10 Hidden Details You Never Noticed In Hard Rock Songs
1. Master of Puppets - Metallica
It's safe to say that "Master of Puppets" by Metallica is worthy of heavy metal sainthood at this point. From the signature opening lick to the emotional breakdown, this is everything you want from Metallica at their best. However, is no one going to take into account how much of a damn mess it is?
From start to finish, the track has some of the most glaring errors that have turned up on a Metallica release, but each of them have their own distinct layer of brilliance. For instance, during the breakdown before the solo, Cliff Burton plays a blatantly wrong note on his bass while the rest of the band continues, but the dissonance ended up adding to the twisted vibe of the song. Burton might be guilty of a few screwups, but Kirk Hammett certainly wasn't safe either.
About halfway through the solo, Hammett's signature runs went too fast, leading his fingers to fly off the fretboard. Hammett was originally mortified, but the sound actually adds to the level of craziness that the song is looking to depict in its lyrics about drugs.
Even when performing it live, Hammett has said that he hasn't been able to top the solo, despite it being one of the most obvious foul ups in Metallica's history (well...with the exception of Lulu). Sure, there are a few problems to go around, but the imperfections are what really make this song a classic.