Editing Master of Puppets (section)

==Reception==
{{Music ratings
| MC = 95/100<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/master-of-puppets-remastered-expanded-edition/metallica |title=Master of Puppets [Remastered & Expanded Edition] by Metallica Reviews and Tracks |website=[[Metacritic]] |access-date=15 October 2021 |archive-date=December 8, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171208143821/https://www.metacritic.com/music/master-of-puppets-remastered-expanded-edition/metallica |url-status=live }}</ref>
|rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
|rev1Score = {{rating|5|5}}<ref name="AllMusic">{{cite web|last=Huey|first=Steve|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/master-of-puppets-mw0000667490|title=Master of Puppets|work=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=May 16, 2018|archive-date=September 26, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220926052821/https://www.allmusic.com/album/master-of-puppets-mw0000667490|url-status=live}}</ref>
|rev2 = ''[[Chicago Tribune]]''
|rev2Score = {{Rating|4|4}}<ref name="Kot">{{cite news|last=Kot|first=Greg|author-link=Greg Kot|date=December 1, 1991|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1991/12/01/a-guide-to-metallicas-recordings/|title=A Guide to Metallica's Recordings|newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]|access-date=July 28, 2013|archive-date=September 27, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927224542/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1991-12-01/entertainment/9104180330_1_star-cliff-burton-classic-status|url-status=live}}</ref>
|rev3 = ''[[Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s]]''
|rev3Score = B−<ref name="Christgau">{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|year=1990|title=[[Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s]]|publisher=[[Pantheon Books]]|isbn=067973015X|chapter=Metallica: Master of Puppets|chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_album.php?id=5460|via=robertchristgau.com|access-date=January 26, 2019|archive-date=January 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190127094134/https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_album.php?id=5460|url-status=live}}</ref>
|rev4 =''[[Martin Popoff|Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal]]''
|rev4Score = 10/10<ref name="martin" >{{cite book|last=Popoff|first=Martin|author-link=Martin Popoff|title=The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: The Eighties|publisher=[[Collector's Guide Publishing]]|volume=2|year=2005|page=223|isbn=978-1-894959-31-5}}</ref>
|rev5 = ''[[The Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]''
|rev5Score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Larkin|first=Colin|author-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|year=2006|title=[[The Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]|volume=5|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|page=725|isbn=0-19-531373-9|edition=4th}}</ref>
|rev6 = ''[[The Great Rock Discography]]''
|rev6Score = 9/10<ref>{{cite book|last=Strong|first=Martin C.|author-link=Martin C. Strong|year=2004|chapter=Metallica|title=The Great Rock Discography|publisher=[[Canongate Books|Canongate U.S.]]|isbn=1841956155|edition=7th}}</ref>
|rev7 = ''[[Kerrang!]]''
|rev7Score = {{rating|5|5}}<ref name="Winwood">{{cite book|last1=Brannigan|first1=Paul|last2=Winwood|first2=Ian|title=Birth School Metallica Death, Volume 1|year=2013|publisher=Faber and Faber|isbn=978-0-571-29416-9|pages=Chapter 5 & 7}}</ref>
|rev8 = ''[[MusicHound|MusicHound Rock]]''
|rev8Score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite book|editor-first=Gary|editor-last=Graff|editor-link=Gary Graff|title=[[MusicHound|MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide]]|publisher=[[Visible Ink Press]]|location=Detroit|year=1996|isbn=0787610372|chapter=Metallica}}</ref>
| rev9 = ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]''
| rev9score = 10/10<ref name="pitchfork">{{cite web |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/metallica-master-of-puppets/ |title=Metallica: Master of Puppets Album Review |work=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]] |date=2 December 2017 |access-date=31 August 2021 |last=O'Connor |first=Andy |archive-date=December 2, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171202074139/https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/metallica-master-of-puppets/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
|rev10 = ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]''
|rev10Score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite book|last1=Brackett|first1=Nathan|last2=Hoard|first2=Christian David|title=[[The New Rolling Stone Album Guide]]|date=2004|publisher=Simon & Schuster|isbn=0-7432-0169-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/538 538]}}</ref>
}}

