Master of Puppets

One of the most influential heavy metal albums of all time. This album and the previous are the reasons Metallica is often regarded as one of the top 10 metal bands of all time.

It follows a similar track sequencing to Ride the Lightning; first an up-tempo song with acoustic opening (“Fight Fire with Fire” and “Battery”), then the lengthy title track (“Ride the Lightning” and “Master of Puppets”), then as the fourth track a power ballad (“Fade to Black” and “Welcome Home (Sanitarium)”), then closing the album with an epic instrumental piece (“The Call of Ktulu” and “Orion”) and a fast thrash metal song (“Creeping Death” and “Damage Inc.”), only in reverse order for Ride the Lightning.

The topics of the lyrics range from an homage to the band’s fans (“Battery”), to drugs (title track), to the H.P. Lovecraft monster Cthulu (“The Thing That Should Not Be”), to inmates in an insane asylum (“Welcome Home (Sanitarium)”), to corrupt generals in wars (“Disposable Heroes”), to corruption in religion (“Leper Messiah”) and, finally, to destructive corporations (“Damage Inc.”).