METALLICA: Sample Pages From 'Back To The Front' Book About Making Of 'Master Of Puppets'

METALLICA has collaborated with an author named Matt Taylor on a book about the making of the band’s classic 1986 album “Master Of Puppets”.

Taylor, who wrote an acclaimed and extensively detailed book on the making of the movie “Jaws”, contacted the band with a proposal to create a definitive history of the band’s third album.

METALLICA explained: “When we took a spin through ‘Jaws: Memories From Martha’s Vineyard’, we were so blown away by the presentation, thorough coverage, and attention to detail that went into it, we knew he was the man to help us celebrate the upcoming 30th anniversary of that release.”

The revised cover of “Metallica: Back To The Front”, which is due in the fall, can be seen below. Also available are a few sample pages from the book.

Said the band: “We’re pretty sure it will be worth the wait as the book is chock full of exclusive intensive interviews with all of us as we spent countless hours with Matt digging deep in our memory banks for stories, anecdotes, tidbits and tales from the studio, the road and beyond. Matt spoke to all the major players at that time in our history, including those who were with us during the making of the record, including producer Flemming Rasmussen and the man who mixed it, Michael Wagener. He tracked down the entire ‘Master Of Puppets’ road crew, including John Marshall and members of the bands who toured with us, ANTHRAX and ARMORED SAINT. Our booking agent, tour promoters and managers Cliff Burnstein and Peter Mensch all were overly generous with their time and recollections. FAITH NO MORE guitarist Jim Martin and drummer Mike Bordin and DIAMOND HEAD‘s Brian Tatler spoke with Matt about their memories of those crazy times and, of course, you, the fans who were at those shows gave us an amazing view of your memories and experiences. Finally, we’re honored that Cliff Burton‘s dad Ray sat down for an extensive interview.

“We all hit the storage lockers, attics and basements to fill the book with hundreds of never-before-seen images pulled from our personal archives and have been involved every step of the way to bring you the complete story. No stone was left unturned as we gear up to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the album’s release.”

METALLICA frontman James Hetfield told The Pulse Of Radio a while back that drummer Lars Ulrich is the band member who recalls everything about the group’s history. “He cannot forget things, where I’m pretty much the opposite; I remember hardly anything about what’s going on,” Hetfield laughed. “But Lars is a great historian on METALLICA and we joke about him being the biggest METALLICA fan on the planet, and that he is. You know, he’ll be the guy that has the museum or all of that METALLI-memorabilia. He’s Encyclopedia Metallica.”

“Master Of Puppets” was released on February 24, 1986 and was the first album METALLICA recorded after signing a major label deal with Elektra Records.

The set only reached No. 29 on the Billboard album chart but has sold over six million copies in the U.S. since.

It is the last record to feature bassist Cliff Burton, who was killed later that year in a tour bus crash.

Several songs from the album are still staples of METALLICA‘s live set, including “Battery”, “Welcome Home (Sanitarium)” and the title track.

Many fans consider it METALLICA‘s finest album, a fact that the band acknowledged by playing it in its entirety on a European tour in 2006.