''Master of Puppets'' was hailed as a masterpiece by critics outside of the thrash metal audience and cited by some as the genre's greatest album.<ref name=AllMusic/> In a contemporary review, Tim Holmes of ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' asserted that the band had redefined heavy metal with the technical skill and subtlety showcased on the album, which he described as "the sound of global paranoia".<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Holmes|first=Tim|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/master-of-puppets-19860605|title=Master of Puppets|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=June 5, 1986|access-date=June 3, 2012|archive-date=June 14, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120614041541/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/master-of-puppets-19860605|url-status=dead}}</ref> ''[[Kerrang!]]'' wrote that ''Master of Puppets'' "finally put Metallica into the big leagues where they belong".<ref name="Wall"/> Editor Tom King said Metallica was at an "incredible song-writing peak" during the recording sessions, partially because Burton contributed to the songwriting.<ref name="King">{{cite book|last=King|first=Tom|title=Metallica – Uncensored On the Record|year=2011|publisher=Coda Books Ltd|isbn=978-1-908538-55-0}}</ref> By contrast, ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]''{{'}}s Judge I-Rankin was disappointed with the album and said, although the production is exceptional and Metallica's experimentation is commendable, it eschews the less "intellectual" approach of ''Kill 'Em All'' for a [[MDC (band)|MDC]]-inspired direction that is inconsistent.<ref name="Spin">{{cite journal|last=I-Rankin'|first=Judge|date=July 1986|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DFgfrF29bfgC&pg=PA32|title=Spins|journal=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]|volume=2|issue=4|page=32|access-date=July 28, 2013|archive-date=August 17, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240817073617/https://books.google.com/books?id=DFgfrF29bfgC&pg=PA32#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref>

In a retrospective review, [[AllMusic]]'s Steve Huey viewed ''Master of Puppets'' as Metallica's best album and remarked that, although it was not as unexpected as ''Ride the Lightning'', it is a more musically and thematically consistent album.<ref name="AllMusic"/> [[Greg Kot]] of the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' said the songs were the band's most intense at that point, and veer toward "the progressive tendency of [[Rush (band)|Rush]]."<ref name="Kot"/> Adrien Begrand of ''[[PopMatters]]'' praised the production as "a metal version of [[Phil Spector]]'s [[Wall of Sound]]" and believed none of Metallica's subsequent albums could match its passionate and intense musical quality.<ref name="PopMatters">{{cite web|last=Begrand|first=Adrien|date=September 12, 2002|url=https://www.popmatters.com/metallica-master-2496004801.html|title=Metallica: Master of Puppets|work=[[PopMatters]]|access-date=June 11, 2013|archive-date=September 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200908120845/https://www.popmatters.com/metallica-master-2496004801.html|url-status=live}}</ref> BBC Music's Eamonn Stack called the album "hard, fast, rock with substance" and likened the songs to stories of "biblical proportions".<ref name="BBC">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/j59x|title=Master of Puppets Review – Metallica|publisher=[[BBC Music]]|first=Eamonn|last=Stack|date=April 23, 2007|access-date=February 28, 2012|archive-date=November 14, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111114015253/http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/j59x|url-status=live}}</ref> Canadian journalist [[Martin Popoff]] compared the album to ''Ride the Lightning'' and found ''Master of Puppets'' not a remake, though similar in "awesome power and effect".<ref name="martin" /> [[Robert Christgau]] was more critical. Writing in ''[[Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s]]'' (1990), he said the band's energy and political motivations are respectable, but the music evokes clichéd images of "revolutionary heroes" who are "male chauvinists too inexperienced to know better".<ref name="Christgau"/>

