As the seasons start getting closer and the prospect of gift giving starts to clear off the cobwebs and come front and center to everyone’s consciousness yet again, there’s always the enigma of what to get, and more importantly, will the recipient be satisfied? There are however universals that always crack the corners of the mouth for a smile, music releases and their sometimes re-released box sets being some of them. So that being said, and what remains our annual wont, here’s our picks for some great music recently released and upcoming. And as always, this one goes to eleven.

Check out our 2017 Holiday Geek Gift Guide for Music…

Metallica: Back to the Front
A Fully Authorized Visual History of the Master of Puppets Album and Tour
Hardcover
By Matt Taylor
Foreword by James Hetfield
Afterword by Ray Burton
Publisher: Insight Editions with Moonrise Media
Released date: September 13, 2016

In 1986, Metallica went from local San Francisco Bay Area garage band to support act for part of the U.S. leg of Ozzy Osbourne’s Ultimate Sin tour, as well as headliner of their own European tour. The four very young men — singer/guitarist James Hetfield, drummer Lars Ulrich, lead guitarist Kirk Hammett, and bassist Cliff Burton — had only been playing together for three short years, but in that time, they released their first three albums, all of which eventually went on to be regarded as some of the greatest in all hard rock and heavy metal. It was their third album, though, Master Of Puppets, which put them on the map and skyrocketed them to fame. But, with success and popularity also came a devastating blow when they lost Burton when he was killed in an accident after the band’s tour bus skidded off the road in Sweden. The respected bassist, who had been like a big brother to his younger bandmates, was only 24 years old.

Another band might have fallen apart and never gotten past such a heartbreak, especially if they were that young and just starting out. But the unyielding musicians in Metallica knew no other life but the road and no other destiny than with music, so with the blessing of Burton’s parents, they persevered. They continued to create. They went on pounding out aggression all across the land on every stage they hit, until they became not only the kings of thrash metal, but one of the top rock acts of all time… and they’re still on top today. Although a lot has been written and documented about the band over the last 30-plus years, including those early days, there’s never been any personal memoirs. And while the members of Metallica have always spoke highly of Burton throughout the years and have tearfully relayed the events that occurred on the early morning of September 27, 1986 when they saw their brother killed in front of them as they and their devoted crew stood injured and freezing on a Swedish highway, they’ve managed to keep some details about that time private. Now, the surviving members have joined with Insight Editions, in association with Moonrise Media, for Metallica: Back To The Front: A Fully Authorized Visual History Of The Master Of Puppets Album and Tour, written and compiled by Matt Taylor.

This past week marked the thirtieth anniversary of the release of Metallica‘s seminal third album Master of Puppets. It is considered by many to be the apex of the band’s career. I personally feel that that honor goes to their second album Ride The Lightning, but to each his own.

However, there is no disputing that Master of Puppets is the most critically acclaimed entry in the Metallica discography. It would be the final album to feature the man who many felt was the heart and soul of the band, bassist and songwriter Cliff Burton.

“Puppets and metal, they can be a thing,” sings the lead singer of Lintallica, a Sock Puppet Parody band, in their new video for the song “Master Of Puppets,” and I’m incline to agree.

The new “concert” video, from the geniuses behind Immortal Christmas, features four headbanging sock puppets made to resemble the four members of Metallica from their 1980’s Master Of Puppets era, complete with tiny replicas of the late Cliff Burton’s Rickenbacher bass and Kirk Hammett’s Frankenstein guitar. While Metallica’s 1986 song dealt with the perils of drug addiction, Lintallica’s truncated parody is more about the hazards of laundry day and the dreaded thought of becoming a mismatched sock.

Check out the video here below.

For my first Thrashback Thursday post on Geeks Of Doom, I am going back to where it all started for me. My friend Tony had told me “There is this new band called Metallica that you have to hear… they’re amazing!” So off I trekked on my bicycle to my local record store and bought 1984’s Ride the Lightning on vinyl.

When I got home and dropped the needle on the first song, I was met by this beautiful little acoustic guitar part. I remember thinking “Well, this is nice and all, but…” and then it happened. When “Fight Fire with Fire” kicked into full swing, my life was very literally changed forever. Say what you will about their later output, those first four Metallica albums will always be the pillars of thrash to me. So here with the opening track of Ride the Lightning is Metallica live in Canada in 1986 on the Master of Puppets tour. You can check it out below.

Now this is my kind of wedding party. Imagine this: you’re hanging out at the reception, having a drink, waiting for the newlyweds to arrive for the party. They’ve tied the knot, said their vows, and the bride looks stunning in her gown. All of a sudden, the band rips into some metal… the newlyweds walk in, and the groom takes the vocals, and the bride begins beating down on the drums to the tune of Metallica‘s “Master of Puppets.”

How awesome is that? And the best part? It’s real – check out the video at the bottom of this post!

The title character of Hesher, in the upcoming movie produced by Natalie Portman and starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, was inspired by the late Metallica bass guitarist, Cliff Burton. Gordon-Levitt revealed the inspiration during a recent interview, in which he discussed how he based his performance of the iconic metal god’s behavior.

Apparently, according to Gordon-Levitt, the current members of Metallica weren’t informed of the basis of the character before seeing the film, and were surprisingly reminded of the much-loved but long lost band member from years gone by. Burton is highly respected and lovingly remembered by the fans as well, so it will be interesting to see fan reaction to the performance as well.

The official website for Gibson guitars has released what they perceive to be the top 50 metal songs of all time. Gibson.com’s writers and editors worked on compiling the list over several weeks, releasing 10 entries at a time, and recently released the top 10, which declared the number one metal song to be “Master of Puppets” by Metallica.

In some ways, the number one spot for Metallica is fitting, considering 2011 is the 25th anniversary of the release of their Master of Puppets album. Having said that though, metalheads are notorious for having fierce and strong opinions about what they consider to be their “top songs,” on top of their fierce and strong opinions about what bands are or are not even metal.

Metallica
Master Of Puppets
UK
U.S.: CD | MP3
Recorded September – December 1985
Released March 3, 1986

Metallica pierced the ears of metalheads in with their 1983 debut album Kill ‘Em All; a shocking statement of intent with its aggressive, fast onslaught of sonic terror. They hurdled the ‘difficult second album’ phase with ease on the mighty Ride The Lightning, signaling a grander scope of songwriting. These were good albums, full of promising talent that metal listeners hoped would turn into greatness.

When it comes to bands, every so often everything falls perfectly into place. The best of them experience this perfect moment maybe once in their career. That one album where every song is perfectly written, each vocal perfectly pitched with lyrics encompassing and evoking an issue or time. Master Of Puppets was Metallica’s moment.

Released on March 3, 1986, Master of Puppets has never been a ‘grower’ demanding repeated listens nor has it ever been considered a misunderstood work of genius. It is an immediate album. Right from its release it was considered a great metal album and in the proceeding 25 years since its release its reputation has only grown. The songs still hold up as iconic metal tracks, with the title song still being one of the defining anthems of the genre.