Stranger Things gave fans a peek of Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” album, which I think is one of their best albums. The album consists of eight songs, and each song tells an incredibly captivating story, making each one worth every minute.

If you know “Master of Puppets” and want something similar, “Disposable Heroes” is just as good if not a little better. The song is anti war, which was pretty popular in the 80’s, and still really good today. The band says things like “bred to kill, not to care, do just as we say,” in the pre-chorus to convey the anti war message of the song. Kirk Hammet absolutely kills it on guitar, with his explosive intro and his solos. The perfect alternative to “Master of Puppets.”

I think the strongest song of the album is “Welcome Home (Sanitarium).” The song starts out low key and heavy, but gets more exciting the closer you get to the chorus, and ends with a bang as Hammet shreds on the guitar once again. The opening verse tells a very intriguing story if you listen to it, saying “dream the same thing every night, I see our freedom in my sight.” The chorus is very easy to recognize, and the bridge builds tension beautifully. The outro is always incredible to listen to, because it’s the perfect end to the melancholy song Metallica was trying to make. This is definitely the strongest song in the album.

The weakest song of the album might have to be “The Thing That Should Not Be.” It’s a bit light on the vocals, and doesn’t have much of a verse. However, just because it’s the weakest song in the album doesn’t make it a bad song. The late Cliff Burton showcases his talent with the bass in the intro of the song, accompanied by Hammet and Lars Ulrich on drums. The chorus of the song builds tension, then snaps it with a  guitar. The guitar solos are extremely interesting in the song, and are done very well, but it’s not enough to save the song in my opinion. 

My personal favorite in the album is their instrumental, “Orion.” It’s eight minutes of musical genius, and was composed and performed so carefully. Every instrument compliments each other so well. The intro is heavy, with a few long bass notes, and slowly builds up, adding the drums, and then the guitars join in so smoothly and perfectly. And that’s just the first minute of the song. Burton gives us two bass solos in this song that are often mistaken for guitar solos, and you can hear his bass compliment the other instruments throughout the song. I’ve always been partial to instrumentals, but Orion has to be my all time favorite instrumental.

“Master of Puppets” is full of guitar solos, bass riffs, incredible vocals, and loud drums, and it is a legendary album. If I was any good at Guitar Hero, I’d choose any song from this album. I give this album a 9/10, and I strongly recommend checking out their other albums, such as “Ride The Lightning or And Justice For All.”