Master of Puppets

The band disliked the acoustics of American studios and went back to Copenhagen. Geddy Lee of Rush was approached to produce, but schedules never lined up. The band stayed sober on recording days, and nearly all the songs were finished beforehand, apart from Orion and The Thing That Should Not Be. Rasmussen said the writing was essentially done when they arrived and the sessions took about four months, against two for Ride the Lightning. Hetfield wrote all the lyrics.

Writing and songs

Writing began in mid-1985. Hetfield and Ulrich worked out ideas in a garage in El Cerrito, California, before Burton and Hammett joined rehearsals. It was the first Metallica album with no writing from Dave Mustaine, who said he co-wrote Leper Messiah. The band denied it but said one section used his ideas. Before the sessions Ulrich took drum lessons and Hammett worked with Joe Satriani on recording more efficiently.

Hammett played a 1974 Gibson Flying V, a Jackson Randy Rhoads and a Fernandes Stratocaster copy. Hetfield used a Jackson King V through a Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ modified as a preamp, and Burton an Aria Pro II SB1000. Ulrich borrowed a Ludwig Black Beauty snare from Def Leppard's Rick Allen. Michael Wagener mixed the record at Amigo Studios in North Hollywood, and George Marino mastered it at Sterling Sound.

Hetfield improvised the riff for Battery while relaxing in London. The Thing That Should Not Be draws on H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu stories, and Disposable Heroes is an anti-war song about a young soldier controlled by his superiors. Leper Messiah takes on 1980s televangelists, and its title comes from a line in David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust. Damage, Inc. opens with reversed bass chords based on a Bach chorale prelude, and Hammett said its main riff was influenced by Deep Purple. Welcome Home (Sanitarium) follows Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and Orion is the instrumental that showcases Burton.

Sound

In Mix magazine's Classic Tracks column, Rasmussen said his aim was Ride the Lightning times ten in terms of sound. They used a 1976 Trident A Range console, a UREI 1176 and two synchronized 24-track machines. He said the rhythm was never fewer than four guitars and at points eight. Burton tracked in the vocal booth without headphones. The band recorded slightly detuned on slowed tape and sped it back up. Michael Wagener mixed it at Amigo Studios in Los Angeles in about two weeks and avoided compressing the guitars.

Reception

It entered the Billboard 200 at number 128 and peaked at 29 over 72 weeks, with no single or video; the band toured as Ozzy Osbourne's support act instead. It is certified 8x Platinum in the United States. AllMusic's Steve Huey called it Metallica's best album, Rolling Stone's Tim Holmes called it the sound of global paranoia, and Robert Christgau gave it a B-. In 2015 it became the first metal recording selected for the Library of Congress National Recording Registry. Rolling Stone placed it at 97 in its 2020 list of 500 greatest albums. Billboard reported 300,000 copies sold in the first three weeks and more than 500,000 in the first year, with almost no radio play and no videos. Kerrang! gave away a tribute disc with its 8 April 2006 issue, with covers by Machine Head, Bullet for My Valentine, Chimaira, Mastodon, Mendeed and Trivium. Pitchfork's Andy O'Connor, reviewing the 2017 reissue, read the title track as Hetfield warning himself about addiction. The Library of Congress described it as the registry's first heavy metal album.

On the road

The Damage, Inc. Tour began in March 1986 with Metallica opening for Ozzy Osbourne. Hetfield broke his wrist skateboarding mid-tour, and the guitar technician John Marshall played rhythm on several dates. The European leg began in September with Anthrax. After Burton's death the driver was charged with manslaughter but not convicted. The band played the whole album on the 2006 tour for its 20th anniversary, when Orion was first heard live.