Metallica: 'Master of Puppets' Interview | It's Electric! | Apple Music

[Applause] check hello check level check Rob what's happening what's happening one two one two [Music] level I'm good well here we are in Antwerp Belgium talking about master puppets it's been 31 years it's been quite an adventure revisiting some of that stuff it's hard for me to separate the record from the experiences from what we lived through for those couple years it's like the end of ride the lightning - Cliff's death you know that is kind of just a you know kind of a blur of stuff because we didn't specifically write the album in one place it kind of came together whether it was riffs from you know touring with tank or venom on you know right the lightening or at home or wherever we were seemed like at that point in our life a lot of stuff was happening a lot back then everything was so messed with everything else you know and it was coming so quickly and we really didn't have much time to really separate ourselves or distance ourselves from everything that was happening so Rob thank you for being here and thank you for being so patient 1985 that summer of Live Aid what were you doing I was selling long-distance phone service going door-to-door yeah ding ah would you like them at that time it where we were at and our age master puppets came out that was sort of you know this grand next step and a really heavy inspirational you know body of work for rock and roll when I think back to that summer when we were writing the one thing that stands out is the couch and the TV you know the guitars were laying around that the carlson metallo mansion was was really had an open-door policy for if you liked metal come on in you know open doors and the door was always open always open hey and you know the one thing I do remember is being out there and doing the riff - Master of Puppets and us trying to get mass or puppets together [Music] I remember you leading me over to the little fostex machine and you said listen to this it's a riff triple tract on mess of boogies super-heavy and it was the master puppets riff the main riff I was like wow that's killer did that feel like the first stuff that we were circling one word I think so I think it was and that was the first step towards the making of the song was the the BN in denim it was just all about and we have to have the best song because we had lots of little you know vignettes or moments that would appear before damaged inks and things like that and asked her puppets and batter we were early on battery street that's that was where a lot of our life was lived you know it just felt like a home this is where we get our energy lyrics manipulation drugs I yeah at that point you know you're you're you're done writing about you know head banging yeah kill them all and you know you're well at least me trying to expand you know stuff like Master of Puppets you know now lyrically it's it applies to so many things in life you know being manipulated by many many things if you if you want to let yourself go there but it wasn't just drugs it was you know and I think that's kind of a sign of a good song one of the disposable heroes rips you know that the verse met that you know the fast verse really which one is it it's good a heavy sound that riff came out just like you know sitting in front of the TV watching those rock class videos and I think you said what's that is something do you remember like what how do remember the next day I for me back then I had to keep on playing it to just remember the feel back when we had memories or brains cells if it was good you'd remember it the good stuff sticks with you and the bad stuff dissipates but there was a lot of we would always just latch on to something the main piece in Orion which was cliffs awesome gigantic musical piece at one point was attached to sanitary yeah it was the end of sanitarium I remember that I mean a lot of these songs are about being scared of being in situations what if that was you you know do you guys remember the first time cliff played what he was working on with that whole centerpiece for Ryan he played me a rough a really super rough version of it one time in the hotel room but it was just the progression doo doo doo boo boo boo boo Keith and then I remember hearing it like X months later and it had all these harmonies all these melodies on it and I was just blown away because it was it had grown from just like this though chord progression to this huge opus I was blown away yeah he was he was king of that he was he always had lots of different ideas that were layered and it had its own character because it was bass and I mean he was genius at harmonies and layering and unique phrasings you know very classical sounding you know not your typical rock stuff at all and he'd always push it one extra little something you know and that's what was so unique about him I mean for me as a bass player hearing cliff you know make the ultimate statement that bass breakin Orion which is really important because not a lot of bands including the bass player that way and again that's the composer you know I always think a cliff is sort of this classical musician but then there's this infusion of punk rock in it it's which is very unique you know you've kind of got Mick's misfits Mis mix with Beethoven