Master of Puppets  (LP Record) 
by Metallica

Standard vinyl package 1-470844 is a regular
weight 33-1/3 rpm vinyl disc in single pocket
Stoughton jacket with insert.
Hailed as a masterpiece
by critics far outside heavy metal s core audience, Master
Of Puppets sold over half a million copies at its time of
release without any major video/radio airplay, making it
the band s first record to be certified Gold by the RIAA. It
has since sold over six million copies in the U.S. alone. It
was the last album the band recorded with bass player
Cliff Burton before his death later that year. The album
has also frequently been tagged by critics as one of the
most influential heavy metal albums of all time.
Yet by bookending the album with two slices of thrash
mayhem ( Battery and Damage, Inc. ), the band reigns
triumphant through sheer force of sound, of will, of malice.
The arrangements are thick and muscular, and the material
varies enough in texture and tempo to hold interest through
all its twists and turns. Some critics have called Master Of
Puppets the best heavy metal album ever recorded; if it
isn t, it certainly comes close. (All Music Guide)