Album · 40 years old this year
Master of Puppets
Master of Puppets is Metallica's third studio album, released on 3 March 1986. It was recorded at Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen with producer Flemming Rasmussen, and it follows Kill 'Em All and Ride the Lightning. The cover shows a field of white crosses on strings, worked by a pair of hands beneath a blood-red sky. There was no single or video ahead of release. The band toured America with Ozzy Osbourne instead.
It was the last record to feature bassist Cliff Burton, who died in September 1986 when the tour bus crashed in Sweden. The album reached number 29 on the Billboard 200 and is widely seen as having consolidated American thrash metal. Critics admired its music and political lyrics. In 2015 it became the first metal recording chosen for the Library of Congress's National Recording Registry.
Master of Puppets on Riffology
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Master of Puppets: tracklist, credits and charts
8 tracks · 54:59Tracklist
- 1BatteryJames Hetfield and Lars Ulrich5:12
- 2Master of PuppetsBurton, Hammett, Hetfield, Ulrich8:38
- 3The Thing That Should Not BeHammett, Hetfield, Ulrich6:39
- 4Welcome Home (Sanitarium)Hammett, Hetfield, Ulrich6:28
- 5Disposable HeroesHammett, Hetfield, Ulrich8:21
- 6Leper MessiahJames Hetfield and Lars Ulrich5:43
- 7OrionBurton, Hetfield, Ulrich8:28
- 8Damage, Inc.Burton, Hammett, Hetfield, Ulrich5:31
- Produced by
- Metallica, Flemming Rasmussen
- Recorded at
- Sweet Silence (Copenhagen)
- Recorded
- 1 September – 27 December 1985
- Mixed by
- Michael Wagener
- Mixed at
- Warner Bros. Recording Studios
- Engineered by
- Flemming Rasmussen
- Mastered by
- George Marino
- Artwork
- Don Brautigram
- Photography
- Bob Ellis, Ross Halfin, Rich Likong
- Label
- Music for Nations
- Length
- 54:59
Line-up
- Cliff Burton · electric bass guitar
- Kirk Hammett · electric guitar
- James Hetfield · electric guitar, lead vocals
- Lars Ulrich · drums (drum set)
Singles
- “Master of Puppets” · 2 July 1986
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 · 1986–2024 | 29 |
| UK Albums Chart · 1986–2024 | 41 |
| Polish Albums · 1986–2024 | 3 |
| German Albums · 1986–2024 | 4 |
| Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts) · 1986–2024 | 5 |
| US Top Rock Albums · 1986–2024 | 7 |
| Portuguese Albums · 1986–2024 | 8 |
| Austrian Albums · 1986–2024 | 10 |
| Swedish Albums · 1986–2024 | 14 |
| Dutch Albums · 1986–2024 | 17 |
All 24 charts
| Swiss Albums · 1986–2024 | 17 |
| Hungarian Albums · 1986–2024 | 24 |
| Scottish Albums · 1986–2024 | 26 |
| Spanish Albums · 1986–2024 | 26 |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard) · 1986–2024 | 28 |
| Norwegian Albums · 1986–2024 | 30 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1986–2024 | 33 |
| New Zealand Albums · 1986–2024 | 33 |
| Ireland 2 · 1986–2024 | 42 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1986–2024 | 52 |
| Italian Albums · 1986–2024 | 65 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 1986–2024 | 87 |
| Belgian Albums (Flanders) · 1986–2024 | 94 |
| French Albums · 1986–2024 | 111 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Argentina · 1991 | Platinum |
| Australia · 2024 | 3× Platinum |
| Belgium · 2001 | Gold |
| Canada | 6× Platinum |
| Finland | Platinum |
| Germany · 2019 | Platinum |
| Italy · 2025 | Platinum |
| New Zealand | Platinum |
| Poland · 2020 | Platinum |
| United Kingdom · 2016 | Platinum |
| United States · 2025 | 8× Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
95.5
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
15k
ListenBrainz listeners
503k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
155k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Also released on 3 March
Every year →
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Full discography →
Kill ’Em All
1983
Ride the Lightning
1984
The $5.98 E.P.: Garage Days Re‐Revisited
1987
Creeping Death / Jump in the Fire
1987
…And Justice for All
1988
1985-03-15: Kabuki Theater, San Francisco, CA, USA
1990
Metallica The Good the Bad & the Live: The 6½ Year Anniversary 12″ Collection 1990
The Good the Bad & the Live: The 6½ Year Anniversary 12″ Collection
1990
Metallica
1991
Live Shit: Binge & Purge
1993
Load
1996
Hero of the Day EP
1996
Reload
1997
Garage Inc.
1998
Cunning Stunts
1998
S&M
1999
St. Anger
2003
The Unnamed Feeling E.P.
2004
Some Kind of Monster
2004
Limited‐Edition Vinyl Box Set
2004
The Videos: 1989–2004
2006
Death Magnetic
2008
Orgullo, pasión, y gloria: Tres noches en La Ciudad de México
2009
Six Feet Down Under, Part II
2010
Melbourne Magnetic - November 18 2010
2010
Live at Grimey's
2010
Lulu
2011
Beyond Magnetic
2011
2011-12-07: The Fillmore, San Francisco, CA, USA
2011
Through the Never (Music From the Motion Picture)
2013
Hardwired… to Self‐Destruct
2016
S&M2
2020
Leftovers From the Black Album Box Set
2023
72 Seasons
2023
The best of 1986
All of 1986 →
Somewhere in Time
Iron Maiden · 1986
Reign in Blood
Slayer · 1986
Peace Sells… but Who’s Buying?
