Metallica "Master of Puppets"

During any discussion of the greatest guitar songs of all time, someone will eventually mention Metallica, and they will almost certainly mention "Master of Puppets."

If the group has at least five self-proclaimed metalheads, at least one of them will scoff and say something derogatory about the band and/or the song.

You can confidently ignore everything that person has said and ever will say.

"Master of Puppets" wasn't the first thrash-metal hit, but it brought the genre to the masses like never before. For the uninitiated, it could sound sped up -- especially because the original studio recording sounds unusually higher-pitched than what you'd expect in a metal song from the 1980s.

A sonic assault from the start to its post-interlude buildup, it not only has some finger-twisting chords and riffs, it changes time signatures over and over and over, making it one of those songs that makes you wonder, "Can the band pull off this song live?"

Yes, it can.

Location: Michigan, USA

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