you know cliff loved chaos that way musically you know where where things weren't supposed to be how they are normally you know and I guess ultimately we ended up with the right balance of those two of those different elements you know between chaos and order [Music] so we are now joined by Master of Puppets comm producer engineer Metallica of fifth sixth seventh member that is such a picture right there there you go come on yeah I actually remember all of that session think we all have the same perspective of where we want it to end yeah Sonic's drums yes and guitars and all that stuff and this was the introduction of the boogie amp so you had new boo games and I remember I thought they sounded like 20 knobs do the wrong thing right and I remember day one were turning knobs for like five hours Fleming come in nope okay day two turning knobs for five hours Fleming come in no day three and like be frustrated like anxiety is like ah ah that was still back then where you weren't too sure about being a vocalist you were still fighting with it Phil there okay you were still over still auditioning people yeah I do remember regretting coming to the part that I save for last like insanitary exactly there's like a really yeah I part it really high I can't sing now like well James you knew this was coming what are you gonna do about it you know way back yeah and I remember cliff was not a fan of headphones and would stick his bass in another room and he'd jump around in that play so so you'd see this hair thing jumping up and down in the control-room headphones would never stay on that started playing like a big Pro JBL stop we fired up can remember you complaining about him though because we've come into at the top of the session he'd have one hand beer in another hand a pipe trick beer smoke and you go I'm ready yeah I'm lose now you lose I wanted tight goddamnit you know you were here at the show a couple days ago we're playing I was sitting there thinking as we're playing for Whom the Bell Tolls that's like wow Fleming who recorded the og version of these songs is in this building what's it like for you thirty years later seeing the boys play these songs and I get really proud I think we did a really good job back then I think some of the difference between lightning and this was you know reverb was a naughty word exactly the guitars like yeah no reverb it makes it sound far away okay so that was the beginning of the reverb tanks sitting over to the right of it we're looking at the desk if you listen on headphones on sanitarium in the beginning it's actually all mono and I just redid that wall recorder that we just flicked the switch when it goes into the first verse system before it just goes what the hell that was space-age stuff I remember hearing that going wow that's amazing sound I remember one other seminal moment was the OneNote piano yeah at the very top of Santa tears like somebody put a OneNote piano under the first guitar and it just oh my god that's that's the greatest thing we've ever heard it with dad no secrets don't tell hi there Michael Wagener got your hair off you got my hair yeah Teleca this is your life Michael thank you for joining us of course calling from Nashville tell me the tape show up you put them on metallic I was a completely different band from what I was used to work with but it was it was damn well interesting so we're in January 1986 now and you're holed up at amigo records what were your initial thoughts well the first the first line was no reverb that was the first line I remember mmm also I think the attitude of not giving if you know from you guys know this is what we won we don't care what's out there right now and that stood behind every live show that slipped behind everything I think that was a big part of it too when you guys think master puppets when what do you think I actually think about good times cuz it was and I remember I put it on sometime in the fall off must have been 86 right and I went wow we did that Wow well that was the week my career started you know it was a great record but I'm not sure if any of us knew how big this records going to be why is this the seminal Metallica record I think you just hit a nerve you guys just hit a nerve for the songs and and everybody that liked that kind of music all of a sudden was like completely floored I mean it was just like such a big boom for everybody that listened to it and I think that's why you know it lasts still to the day it master puppets is really sort of the perfect storm in terms of the balance between groove and power if you can you know head bang to it dance to it groove to it whatever and you still have that power which is again you know the metal you know elements of it that's a beautiful combination when I hear the songs that I've done I just go yeah that's yeah I'm a big Metallica fan so yeah it's all mine that's it say goodbye Lars [Laughter]

Channel: Apple Music

Views: 133,962

Keywords: music interviews, Master of Puppets, Ebro, Ebro Darden, Apple Music, pop, beats by dre, Metallica, afrobeats, Beats 1, Kirk Hammett, appl, Julie Adenuga, Lars Ulrich, apple, grime, It's Electric, indie, James Hetfield, hip hop, Matt Wilkinson, Zane Lowe, Robert Trujillo, Beats Radio

Id: 6mBoGmaBrfY

Length: 13min 35sec (815 seconds)

Published: Tue Nov 28 2017