Guest Blogger: Justin #1

Before Metallica hit the radio and got massive airplay, they had already released a master piece. 1986’s album, “Master of Puppets”. Regarded by many Metallica fans as their best album this was huge in the thrash metal world. Selling 300,000 copies and sending the band on a worldwide tour. While not high on the charts and not played on the radio, Metallica still dominated the metal scene. They were playing sold out arenas before MTV even knew who they were. Master of Puppets is a great album to just blare over the stereo and bang your head to. The heaviness of the album lets people unleash their feelings and make them feel better. If you’re having a bad day, just put Puppets on the stereo and go nuts. The songs and sound of this album are very different than what was on MTV at the time. In the 80’s MTV was dominated by Mötley Crüe, Poison, and RATT. Exactly what Metallica hated. The 80s were big hair, makeup, and spandex. Metallica wanted none of that. They wanted to rule the world and go out on stage in just a normal shirt and jeans. While bands like Poison did the big hair, the makeup, and the spandex. This was known as glam metal and Metallica HATED glam metal. They thought it wasn’t metal, that it was wussy music that just attracted women. Metallica wanted something different. They wanted to play faster and they wanted to play louder. Two songs that stick out to me personally are “Battery” and “Damage Inc.” Mainly because of the drums. It’s heavy, it’s fast, and it’s Metallica. Most critics do enjoy this album. While their opinions on some songs differ, overall we both agree on how great the album is. I mean how can you not like it? On a scale of 1-10, 10 being the best, I would rate this album a solid 10. Every song is awesome. The lyrics are great, the instrumental tracks are incredible, especially Orion, and its Metallica at their absolute best.