MUSIC REVIEW: Metallica - Master of Puppets

"Proto-prog-metal milestone."

Master of Puppets illustrates why Metallica was one of the most important metal bands ever.

After giving birth to real thrash with Kill 'Em All, Metallica began refining their innovations with Ride the Lightning, which added a bit more maturity and compositional quality. Master of Puppets is a much larger step in the same direction, and had the band incorporating more progressive elements into their music. It'd be hard to count the metal bands doing half the pioneering things Metallica was doing.

The acoustic, quiet introduction to "Battery" explodes under an aggressive onslaught of hyperkinetic, muscular riffs and thick, heavy arrangements that characterize the entire album. That's not to say it's redundant, though. All eight songs are excellent, featuring enough variation of tempo and texture to ensure that they never get boring, which is crucial when some songs extend for eight minutes ("Master of Puppets," "Disposable Heroes," "Orion"). The result is like a thrash symphony of proto-prog-metal. Cripes, you could dissect the riffery of the title track and probably create half a dozen normal metal songs. That's part of Metallica's appeal: they cram a ton of ideas into their music, but all songs are perfectly crafted without the slightest sense of disjointed songwriting.

Speaking of the title track, it in particular sports a dynamic composition, where its middle section diminishes into a quieter, evocative guitar solo (one of the few played by Hetfield) before taking off all over again. "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)" mirrors "Fade to Black" in its progression of intensity. It starts with haunting melodies, turning up the crunch for the chorus, then kicks into high gear with a weighty, fast riff and a glistening lead that carries the song to its vengeful apogee. Hetfield isn't quite a master lyricist, but for the first time in Metallica's career, the lyrics were insightful with effective diction. Note the telling and vitriolic "Disposable Heroes" or "Leper Messiah." Hetfield was never a great singer, but he was a good metal vocalist. Although his ferocity was tempered by youthful pipes, he still managed to convey the viciousness required of music so heavy, so furious.

And even when the band eschewed words and singing, they could impress. "Orion" is a marvel of metal songwriting, being an eight minute instrumental with precise, articulate solos (including a short-but-sweet one from the late bassist Cliff Burton) and big, chugging riffs. Most metal bands wrote instrumentals that were three or four minutes long...never eight. But Metallica did it, and they did it well enough to make songs like "Orion" and "To Live Is To Die" (from ...And Justice) among my favorite metal instrumentals.

Add my voice to the many, many fans who have rated this album five stars. If Master of Puppets isn't the best metal album ever, it's very very close.

Metallica - ...And Justice for All

"Cold and vicious. In a good way."

I think this is my favorite Metallica album. Favorite or not, it's hard to see how anyone can bestow reproach on such an incredible record. Metallica incorporates long, complex instrumental passages into their lengthy songs...err, not songs -- *compositions.* Simply calling them songs would be almost insulting. The title track is especially laudable -- a dazzling tour de force. Compositional virtuosity is highly emphasized on this album, more so than before.

People whine about the production, and yes, it certainly overshadows a few of the album's merits. On the bright side, the cold, mechanical sound fits perfectly with the intellectual, progressive music and the album's sociological/political theme. Hetfield's singing has improved tremendously since Master of Puppets. He sounds more like a real metal vocalist and less like some young punk trying to growl.

Album structure sort of parallels that of the excellent Master of Puppets. The first and last songs are the slick speed metal tracks. Both are excellent and overshadow both "Battery" and "Damage Inc" from MoP (which are GREAT songs, so that's no mean accolade). Song two is the long title track, which I've already discussed. The fourth song is the most popular from this album, and one of the band's most well-known songs: "One". This is an AMAZING song...it starts with elegant, slow, clean electric guitar and gradually builds to an unforgettable machine-gun-esque riff that brings the song to its incredible climax (topped off by some of Hammett's best solos). The second last track, "To Live Is To Die", is essentially an instrumental (a la "Orion"), with a little vocal interlude in the middle. A tribute to former bassist Cliff Burton, this song features seamless melody changes that move the song from mind-numbingly heavy to florid and light. This is the band's best instrumental, anchored by a sorrowful acoustic number that plays at the beginning and the end. The middle, with its fluid guitar harmonies and aching melodies, is just gorgeous. Why doesn't the band do more of this kind of thing?! Oh yeah, it's because they suck these days. [Chimp Note: This review was written before Death Magnetic was released]

If I was stuck on a desert island with only one Metallica album, it would be this one. It's musicianship is superior to their other releases, it has the best lyrics of their pre-Bob Rock days (though they are a little contrived, at times). The production sucks, but this is one of those albums where it doesn't ruin the experience. I would possibly even argue that the crappy production style suits this album. Who needs bass anyway...the guitars are where it's at! (If this were jazz, then not hearing the bass would be a problem. It's not that I think bass is unimportant, it's just that Metallica's music was never written to make bass all that important. It usually just layers the guitars, which are bottom-heavy enough anyway.)

Metallica - Ride the Lightning

Oh yeah - PROTO-PROG-METAL THRASH!

It's like this baby: Metallica helped define thrash metal in the 80s. With Kill 'Em All, they proved that they could play hard, fast, and with reams of energy. However, the subsequent release of Ride The Lightning proved to be a more thought-out collection of songs. Hetfield's peerless riffing is more refined, and his growling vocals are coming along (he still wasn't too great, though). Hammett's solos are mostly exciting, and he became one of the most copied lead guitarists around (in metal). Even Ulrich, whose drumming was always relatively simple and clunky, fits well with the music and gives it hard percussive edge. Metallica has never been too focused on bass, so I feel sorry for Cliff Burton he doesn't really get too much attention. He still plays an important role in adding extra punch to the riffs, and as a compositional influence. But one thing that's nice about Metallica's newer work is that the production is more accommodating to the different instruments. (Just a small gripe.)

Anyway, this album tells you what Metallica was all about. The highlight of Ride the Lighting one of my favorite Metallica songs, "Fade to Black." It's a great anti-suicide song, that starts with slow, lugubrious guitar that builds up into heavy, powerful riffs. It concludes with exhilarating, punchy riffs and a glistening solo. Fans have written to Metallica saying that this song deterred them from taking the course of suicide...that's how good it is!

"Call of Ktulu", the big instrumental, is almost symphonic in its interplay (which is why it works so well with the orchestra on S&M). "Creeping Death" and "For Whom the Bell Tolls" are heavy, clomping thrash songs with interesting progressions and killer riffs. "Fire Fire with Fire" is mindless thrash with lots of kick. "Trapped under Ice" is tight speed metal. "Escape" is kind of a mid-tempo rocker that makes me think of a dude getting a new truck.

Ride the Lightning isn't as ambitious or complex as Metallica's follow-ups, Master of Puppets or ...And Justice For All. However, most of the songs are great one way or another. Here, Metallica is driven by pure intensity and delivers a great, great metal album.