Master of Puppets met high critical reception upon release, and is now considered a classic heavy metal album by fans, critics, and the band members themselves alike. All of the band members consider it Metallica's Magnum opus.[citation needed] Master of Puppets reached #29 on the U.S. Billboard 200 album chart and was the band's first Gold record for sales of 500,000 copies. This was done without any radio airplay or the release of a single. The album is now 6× Platinum in the U.S., with over 6 million copies sold in the U.S. alone. Almost every song now has radio play, with the title track and Welcome Home (Sanitarium) receiving the heaviest airplay.According to Allmusic's Steve Huey, Master of Puppets "was the band's greatest achievement." "Some critics have called Master of Puppets the best thrash metal album ever recorded", Huey noted. Master of Puppets has featured on several "greatest albums of all time" lists. The album is present in a list dubbed "The All-TIME 100 Albums" and published by TIME magazine in November 2006. In TIME critic Josh Tyrangiel's opinion, "Metallica didn't bother with hooks or pop discipline" in writing Master of Puppets. Metal Rules rated the album as being number one in a list of the "Top 100 Heavy Metal Albums" published in September 2003, whereas IGN also rated the album as being at first position in a list of the "Top 25 Metal Albums" issued in January 2007. It is included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die and Q magazine counted it among the 50 heaviest albums of all time. In 2003, the album was ranked number 167 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
When it was released, Master of Puppets provided many metal fans with an alternative image to the commercially popular glam metal bands, such as Poison, Bon Jovi, Mötley Crüe and Ratt. The album has frequently been tagged by critics as "one of the most influential thrash metal albums of all time."
As an early parody of the PMRC's "explicit lyrics" warning labels, many prints of Metallica's 1986 release of Master of Puppets sported an octagonal sticker on the front saying:
"The only track you probably won't want to play is "Damage, Inc." due to the multiple use of the infamous "F" word. Otherwise, there aren't any "Shits", "Fucks", "Pisses", "Sucks", "Cunts", "Motherfuckers" or "Cocksuckers" anywhere on this record."
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of its release, Metallica played the album in its entirety on their Escape from the Studio '06 tour for the first time ever at the Rock am Ring festival on June 3, 2006. These concerts included the first-ever complete performances of the instrumental "Orion" (though portions of the song's lengthy middle section had been performed at various times as part of instrumental medleys and bass solos since the early 1990s).
The title track was ranked Number 51 in the "The Greatest Guitar Solos" from Guitar World. In 2006, the album was voted the fourth "greatest guitar album of all time" in Guitar World. And the April 5th edition of Kerrang! was dedicated to it, providing readers with the cover album "Master of Puppets: Remastered". In March 2007, the guitar magazine Total Guitar ranked the 100 greatest riffs of all time and the main riff of the album's title track was ranked number one.
"Damage, Inc." is the last of four songs to feature writing from all members of the Cliff Burton-Kirk Hammett era of Metallica.
Every song from this album except "Leper Messiah" and "Damage, Inc." is playable on the music video game Guitar Hero: Metallica. The song "Battery" is also featured in the game Rock Band 2.
When it was released, Master of Puppets provided many metal fans with an alternative image to the commercially popular glam metal bands, such as Poison, Bon Jovi, Mötley Crüe and Ratt. The album has frequently been tagged by critics as "one of the most influential thrash metal albums of all time."
As an early parody of the PMRC's "explicit lyrics" warning labels, many prints of Metallica's 1986 release of Master of Puppets sported an octagonal sticker on the front saying:
"The only track you probably won't want to play is "Damage, Inc." due to the multiple use of the infamous "F" word. Otherwise, there aren't any "Shits", "Fucks", "Pisses", "Sucks", "Cunts", "Motherfuckers" or "Cocksuckers" anywhere on this record."
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of its release, Metallica played the album in its entirety on their Escape from the Studio '06 tour for the first time ever at the Rock am Ring festival on June 3, 2006. These concerts included the first-ever complete performances of the instrumental "Orion" (though portions of the song's lengthy middle section had been performed at various times as part of instrumental medleys and bass solos since the early 1990s).
The title track was ranked Number 51 in the "The Greatest Guitar Solos" from Guitar World. In 2006, the album was voted the fourth "greatest guitar album of all time" in Guitar World. And the April 5th edition of Kerrang! was dedicated to it, providing readers with the cover album "Master of Puppets: Remastered". In March 2007, the guitar magazine Total Guitar ranked the 100 greatest riffs of all time and the main riff of the album's title track was ranked number one.
"Damage, Inc." is the last of four songs to feature writing from all members of the Cliff Burton-Kirk Hammett era of Metallica.
Every song from this album except "Leper Messiah" and "Damage, Inc." is playable on the music video game Guitar Hero: Metallica. The song "Battery" is also featured in the game Rock Band 2.
