🔥 How a Metal Masterpiece Was Born: Lars Ulrich Reveals How Cliff Burton’s Ideas Changed Metallica Forever

The legendary Metallica album Master Of Puppets celebrates its 40th anniversary this year and remains one of the most influential records in the history of heavy music. A key figure behind the album’s success was bassist Cliff Burton, whose musical vision helped push the band toward a richer and more ambitious sound.

During the recording sessions for the album — which ultimately became Cliff Burton’s final studio work before his tragic death during the supporting tour — the other members of Metallica began to embrace his more melodic musical ideas. This shift opened the door for the band to explore new creative directions and experiment with a broader musical palette.

In an archival interview later republished by Classic Rock magazine, drummer Lars Ulrich recalled how the songs for the album began to take shape.

According to Lars Ulrich, much of the material for the record was written during May and June of 1985. The band developed the songs using the best ideas they had collected on their riff tapes.

He explained that Cliff Burton’s influence became increasingly important during that time.

“Cliff had already been in the band for a few years and he brought a lot of harmonies and melodic ideas with him. It took James and me a little while to truly open up to his approach to harmony and melody, because we had never played music like that before. But eventually we began to understand it, and that’s when we started experimenting much more,” Lars Ulrich explained.

Guitarist Kirk Hammett also shared memories of how the band built their songs during that era. According to him, many compositions started with riffs brought in by James Hetfield, which were then developed collaboratively.

“James would show the riffs to Cliff and me, and from there we would start building the songs together. Some of those riffs I had already heard before. For example, the main riff of Battery. The first time I heard James play it was in England on an acoustic guitar. We were watching the TV show The Young Ones, and suddenly he started playing around with this galloping rhythm. I immediately said, ‘Wow, that sounds really cool,’” Kirk Hammett recalled.

Looking back on those early years, Lars Ulrich described the band as “a bunch of snot-nosed punks trying to do something different from everyone else.”

Later, James Hetfield added another interesting memory about writing one of the album’s most famous moments.

He remembered composing the chorus of Master Of Puppets in the living room of their home and initially questioning whether it fit the band’s identity.

“I remember writing the chorus to Master Of Puppets in our living room and thinking it sounded too commercial, too obvious. Back then we had a kind of rule in Metallica: ‘If something comes too easily, then something must be wrong,’” James Hetfield recalled

Today, Master Of Puppets stands as one of the most important albums in the history of metal music, and Cliff Burton’s contribution to its distinctive sound remains a defining part of the band’s legacy.

Meanwhile, Metallica continues to make headlines. The band is preparing for a major residency at the famous Las Vegas Sphere, scheduled to take place across October and November of 2026, with additional shows planned for January 2027.

The residency will follow their well-known “no-repeat weekend” tradition, meaning that each night will feature a completely unique setlist without repeating songs.