Released on March 3, 1986, the album had a 72-week run on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] album charts and earned the band its first [[RIAA certification|gold certification]].<ref name="Guitar Gods"/> The album debuted on March 29 at number 128<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CCUEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22Master+of+Puppets%22+billboard&pg=PT76|access-date=July 27, 2013|title=Top Pop Albums|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|page=H-16|date=March 29, 1986|publisher=Nielsen Business Media|archive-date=September 16, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240916120649/https://books.google.com/books?id=CCUEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22Master+of+Puppets%22+billboard&pg=PT76#v=snippet&q=%22Master%20of%20Puppets%22%20billboard&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> and peaked at number 29 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart.<ref name="NY Times"/> ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' reported that 300,000 copies were sold in its first three weeks.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8CQEAAAAMBAJ&pg=RA1-PA40-IA4|access-date=July 27, 2013|last=Duff|first=S.L.|title=Indies Grab Torch from Majors—And Run|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|page=H-16|date=May 10, 1986|archive-date=July 15, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240715145119/https://books.google.com/books?id=8CQEAAAAMBAJ&pg=RA1-PA40-IA4#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> More than 500,000 copies were sold in its first year, even with virtually no radio airplay and no music videos.<ref>{{cite web|last=Sheehan |first=Ivan J. |title=Master of Puppets 25th Anniversary |url=http://rockhall.com/story-of-rock/features/all-featured/6840_master-of-puppets-25th-anniversary/ |publisher=[[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] |access-date=July 27, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728223551/http://rockhall.com/story-of-rock/features/all-featured/6840_master-of-puppets-25th-anniversary/ |archive-date=July 28, 2013 }}</ref> In 2003, ''Master of Puppets'' was certified 6× platinum by the [[Recording Industry Association of America]] (RIAA), with six million copies shipped in the United States. Between the beginning of the [[Nielsen SoundScan]] era in 1991 and 2023, 7,980,000 copies were sold.<ref name="USsales">{{cite web|last=Young|first=Simon|date=March 9, 2023|title=Here are the astonishing US sales stats for every Metallica album|url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/metallica-album-sales-us|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230311130902/https://www.loudersound.com/features/metallica-album-sales-us |archive-date=March 11, 2023 |access-date=March 12, 2023|website=[[Metal Hammer]]}}</ref> The album was less successful on an international level, despite entering the top 5 on the [[The Official Finnish Charts|Finnish]] and the top 40 on the [[Media Control Charts|German]] and [[Swiss Hitparade|Swiss]] album charts in its inaugural year.<ref name="Finnish charts">{{cite web|url=http://suomenalbumilistat.blogspot.com/2014/07/huhtikuu-1986-april.html|title=Finnish Album Charts|language=fi|publisher=Timo Pennanen|access-date=April 21, 2019|archive-date=July 15, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240715145119/http://suomenalbumilistat.blogspot.com/2014/07/huhtikuu-1986-april.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2004, it peaked within the Top 15 in [[Sverigetopplistan|Sweden]]. In 2008, the album reached the top 40 on the [[ARIA Charts|Australian]] and [[VG-lista|Norwegian]] album charts.<ref name="Hung Medien">{{cite web|url=http://hitparade.ch/showitem.asp?interpret=Metallica&titel=Master+Of+Puppets&cat=a|title=Metallica – Master of Puppets|publisher=Hung Medien|language=de|access-date=August 1, 2013|archive-date=December 5, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131205222259/http://hitparade.ch/showitem.asp?interpret=Metallica&titel=Master+Of+Puppets&cat=a|url-status=live}}</ref> It received 6× platinum certification from [[Music Canada]] and a gold certification from the [[British Phonographic Industry]] (BPI) for shipments of 600,000 and 100,000 copies, respectively.<ref name="MC"/><ref name="BPI"/>

Bassist [[Robert Trujillo]] cited ''Master of Puppets'' as his favorite album, "I feel ''Master of Puppets'' has a lot of everything. It's got instrumentals, it's got great segues, great riffs. It's got one of my favorite songs ever by Metallica, and that song is "Disposable Heroes". So any time I can hear that particular song, count me in. "Battery" is an amazing song. So it's just got everything that I love about Metallica."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://blabbermouth.net/news/robert-trujillo-names-his-favorite-metallica-album|title=ROBERT TRUJILLO Names His Favorite METALLICA Album|website=[[Blabbermouth.net]]|date=May 9, 2023 |accessdate=May 9, 2023|archive-date=May 10, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230510070024/https://blabbermouth.net/news/robert-trujillo-names-his-favorite-metallica-album|url-status=live}}</ref>