Editing Master of Puppets (section)

==Music and lyrics==
''Master of Puppets'' features dynamic music and thick arrangements. Metallica delivered a more refined approach and performance compared to the previous two albums, with multilayered songs and technical dexterity.<ref name="AllMusic"/> This album and its predecessor ''Ride the Lightning'' follow a similar track sequencing: both open with an [[up-tempo]] song with an acoustic intro, followed by a lengthy title track, and a fourth track with ballad qualities.<ref name="Master Piece"/> Although both albums are similarly structured, the musicianship on ''Master of Puppets'' is more powerful and epic in scope, with tight rhythms and delicate guitar solos.<ref name="Guitar Planet"/> According to music writer [[Joel McIver]], ''Master of Puppets'' introduced a new level of heaviness and complexity in thrash metal, displaying atmospheric and precisely executed songs. Hetfield's vocals had matured from the hoarse shouting of the first two albums to a deeper, in-control, yet aggressive style.<ref name=McIver/>

The songs explore themes such as control and the abuse of power. The lyrics describe the consequences of alienation, oppression, and feelings of powerlessness. Author Ryan Moore thought the lyrics depicted "ominous yet unnamed forces of power wielding total control over helpless human subjects".<ref>{{cite book|last=Moore|first=Ryan|title=Sells Like Teen Spirit: Music, Youth Culture, and Social Crisis|year=2010|publisher=New York University Press|isbn=978-0-8147-5747-5|page=[https://archive.org/details/sellsliketeenspi00moor/page/100 100]|url=https://archive.org/details/sellsliketeenspi00moor/page/100}}</ref> The lyrics were considered perceptive and harrowing, and were praised for being honest and socially conscious by writer Brock Helander.<ref>{{cite book|last=Helander|first=Brock|title=The Rock Who's who|year=1996|publisher=Schirmer Books|isbn=978-0-02-871031-0|page=[https://archive.org/details/rockwhoswho00hela/page/434 434]|url=https://archive.org/details/rockwhoswho00hela/page/434}}</ref> Referring to the epic proportions of the songs, [[BBC Music]]'s Eamonn Stack stated that "at this stage in their careers Metallica weren't even doing songs, they were telling stories".<ref name="BBC"/> The compositions and arrangements benefited from bassist Cliff Burton's classical training and understanding of harmony.<ref name=McIver/>

"[[Battery (song)|Battery]]" refers to angry violence, as in the term "assault and battery". Some critics contended that the title actually refers to an artillery battery, and interpreted it as "Hetfield {{interp|singing}} of a war tactic as the aggressor" personifying destruction. The song begins with bass-heavy acoustic guitars that build upon multitracked layers until they are joined by a sonic wall of distorted electric guitars.<ref name=McIver/> It then breaks into fast, aggressive riffing, featuring off-beat rhythms and heavily distorted minor [[Dyad (music)|dyads]] where root-fifth [[power chord]]s might be expected. Hetfield improvised the riff while relaxing in London.<ref name="Bowcott"/>

{{Listen
|filename    = Metallica - Master of Puppets.ogg
|title       = "Master of Puppets"
|description = The lyrics on "Master of Puppets" are from the point of a voice of a personification of addiction. Author [[Mick Wall]] puts forth manipulation by "the invisible forces of control that govern all our lives" as a theme that runs throughout the album.<ref name="Master Piece"/>
|pos         = right
}}

"[[Master of Puppets (song)|Master of Puppets]]" consists of several riffs with odd meters and a cleanly picked middle section with melodic solo. The song shares a similar structure with "The Four Horsemen" from the band's first album: two verse-chorus sets lead to a lengthy interlude to another verse-chorus set.<ref name="Pillsbury"/> The opening and pre-verse sections feature fast downpicked [[chromatic scale|chromatic]] riffing at around 212 [[beats per minute]] in mostly {{music|time|4|4}} time.<ref name="Bowcott"/> Every fourth [[bar (music)|bar]] of each verse and the outro is cut short by more than a beat; the [[time signature]] of these bars is often idealistically analyzed as being {{music|time|5|8}},<ref name="Pillsbury"/> but it is performed with a delay after the third beat, making it closer to {{music|time|21|32}} ({{music|time|4+4+5+4+4|32}}).<ref>{{cite AV media|title=Metallica and the Missing 32nd Note- Master of Puppets Analyzed|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRBmavn6Wk0| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211114/dRBmavn6Wk0| archive-date=2021-11-14 | url-status=live|via=YouTube|date=August 2, 2017|access-date=May 23, 2019}}{{cbignore}}</ref> A lengthy interlude follows the second chorus, beginning with a clean, arpeggiated section over which Hetfield contributes a melodic solo; the riffing becomes distorted and progressively more heavy and Hammett provides a more virtuosic solo before the song eventually returns to the main verse.<ref name="Pillsbury"/> A riff from "[[Andy Warhol (song)|Andy Warhol]]" by [[David Bowie]] (at 0:48) is quoted in the track (at 6:19). It is a homage made by Burton and Hammett to whom Bowie was a huge influence.<ref>''To Live is to Die, the life and death of Metallica’s Cliff Burton'', by Joel McIver, second edition, Jawbone Press, 2016, p.265.</ref> The song closes with a fade-out of sinister laughter. The lyrical theme is [[cocaine]] addiction.<ref name="King"/>

