Metallica Detail Mammoth ‘Master of Puppets’ Reissue

Metallica will reissue their landmark breakthrough LP, 1986’s Master of Puppets, this fall as a gargantuan box set. The super deluxe edition contains vinyl and CDs with the album remastered, live performances, interviews, rough mixes and demos, as well as DVDs with concert films and interviews. The package, which will come out on November 10th, also includes a cassette live album, reproductions of lyrics, and buttons. James Hetfield filmed an unboxing video, which is below.

The more scaled-back packages will be available as single CD and LP versions, as well as a three-CD expanded edition. It will also come out digitally.

The most interesting rarities include “work-in-progress rough mixes” of the entire album, as well as two never-before-released cover songs: Diamond Head’s “The Prince” (later re-recorded with bassist Jason Newsted) and the punk group Fang’s “The Money Will Roll Right In.” There’s also Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield’s riff tapes from 1985, and concert recordings from 1986 and 1987 in a number of locations. Full details of the track list are available on Metallica’s website.

Since its release in March 1986, Master of Puppets has gone on to become one of the most revered and canonical metal albums, ranking number two on Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Metal Albums list, just behind Black Sabbath’s Paranoid. It was the band’s first LP to achieve platinum status, and it has since been certified six-times platinum. It also became the first metal album to be included in the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry, which honors recordings considered “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.”

When Rolling Stone spoke with Ulrich about the album on the occasion of its 30th anniversary last year, he still expressed astonishment at what he and his bandmates made. “When I listen to Master of Puppets now, I just sit there and go, ‘What the fuck? How do you do that?'” he said with a laugh. “It’s very gutsy music.”