Comments on: MANAGEABLE METALLICA MONDAY (ON TUESDAY) #2 (OF 4)

By: Qella

Qella — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 23:17:58 +0000

No doubt, Metallica’s best album.
Hibernum: You are forgetting that all the songs on MOP are just plain better than the ones on RTL.
Bear in mind, I have had RTL on constant repeat in my van for oh…. about 3 weeks. So I love it too.

By: The Greys

The Greys — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 13:47:25 +0000

Kip, some of your statements are wrong.

1) “… Kirk Hammett (replacing the recently booted Dave Mustaine …)” Well, “Master of Puppets was released in 1986. Kirk had played on “Kill Em All” in 1983, so Kirk had been in the band for at least three years by the time of MOP. That’s probably longer than Mustaine was in the band, period. When does Mustaine stop being “recently booted” in your book? Five years? Ten?

2) “… bass-player-from-the-beginning Cliff Burton …” Umm, there was Ron McGovney, who played bass in the band until the others met Cliff and fired Ron.

Jeeze, Kip, do some fact-checking once in a while. But othewise, yeah, Master of Puppets is a classic.

By: Richaod

Richaod — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 05:41:15 +0000

hibernum: structurally, both albums are very similar, but the songwriting on Master of Puppets is a little more refined (and it doesn’t have Escape). With that said, I do think Ride the Lightning doesn’t get nearly enough credit (especially from those outside the metal scene) for doing it first, and about as well in my opinion.

By: hibernum

hibernum — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 01:05:35 +0000

It is a great album, one of Metallica’s finest. But did it really “become something more”? I mean, I love that album, but stylistically it didn’t really develop any from Ride the Lightning. Let’s analyze (emphasis on the anal):
track 1 – fight fire with fire and battery: both have acoustic intro, then a rapid paced guitar assault kicks in.
track 2 – ride the lightning and master of puppets: the title track, over 8 minutes long, has an extended instrumental break in the middle
track 3 – for whom the bell tolls and the thing that should not be: a slow, short, grinding track
track 4 – fade to black and sanitarium: the ballad track, very similar in song structure with arpeggios, a solo, then verses etc.
track 5 – you get the picture here, switch the placement of the instrumental track and Master of Puppets is almost like a reworking of Ride the Lightning. Sad but true.

By: Joe

Joe — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 00:04:49 +0000

There is no need to debate. Master of Puppets and Ride the Lightning are both classics, made by one of the finest assemblages of metallers, excluding Lars of course. Just listen to the intro to “Orion.” He almost killed any kind of momentum that song had going with his listless approach to drumming. He probably thought that was pretty monumental sounding, listening to the playback with Flemming Rasmussen. What a boner.

By: SickSixSeth

SickSixSeth — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 23:04:47 +0000

BACK TO THE FRONT!

By: Sammy

Sammy — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 22:00:55 +0000

The day this album (cassette at the time) came out, my roommates and I picked it up. We were playing it when Jehovah’s Witnesses came to the door, to which I was the lucky door answerer. My roommate cranked up the song “Master of Puppets” and fast forwarded to the “master! master!” part. The look on the Jehovahs’ faces was worth having answered the door.

By: damienk

damienk — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 21:50:01 +0000

Got this the day it released. My friends and I couldnt listen to or talk about ANYTHING but this record for weeks. Not long after, I saw them open for Ozzy on the “Ultimate Sin” tour.

I remember 3 things very vividly:
1) I could NOT believe how tight they were, or how little James spoke to the audience.
2) I could NOT believe how much/hard Cliff was headbanging, he NEVER stopped.
3) Getting caught in a pit (yes, it was a circle… but they didnt call them “circle pits” then, actually that still sounds corny to me) on the concrete stairs of the Thomas and Mack center.

You can say RTL is a better album, I won’t argue too much, as I love that album too, but ‘Master’ had a much larger cultural impact. This was the record that sent countless metal bands back to the rehearsal space.

By: Senior Swanky

Senior Swanky — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 21:20:17 +0000

Cant wait to see them Saturday!
Love this Album.

By: Damotello

Damotello — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 19:42:23 +0000

First metal album I owned, Battery and Leper Messiah are my personal favourites. I still remember hearing the opening bars of Battery and just being hooked from then on.

By: dthrasher

dthrasher — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 19:37:35 +0000

Ride the Lightning is better

By: sevenstring

sevenstring — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 19:16:40 +0000

The second metal album I ever owned (Vulgar was first). A cousin got it for me when I was 11. IMO the best thrash album ever.