10 Best Third Albums In Rock And Metal History
1. Master Of Puppets - Metallica
"Battery". "Damage Inc.". "Disposable Heroes". "The Thing That Should Not Be". The damn title track! There is no arguing that Metallica's third album isn't stacked with great songs.
The band went all out to make this their best record yet. Lars Ulrich took extra drum lessons, Kirk Hammett consulted legendary guitarist Joe Satriani for tips, and there was even talk of bringing in Rush frontman Geddy Lee to produce the album.
The end result of all this preparation is almost an hour of thrash metal bliss. The band's playing is super tight, the lyrics are more focussed than on previous albums, and it meshes the group's signature thrash style with other genres for the first time.
And again, that title track! There's a reason everybody loves this song and it's not just Stranger Things.
The only downside is that this album's release is so closely linked to the death of original Metallica bassist, Cliff Burton, who was killed in a freak bus accident whilst on tour.
Not only does Master of Puppets represent the highpoint of the band in many people's opinions, it also marked the end of an era and the last stand of one of rock's greatest short-lived talents.