1001 Albums Summary

I appreciate what the album represented for rock music, but it wasn't for me personally. The use of the synth definitely stood out. I liked the experimentation and how they were able to weave it into music. Songs like Won't Be Fooled Again reminded me of how hard rock started, because of its instrumentation. However, I found myself a bit bored listening to the album, and no one song, except for maybe the beginning and ending ones, actually stuck with me.

On the second day of this challenge, I was super highly anticipating this album. I love thrash metal, and was a huge fan of songs off of Ride the Lightning and the titular track, "Master of Puppets." I was expecting this album to be full of straight thrash bangers that would make me want to head bang and air guitar. However, what I found was different, and yet even more crucial. While the first two songs, "Battery" and the aforementioned titular track gave me that energy I was looking for, the rest of the album was not as earwormy. Instead, I found that I was listening more intently for the first time. I was analyzing the lyrics to see how they fit with the larger themes of manipulation and loss of power. I was trying to figure out how the instrumentation, guitar solos, tempos, and time signatures helped tell the story of each song and the greater story. Especially on my second listen, I gained newfound respect for the songs that didn't give me as much instant gratification. For example, hearing the differences in how "Disposable Heroes" and "Damage Inc." portrayed war, with the former displaying war's chaos, and the latter focusing on the war industrial complex making each soldier an identical slave to the state using the music was so fascinating. Besides what it represented for the genre of thrash, I am grateful to this album for being a major stepping stone in how I interact with music, and because of this, it earns 5 stars from me.