傀儡之王 (1986)

"Master of Puppets" is a thrash metal song by American metal band Metallica, released on July 2, 1986, as the sole single from the album Master of Puppets. The song has been played frequently in concert, and was praised by the media for its heavy sound.

The song was recorded during October–December 1985, at Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Background and composition

It is the second and title track of the album, preceded by a shorter, high-speed typical thrash metal track, "Battery", a similar sequencing heard on Metallica's second (Ride the Lightning) and fourth (...And Justice for All) albums. "Master of Puppets" is also notable for its extensive use of downpicking and long instrumental section.

According to Dave Mustaine, Lars Ulrich composed the song's opening riff while Mustaine was still a member of Metallica.

A riff from David Bowie's song "Andy Warhol" is quoted in "Master of Puppets". It is a homage made by Cliff Burton and Kirk Hammett to whom Bowie was a huge influence.

The song was recorded in a lower tempo and tuning and later sped up by Rasmussen running the tapes faster which brought the tuning up to standard 440 Hz. This allowed the instruments to be as tight as possible at a higher tempo. Ulrich later admitted he feels the album version is "too tight".

Lyrical meaning

The song, as lead singer James Hetfield explained, "deals pretty much with drugs. How things get switched around, instead of you controlling what you're taking and doing, it's drugs controlling you."

Guitar solo

The main guitar solo is notable in its own right, due in part to Hammett making a mistake during recording, creating a note he has not been able to reproduce ever since. Using his Jackson Randy Rhoads V guitar, Hammett accidentally pulled the high E-string off the fretboard. The string fretted out on the side of the fretboard, so Hammett grabbed the whammy bar and created the unusual high note. Although he knew he had made a mistake, once he heard it back he thought it sounded great. He later described the incident as "a magic moment that was captured on tape." Writing for Metal Hammer, Jenna Scaramanga stated "the spectacular harmonic at 5:50 is as good as it ever got."

The solo has been named in a number of 'greatest guitar solo' lists, including:

• No 61 in Guitar World's 2004 list of 100 Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time
• No 49 in Guitar World's 2013 Reader poll of the top 50 guitar solos
• No 24 in Planet Rock's 2022 list of Greatest Guitar Solos Ever

Live performances

The videos Cliff 'Em All, S&M, and S&M2 include live performances of "Master of Puppets" in its entirety. A shortened form appears in Cunning Stunts. Both versions can be seen in the video portions of the Live Shit: Binge & Purge box set.

"Master of Puppets" is the band's most played song live, first played on December 31, 1985, at San Francisco's Bill Graham Civic Auditorium for a crowd of 7,000. During the band's World Magnetic Tour, additional live performances were filmed in Mexico City; Nîmes, France and Sofia, Bulgaria. These performances were released on video in November 2009 (Mexico and Nîmes) and October 2010 (Sofia).

Usage in media

"Master of Puppets" is featured in a scene of the 2003 film Old School and is heard as actors Luke Wilson and Will Ferrell play characters who are busy kidnapping people off the street to join their new fraternity. The song was featured in the opening credits for the film Zombieland: Double Tap. The song also appears in a trailer for the game Marvel's Midnight Suns.

The song is featured in the fourth season finale of the Netflix series Stranger Things, where the character Eddie Munson is seen playing the track in the Upside Down to attract the Demobats. The band said they were "blown away" by the scene. As happened with Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill", which was also featured in the season, "Master of Puppets" regained popularity and started charting again following the release of the finale, notably entering the U.S. and UK charts for the first time since the song's original 1986 release. It then peaked at number four in the Netherlands.

Personnel

Credits are adapted from Master of Puppets's liner notes.