By the mid-1980s, Heavy Metal split into two distinct sub-genres. You had the Thrash scene and you had the Glam scene and both hated each other.

The Thrash scene called the Glam scene “poseurs” while the Glam scene called the Thrash scene several variations of what we today call “incels.”

Yes, Thrash was a sausage fest. And yes, Glam was meaningless partying, hot chicks, and, well, meaningless partying. Nothing deep about it.

Thrash on the other hand was deep. You read English Romantic poetry, HP Lovecraft, and Edgar Allen Poe. You watched horror movies and knew their deeper meanings.

Glam? You got drunk and you got laid.

Traditional Metal, like Judas Priest and Black Sabbath, appeared outdated. So Judas Priest put out an album that everyone at the time thought “wtf is this?” but of course, we still loved Priest. Sabbath struggled to find their identity.

Motley Crue was tearing it up in Los Angeles and quickly became one of the world’s biggest bands. In 1986, Motley Crue had arguably the #1 MTV video of all time with “Home Sweet Home,” which was the most requested video not only of 1986, but also again when they released a new version in 1991.

Their nemesis?

This little known band with a cult following called “Metallica.” A band that refused to release music videos. They were going to earn their fans the old fashioned way. Not via MTV but by relentless touring.

And in 1986, they released the greatest Thrash Metal album of all time - Master of Puppets.

Every song a masterpiece. A perfect album.

Even the instrumental, Orion, you’d play it really loud late at night (making you popular with the neighbors), close your eyes, and imagine you’re in space.

Almost 55 minutes of relentless violence with a surprising amount of melody.

Cliff Burton forced everyone to learn music theory and it showed up in James Hetfield’s songwriting. Hetfield and Lars Ulrich co-wrote most of the album with Burton and Kirk Hammett adding their respective touches.

And they toured. Nonstop.

I caught them opening for Ozzy in San Francisco on this tour. One of the best bands I’ve ever seen. Cliff Burton had an 18 charisma. Despite Hetfield being the singer and Hetfield/Ulrich being the co-leaders, it felt like live Burton directed the band when they played live.

Then in September in the European leg of the tour, tragedy struck. The bus hits a patch of ice and Burton is killed.

When the Black Album came out, I was angry at them for jumping the shark but today, I’m not so angry as I understand why. The heart of the band died. Sure, Burton would have wanted them to go on. But it wasn’t the same band.

Master of Puppets is unarguably one of the greatest albums ever released. And to piss off the Boomers out there, yes, I’d rank it WAY ahead of anything the Beatles ever wrote. Not sorry.