The Story Behind The Song: Metallica’s resurgent classic ‘Master of Puppets’
Of all of the iconic Metallica songs, perhaps none are more celebrated than the title effort of their 1986 album Master of Puppets. The track had been the band’s late bassist Cliff Burton’s favourite creation on the album and is one of their most played tunes from their catalogue when they play live. In fact, it had been Burton’s last album before he tragically died in a bus accident one night in Sweden during the tour to promote the album. Master of Puppets, recorded in Denmark with Flemming Rasmussen, is widely regarded as one of the most influential metal albums of all time.
While discussing the concept of the album, Kirk Hammett said that it explored “manipulation”. When detailing further, he added: “Various forms of manipulation, which can go into entirely different subjects which we could talk about for hours.” The conversation then turned to the specifics of the album’s title track, and James Hetfield noted that it was explicitly about the manipulation of drug addiction.
“I’ve seen it done to different people,” Hetfield said. “Some of the stuff… well, ‘Master of Puppets’ deals pretty much with drugs. How things get switched around, instead of you controlling what you’re taking and doing, it’s drugs controlling you. Like, I went to a party here in San Francisco, there all these freaks shooting up and geezin’, and this other girl was really sick.”
When asked whether Metallica considered themselves an ‘anti-drug’ band, Hetfield replied: “No, because we don’t want to tell anyone what to do. If people are into it, that’s cool; they wouldn’t mind the subject we’re talking about. I was at that party, and it freaked me out, and I’m hella paranoid.”
While Metallica’s debut album, Kill ‘Em All, laid out the blueprint for the future of thrash metal and their sophomore effort, Ride the Lighting expanded on that blueprint, added more nuanced songwriting and composition to the fold, the band still wanted to write a record that would astound fans and critics alike.
After dissatisfaction with the sound of the American studios they tried out, Metallica eventually settled on recording at Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen with Flemming Rasmussen. Lars Ulrich had taken drum lessons, and Kirk Hammett worked with Joe Satriani to learn how to get his guitar takes to pierce through the mix. All this hard work proved evident in the glorious final sonic textures of the album.
And in light of the themes of the album’s title track, the band, who had developed a penchant for drinking, stayed sober during the days on which they were recording. This headstrong attitude led to one of thrash metal’s all-time great tunes and albums, and it is as admired today as it was back in 1986.