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A Kind of Magic
Queen · 1986
The Ultimate Sin
Ozzy Osbourne · 1986
Iron Maiden Audio Pieces 1986
Audio Pieces
Iron Maiden · 1986
Shot in the Dark
Ozzy Osbourne · 1986
Live ?!★꩜ Like a Suicide
Guns N’ Roses · 1986
Seventh Star
Black Sabbath · 1986
Who Made Who
AC/DC · 1986
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Orgasmatron
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More on Music for Nations
The label →
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + musicbrainz + wikidata
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 3 March 1986 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 3 March 1986 | |
| Wikidata | 3 March 1986 | |
| US release | 3 March 1986 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 11 April 1986 | earliest UK or European date |
70 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | XE | Phonogram | 042283814127 | other |
| — | US | Elektra | 075596043922 | other |
| — | GB | Music for Nations | other | |
| — | AR | Vertigo | 042283814127 | other |
| — | XE | Phonogram | 042283814127 | other |
| — | XE | Blackened | 602567048305 | other |
| — | XE | Music for Nations | 5016583106027 | other |
| — | GB | Music for Nations | 5016583106027 | other |
| — | GB | Music for Nations | 5016583106027 | other |
| — | GB | Music for Nations | 5016583106027 | other |
| — | XE | Phonogram | 042283814127 | other |
| — | GB | Music for Nations | 5016583106027 | other |
| — | XE | Music for Nations | 5016583106027 | other |
| 1986 | FR | Music for Nations | 3229260002921 | other |
| 1986 | — | Music for Nations | other | |
| 1986 | XE | Roadrunner Records | other | |
| March 1986 | GB | Music for Nations | other | |
| 3 March 1986 | US | Elektra | 07559604391 | original |
| 3 March 1986 | US | Elektra | 075596043922 | original |
| 11 April 1986 | GB | Music for Nations | other | |
| 21 May 1986 | JP | CBS/Sony | 4988009509914 | other |
| June 1986 | US | Elektra | 075596043922 | other |
| 1 June 1986 | CA | Elektra | 075596043922 | other |
| 1 August 1986 | JP | CBS/Sony | 4988009522852 | other |
| 1987 | GB | Music for Nations | 5016583106027 | other |
| January 1987 | GB | Music for Nations | other | |
| 1988 | FR | Music for Nations | 5016583106027 | other |
| 30 September 1988 | JP | CBS/Sony | 4988009619156 | other |
| 1989 | US | Elektra | 075596043922 | other |
| 1989 | MX | Vertigo | 042283814127 | other |
| 1989 | CO | Vertigo | 042283814127 | other |
| 1989 | AU | PolyGram | 042283814127 | other |
| 1989 | GB | Vertigo | 042283814110 | other |
| 1989 | PL | Sound-Pol | other | |
| 1989 | XE | Phonogram | 042283814127 | other |
| 1989 | FR | Phonogram | 042283814127 | other |
| 1989 | FR | Vertigo | 042283814141 | other |
| 11 January 1989 | GB | Vertigo | 042283814127 | other |
| 1991 | XC | Phonogram | other | |
| 1992 | ZA | Teal Trutone Music | 6001210606338 | other |
| 1993 | AU | Vertigo | 042283814127 | other |
| 1995 | US | Elektra | 075596043922 | remaster |
| 1996 | AU | Mercury Records | 042283814127 | other |
| 1999 | US | DCC Compact Classics | 010963113327 | other |
| 13 July 1999 | US | DCC Compact Classics | 010963113327 | other |
| 6 November 2003 | JP | Sony Music Japan International Inc. | 4547366012941 | other |
| 25 July 2006 | CA | — | other | |
| 9 August 2006 | JP | Vertigo | 4988005440037 | other |
| 2007 | RU | Vertigo | 042283814196 | other |
| 2008 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 093624986881 | other |
| 14 July 2008 | GB | Vertigo | 600753101162 | other |
| 24 June 2009 | JP | Universal International | 4988005561008 | other |
| 22 September 2010 | JP | Vertigo | 4988005628640 | other |
| 2 November 2011 | JP | Vertigo | 4988005690661 | other |
| 2013 | US | Blackened | 856115004491 | other |
| July 2015 | XE | Blackened | 602547242952 | other |
| 2016 | US | Blackened | 602557932621 | remaster |
| 2017 | XW | Blackened | 0602508637063 | remaster |
| 2017 | XW | Blackened | 0850007452117 | other |
| 10 November 2017 | XE | Blackened | 602567048305 | remaster |
| 10 November 2017 | XW | Blackened | remaster | |
| 10 November 2017 | US | Blackened | 858978005202 | remaster |
| 10 November 2017 | US | Blackened | remaster | |
| 10 November 2017 | GB | Blackened | 602557932447 | remaster |
| 10 November 2017 | US | Blackened | 858978005127 | deluxe |
| 10 November 2017 | XE | Blackened | 602557382594 | other |
| 10 November 2017 | US | Blackened | 858978005196 | remaster |
| 10 November 2017 | XW | Blackened | 00602557949520 | deluxe |
| 13 April 2018 | JP | Blackened | 4988031272619 | other |
| 14 April 2023 | JP | Blackened | 4988031566220 | remaster |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · native: native 1500x1500
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 1500×1500 | native: native 1500x1500 |
| itunes | 1425×1425 | upscaled |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |