See Metallica Talk ‘Master of Puppets’ for Lars Ulrich’s Beats 1 Show

Metallica talk about their 1986 classic Master of Puppets and the album’s new reissue in the latest episode of drummer Lars Ulrich’s It’s Electric Beats 1 radio show.

Apple Music released a series of videos from the episode, which Ulrich taped with James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett and Master of Puppets co-producer Flemming Rasmussen while on tour in Antwerp, Belgium.

The first half of the two-part episode premieres Sunday at 6 p.m. EST on Beats 1, with the second part airing Monday at the same time.

During the conversation, Metallica reveal some of the album’s “studio secrets” as well as talk at length about the creation of the title track’s legendary riff. “The one thing I do remember is being out there and doing the riff to ‘Master of Puppets’ and us trying to get ‘Master of Puppets’ together,” Hetfield said.

Metallica also reminisced about late bassist Cliff Burton and his work on the Master of Puppets instrumental “Orion.”

“I remember he played me a super rough version of it in the hotel room, but it was just a progression,” Hammett said. “And then, I remember hearing it like months later and it had all these harmonies, all these melodies on it and I was just blown away, because it had grown from this little chord progression to this huge opus.”

Ulrich also marveled at Hammett’s ability to remember riffs that sprung into his head outside of the recording sessions. “Back when we had memories, or brain cells, if it was good, you would remember it,” Hetfield said. Ulrich added, “That’s a good point. The good stuff sticks with you and the bad stuff dissipates.”

The first part of the episode also finds Hammett talking about Burton’s love of R.E.M., Hetfield’s Master of Puppets‘ lyrical process and what current bassist Robert Trujillo was up to when the band recorded the album in Amsterdam.