Metallica "Master of Puppets" 1986*****

I recently (27 April) caught Metallica live in Amsterdam, the opening show of their new M72 Tour. The novelty of the tour is that it consists of "No Repeat Weekend" shows, two in every city, with no setlist duplications, allowing thus the band to dig deeper into their catalogue and present the fans with some less obvious choices. The show didn't get off on a good start: support band The Architects had awful sound, and the introduction of a big round Hot Wheels race track in lieu of a stage wasn't very convincing. Neither did I find their entrance very amusing: First you have to sit through a 5-minute slideshow of photos while the speakers play AC/DC's "It's A Long Way To The Top", then there's another long introduction; an Ennio Morricone instrumental while a scene of The Good The Bad And The Ugly is playing on the screens. Instead of building up tension, they have you going "C'mon already! this is getting boring!" But the show itself was good: a setlist featuring many old favorites (plus 3 tracks from their newest opus), played with confidence and undiminished power. Plus, Hetfield's stage banter has considerably improved since the last time I saw Metallica. Admittedly, that was in 1999 (in another century, really) but I remember being amused and bemused at the time by the fact that he couldn't say a complete sentence without using the "F" word... a couple of times, at least. Having listened to so much Metallica lately (before, after, and -above all- during the abovementioned concert), I naturally chose one of their CDs to present this week. And what better choice than Master Of Puppets? Not only it's an album that unites old and new fans in appreciation (there was a big schism among them circa The Black Album) but the inclusion of the title track in an iconic scene from the Strange Things Netflix series has won the band a brand new generation of fans. No surprise it was the set closer of their first show of the new tour, you can't go out on a higher note! 

Album opener "Battery" starts off deceptively with some soft acoustic guitar, before transforming to typical early Metallica thrash: powerful riffs, growling vocals, savage drums, and shredding guitar. For encyclopedic reasons, let me remind you that Thrash Metal is supposed to be an amalgam of Hardcore Punk (e.g. Discharge, Black Flag) and New Wave of Heavy Metal (e.g. Iron Maiden, Diamond Head). The progenitors of that style are usually collectively called The Big 4: Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax - yet, with every step they took, Metallica moved away from the genre they helped create. The tempos started getting slower (this is of course very relative, as thrash metal is known primarily for its breakneck speed), compositions more complex, and a sense of melody started emerging from beneath the racket. Instrumental "Orion" is an indication of the band's ambitions: bookended by brutal thrash riffs, this 8,5 minute epic also leaves space in the middle for expressive guitar solos and playful, surprisingly understated, basswork - MoP was destined to be bassist Cliff Burton's swan song: he died soon after in a tour bus accident, aged only 24. "Orion" is also one of 3 tracks in this album that go beyond 8 minutes. The other two are "Disposable Heroes" (because of its speed and anti-military subject matter, and despite its long duration, I think of this as the "punk" song of the album) and "Master of Puppets" itself. What can I say about a classic like that? From the powerful intro, sinister lead vocal and anthemic chorus of "Master! Master!", to its lyrical middle break and strong message about the danger of addictions... this is one of the songs that define the whole genre of Heavy Metal. "Leper Messiah" (a denunciation of ultra-right tele-evangelists) is a slightly less successful dish made with the same recipe, while "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)" is a semi-ballad with an emotive lead vocal that proved that Metallica were adept at more than just thrashing away. "The Thing That Should Not Be" is, for me, the low point of the album: its sub-Sabbathic riffs are too slow, and it's generally not interesting enough as a composition. The album closes with "Damage Inc." a violent sonic attack probably aiming to reassure their underground audience that Metallica may have diversified into more commercial directions, but remain as uncompromising as ever - a balancing act they excel in, even now.

***** for Master of Puppets, Disposable Heroes, Welcome Home (Sanitarium), Orion

**** for Battery, Leper Messiah, Damage Inc. 

*** for The Thing That Should Not Be