Metallica opened for them. I had no idea who Metallica was, and I was not into thrash, but more the mainstream Judas Priest / Ozzy / Van Halen part of the spectrum. My impression of Metallica at the time became they were a bunch of long hairs who just screamed a lot and played unintelligible music. (Well, I was sort of right.) It's only in hindsight that I wish I had known a bit more about them and paid more attention.

Ken

 

[DarkOne]

i've got that album at it is really good and i think that them selling out overshadows how good some of their earlier stuff is. I do think that it's totally crap how VH1 ranked them as the top metal band

The best evidence of how big and how great this band was is the amount of threads and number of responses per thread whenever they are brought up. This band helped define the metal world, were on the top without airplay, videos, or commercial support.

To make a mainstream comparison, Metallica's fall from MoP, one of the best albums ever, to Reload/St. Anger, I'd have to have the general radio public imagine if U2 suddenly went death metal, or Bon Jovi went country (wait, strike that one), or maybe Nickelback started playing only big band music.

As for MoP, it's the album that really got me into Metallica. I didn't catch them on tour until Monsters of Rock (Scorpions, Van Halen, Dokken, Kingdom Come, and Metallica) and their AJFA tour (with Queensrcyhe opening). Boy, those were the days, eh?

I still listen to those older albums. Heck, I like the Black Album, and even thought that Load had some high points, but I don't listen to them all that often since I hear those songs on the radio. But, I always remind myself that suing Napster and users and generally forgetting their past shouldn't wipe out the music that came before.

Steve in Philly

 

[Jordan94k]

Not that I necessarily support this opinion...but at what time did Metallica start becoming less fan friendly? Was it before or after the whole Napster issue? It seems to me like maybe it could've been a direct cause of them feeling like they had done as much as they could for their fans yet their fans turned around and "stole" their music.

As far as Master of Puppets is concerned, it was the first album that got me into Metallica and Metallica was basically my entrance into metal (unless you include Rush and Kiss and other bands that aren't metal but helped me move on up the ladder). Disposable Heroes is a badass song...

 

[Hal9000]

Lack of fan appreciation = Lack of fans.
It's not complicated. You treat your fans like criminals and you won't have to worry about them anymore.

 

[ashaman7122]

I'm still trying to figure out the "Hey, Hey, Heeeyyy" song...?

WTF?

 

[ashaman7122]

It would've been interesting to see where the band would've went if Cliff Burton had been able to stick it out with them.

Um...what?

 

[Creeps]

Um...what?

Ever see the Reanimator? Perhaps Night of the Living Dead? That's the only place I can see this going. :zombie:

Or, perhaps he doesn't really know.....

 

[Ruthven]

I'm still trying to figure out the "Hey, Hey, Heeeyyy" song...?

I think it was on the soundtrack to one of those "Mission Impossible" movies. All I know is it sounded like another faceless post-"Black" album Metallica song.

 

[dcowboys311]

I think it was on the soundtrack to one of those "Mission Impossible" movies. All I know is it sounded like another faceless post-"Black" album Metallica song.

When I hear "hey, hey" and Metallica, I think Sad But True. The song from Mission Impossible was I Dissapear.

I liked Metallica when I was first getting into metal, but now they only have 5 or 6 songs that I like. I only like 2 or 3 tracks from Master of Puppets and I think that overall it's a pretty boring album, but its influence is undeniable.

 

[Justin G]

Damn fine album. Dream Theater actually did a very solid cover version of the whole Master of Puppets album.