Master Of Puppets

Released March 3, 1986

Guitar, Vocals: James Hetfield

Drums: Lars Ulrich

Bass: Cliff Burton

Guitar: Kirk Hammett

Recorded at Sweet Silence Studios, Copenhagen, Denmark, from September 1985 to December 1985

Produced by Metallica & Flemming Rasmussen

Engineered by Flemming Rasmussen

Mixed by Michael Wagener at Amigo Studios, North Hollywood, CA

Assistant Mixing Engineer: Mark Wilzcak

Mastered by George Marino at Sterling Sound, New York, NY

Remastered by George Marino at Sterling Sound, New York, NY (1995)

Remastered by Howie Weinberg and Gentry Studer at Howie Weinberg Mastering, Los Angeles, CA (2017)

Cover concept: Metallica & Peter Mensch

Cover Illustration: Don Brautigam

Photographers: Ross Halfin (All inner sleeve pix, Kirk/Back Cover, James/Back Cover), Rich Likong (Cliff/Back Cover), Rob Ellis (Lars/Back Cover)

Management: Q-Prime, Inc.

All songs © 1986 Creeping Death Music (Global Music Rights)

℗ & © 1986 Blackened Recordings

Master of Puppets is the third studio album by American heavy metal band [a18839].

It was the last album with the bassist Cliff Burton, who died in a bus accident in Sweden during the album's promotional tour.

Artwork, designed by Metallica & Peter Mensch and painted by Don Brautigam, depicts a cemetery field of white crosses tethered to strings, manipulated by a pair of hands in a blood-red sky. Instead of releasing a single or video in advance of the album's release, Metallica embarked on a five-month American tour in support of Ozzy Osbourne. The European leg was canceled after Burton's death in September 1986, and the band returned home to audition a new bassist.

Master of Puppets peaked at number 29 on the Billboard 200 and received widespread acclaim from critics, who praised its music and political lyrics.

It was certified six times platinum by the RIAA in 2003 for shipping six million copies in the United States, and was later certified six times platinum by Music Canada and platinum by the BPI.

In 2015, Master of Puppets became the first metal recording to be selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.

It is widely considered to be one of the greatest and most influential thrash metal albums of all time.

Main runouts of 1986 vinyl releases per country.

US

[url=https://www.discogs.com/Metallica-Master-Of-Puppets/release/2892891]STE 60439[/url] Elektra.

[url=https://www.discogs.com/Metallica-Master-Of-Puppets/release/1549636]ST-E-60439-1-A[/url] Elektra.

[url=https://www.discogs.com/Metallica-Master-Of-Puppets/release/4412141]STE-60439-A DMM-1[/url] Elektra.

[url=https://www.discogs.com/Metallica-Master-Of-Puppets/release/6776266]STE-60439-A-DMM-1[/url] Elektra.

[url=https://www.discogs.com/Metallica-Master-Of-Puppets/release/14166435]STE-60439-A-DMM[/url] Elektra.

[url=https://www.discogs.com/release/2827619-Master-Of-Puppets/history#latest]R-134552-A, S̶T̶E̶-̶6̶0̶4̶3̶9̶-̶A̶-DMM-1[/url] Elektra.

UK

[url=https://www.discogs.com/Metallica-Master-Of-Puppets/release/18420844]MFN 60[/url] Music for Nations.

[url=https://www.discogs.com/Metallica-Master-Of-Puppets/release/984587]RR 9717 MFN 60[/url] Music for Nations + Elektra.

[url=https://www.discogs.com/Metallica-Master-Of-Puppets/release/9963817]R̶R̶ ̶9̶9̶1̶7̶ MFN 60[/url] Music for Nations + Elektra.

[url=https://www.discogs.com/Metallica-Master-Of-Puppets/release/2694060]R̶R̶ ̶9̶9̶1̶7̶ MFN 60[/url] Music for Nations.

[url=https://www.discogs.com/Metallica-Master-Of-Puppets/release/2536387]R̶R̶ ̶9̶9̶1̶7̶ RR 9717 MFN-60[/url] Music for Nations, misprint.

[url=https://www.discogs.com/Metallica-Master-Of-Puppets/release/8579882]R̶R̶ ̶9̶9̶1̶7̶ RR 9717 MFN-60[/url] Music for Nations + Elektra, misprint.

[url=https://www.discogs.com/Metallica-Master-Of-Puppets/release/13499954]R̶R̶ ̶9̶9̶1̶7̶ RR 9717 MFN-60[/url] Music for Nations + Elektra, misprint + mispress.

EU

[url=https://www.discogs.com/Metallica-Master-Of-Puppets/release/371142]RR 9717[/url] Music for Nations + Roadrunner.

[url=https://www.discogs.com/Metallica-Master-Of-Puppets/release/7790289]RR 9717 MFN 60[/url] Music for Nations + Roadrunner.