"The Thing That Should Not Be" was inspired by the [[Cthulhu Mythos]] created by famed horror writer [[H.P. Lovecraft]], with notable direct references to ''[[The Shadow over Innsmouth]]''<ref name="PopMatters"/> and to [[Cthulhu]] himself, who is the subject matter of the song's chorus. It is considered the heaviest track on the album, with the main riff emulating a beast dragging itself into the sea. The [[Black Sabbath]]-influenced guitars are down-tuned, creating slow and moody ambience.<ref name="Bowcott"/>

{{Listen
|filename    = Metallica (1986) Welcome Home (Sanitarium) sample.ogg
|title       = "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)"
|description = The song's subject matter is madness and serves as a metaphor for honesty and truth.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Malcolm|last1=Dome|first2=Mick|last2=Wall|title=Metallica: The Music and the Mayhem|year=2011|publisher=Omnibus Press|isbn=978-0-85712-721-1|pages=Chapter 11}}</ref> According to philosopher [[William Irwin (philosopher)|William Irwin]], "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)" is perhaps the most revealing of Metallica's songs dealing with insanity.<ref name="Irwin"/>
|pos         = right
}}

"Welcome Home (Sanitarium)" was based on [[Ken Kesey]]'s novel ''[[One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (novel)|One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest]]'' and conveys the thoughts of a patient unjustly caged in a mental institution.<ref name="PopMatters"/> The song opens with a section of clean single strings and [[Guitar harmonic|harmonics]]. The clean, arpeggiated main riff is played in alternating {{Music|time|4|4}} and {{Music|time|6|4}} time signatures.<ref name="Bowcott"/> The song is structured with alternating somber clean guitars in the verses, and distorted heavy riffing in the choruses, unfolding into an aggressive finale. This structure follows a pattern of [[power ballad]]s Metallica set with "[[Fade to Black (Metallica song)|Fade to Black]]" on ''Ride the Lightning'' and would follow with "[[One (Metallica song)|One]]" on ''[[...And Justice for All (album)|...And Justice for All]]'' and later "[[The Day That Never Comes]]" on ''[[Death Magnetic]]''.<ref name="Pillsbury"/>

"[[Disposable Heroes]]" is an anti-war song about a young soldier whose fate is controlled by his superiors. With sections performed at 220 beats per minute, it is one of the most intense tracks on the record.<ref name="Spin"/> The guitar passage at the end of each verse was Hammett's imitation of the sort of music he found in war films.<ref name="Master Piece"/>

The syncopated riffing of "Leper Messiah" challenges the hypocrisy of the [[televangelism]] that emerged in the 1980s. The song describes how people are willingly turned into blind religious followers who mindlessly do whatever they are told.<ref name="Irwin">{{cite book|last=Irwin|first=William|author-link=William Irwin (philosopher)|title=Metallica and Philosophy: A Crash Course in Brain Surgery|year=2009|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-4051-8208-9|page=48}}</ref> The 136 beats per minute mid-tempo riffing of the verses culminates in a descending chromatic riff in the chorus; it increases to a galloping 184 beats per minute for the middle section that climaxes in a distorted scream of "Lie!".<ref name="Pillsbury"/> The title derives from the lyrics to the [[David Bowie]] song "[[Ziggy Stardust (song)|Ziggy Stardust]]".<ref name="Master Piece"/>

"[[Orion (Metallica song)|Orion]]" is a multipart instrumental highlighting Burton's bass playing. It opens with a fade-in bass section, heavily processed to resemble an orchestra. It continues with mid-tempo riffing, followed by a bass riff at half-tempo. The tempo accelerates during the latter part, and ends with music fading out.<ref name="Burton"/> Burton arranged the middle section, which features its moody bass line and multipart guitar harmonies.<ref name="Master Piece"/>

"Damage, Inc." rants about senseless violence and reprisal at an unspecified target.<ref name=McIver>{{cite book|last=McIver|first=Joel|author-link=Joel McIver|title=Justice For All – The Truth About Metallica|year=2004|publisher=Omnibus Press|isbn=0-7119-9600-8|pages=Chapter 12|url=https://archive.org/details/justiceforalltru0000mciv_h8q4}}</ref> It starts with a series of reversed bass chords based on the chorale prelude of [[Johann Sebastian Bach|Bach]]'s "[[Komm, süßer Tod, komm selge Ruh|Come, Sweet Death]]".<ref name="Master Piece"/> The song then jumps into a rapid rhythm with a pedal-point riff in E that Hammett says was influenced by [[Deep Purple]].<ref name="Bowcott"/>