Thursday Throwback is a weekly colour scheme inspired by an iconic album cover of yesteryear. This week’s throwback is the 1986 album “Master of Puppets” by Metallica. The colours are as follows:
| Colours | HEX | RGB | HSB | CMYK | LAB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colour 1 | #550F10 | 85, 15, 16 | 359, 82, 33 | 0, 82, 81, 67 | 17, 32, 19 |
| Colour 2 | #BFA863 | 191, 168, 99 | 45, 48, 75 | 0, 12, 48, 25 | 69, -1, 39 |
| Colour 3 | #D9C68F | 217, 198, 143 | 45, 34, 85 | 0, 9, 34, 15 | 80, -1, 30 |
| Colour 4 | #9A1A1A | 154, 26, 26 | 0, 83, 60 | 0, 83, 83, 40 | 33, 51, 35 |
| Colour 5 | #181A19 | 24, 26, 25 | 150, 8, 10 | 8, 0, 4, 90 | 9, -1, 0 |
Released on March 3, 1986, by Elektra Records, “Master of Puppets” Metallica’s third studio album. Recorded at Sweet Silence Studios in the Danish capital of Copenhagen, the album was produced by Flemming Rasmussen who also produced the band’s previous album Ride the Lightning in 1984 and their following album …And Justice for All in 1988. Master of Puppets unfortunately marks the band’s final album with bassist Cliff Burton who tragically died in a bus accident while they were on tour to promote the album.
The album’s artwork originated from a sketch by vocalist James Hetfield, which was created with input from the band members and their manager, Peter Mensch. To bring the sketch to life, American artist Don Brautigam was enlisted to paint the final version of the artwork. As stated by Brautigam, the concept of the gravestones was initially proposed by Hetfield. The idea behind them was to symbolise addiction and its detrimental consequences. While the sketch was initially intended as a rough outline, Brautigam made every effort to replicate Hetfield’s original design as faithfully as possible. The childlike appearance of the hands in the final work has been attributed to this factor. Additionally, it is likely that the absence of fingernails on these hands can also be attributed to the same reason.
Master of Puppets peaked at number 29 on the Billboard 200 and received widespread acclaim from critics, who praised its music and political lyrics. This album is widely regarded as one of the most significant and influential metal albums ever released. It played a crucial role in solidifying the American thrash metal scene and propelling the band to become part of the legendary “Big Four” alongside Megadeth, Slayer, and Anthrax. It was certified six times platinum by the RIAA in 2003 and was later certified six times platinum by Music Canada and platinum by the BPI. In 2015, Master of Puppets became the first metal recording to be selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry for being culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.
Kerrang! Magazine released a tribute album titled Master of Puppets: Remastered with the April 8, 2006, edition to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Master of Puppets. The album featured cover versions of Metallica songs by prolific bands such as Machine Head, Bullet for My Valentine, Chimaira, and Trivium – all of which are influenced by Metallica.
The song’s popularity soared when it was featured in the fourth season finale of Stranger Things in July 2022. As a result, the track experienced a significant surge in Spotify streams, causing it to climb up the charts. The band stated on social media that they were incredibly honoured to be part of the character Eddie Munson’s story arc.
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