METALLICA: 'Back To The Front' Book About Making Of 'Master Of Puppets' To Finally See Light Of Day In September

“Metallica: Back To The Front”, the definitive story of METALLICA‘s classic 1986 album “Master Of Puppets” and the tour that followed its release, hits bookstores and online sellers on September 13. A very special Collector’s Edition of the book will be available two weeks earlier on August 30 through Metallica.com and MoonriseMedia.net.

Says METALLICA: “Two years in the making, we’re beyond excited to finally share it with you.

“To refresh your memories, we teamed up with acclaimed award-winning author Matt Taylor (‘Jaws: Memories From Martha’s Vineyard’) and you all jumped in to assist us in putting the pieces together by sending your photos, videos, stories and mementos. We 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.

“The deluxe edition comes in a sleek case that includes a hardcover, clothbound, limited edition copy of the 276-page book and a portfolio containing a 1.25″ x 1.25” piece of an original roadcase used to ship the band’s equipment to Denmark for the recording of the album and on the tour that followed its release.

“Matt sat with us for exclusive, intensive interviews and we dug deep in our memory banks for stories, anecdotes, tidbits and tales from the studio, the road and beyond.

“A huge thanks to the people who were a part of our history at that time who sat with Matt, including record producer Flemming Rasmussen and the man who mixed it, Michael Wagener. Matt also 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. 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.

“As we continue to celebrate 30 years of ‘Master Of Puppets’, in honor of the release of the book we’ve teamed up with ESP Guitars to give Fifth Members [members of the METALLICA fan club] a chance to win a very limited-edition ‘Master Of Puppets’ guitar. Now you can customize Metallica.com with the new ‘Master Of Puppets’ skin.

“If you’re in the mood to hear some live music all eleven shows from the 2006 summer tour (those of you counting note that was the 20th anniversary of the release of the album!) featuring live performances of the entire album are now available on CD in the Met Store.

“Keep watching [Metallica.com] and on social media for sneak peeks of the book, videos with us chatting about the making of and other fun and games as we’ll be celebrating all throughout August.

“Oh, one more thing. We’re pretty sure that some of you will wonder about the remastered versions of ‘Master Of Puppets’ we told you were in the works. They still are! As we keep digging in the vaults, we’re finding more and more music and video so that we can bring you an even bigger, more comprehensive, no stone-unturned version of the album. As always, [Metallica.com] is the place for more info as we have it!”

“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.