Master of Puppets: who is pulling the strings on that graveyard?
Rows of white crosses stretch to the horizon, and every one of them hangs on a string. Somewhere above the logo, two hands are doing the pulling.
A blood-red sky, a field of dry grass, and rows of white crosses running all the way to the horizon. From every cross a thin string rises up past the Metallica logo, and in the top corners two big hands hold the other ends. Nobody is visible. Nobody needs to be. You already know who is in charge here, and it is not the people under the crosses.
Puppets, all of us
The idea came from the band and their manager Peter Mensch. Lars Ulrich later explained that the picture sums up what the album is about: people being manipulated without even noticing it. The title track is about addiction, the drug playing the puppet master, and the graveyard shows where that game ends.
Some accounts say the painter worked from a rough sketch by James Hetfield. If so, it would explain a small oddity fans like to point out: the hands in the corners look a little simple, almost childlike, next to the soft, detailed field below.
The man with the airbrush
The painting is by Don Brautigam, an American illustrator who did many book and record covers. He reportedly worked in acrylic on illustration board, mixing brushes with an airbrush, which would explain the sky that dreamy, glowing haze. The original is only 17 × 17 inches, signed "DB" in the lower right corner.
The painting had quite a journey. The story goes that Brautigam gave it to Jon and Marsha Zazula, the couple who had given Metallica their first record deal. In November 2008 it went under the hammer at Christie's in New York for $28,000 (around $35,000 with fees). Not bad for a graveyard.
Copenhagen, and a goodbye
Master of Puppets was recorded at Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen with Flemming Rasmussen, from September to December 1985, and released on 3 March 1986 on Elektra. It spent 72 weeks on the Billboard 200. In 2015 it became the first metal record picked for the US National Recording Registry.
It was also the last album with bassist Cliff Burton, who died in a tour bus accident in Sweden in September 1986. That gives the field of crosses a weight nobody planned when it was painted.
About the poster
This is the Master of Puppets sleeve printed as a large 55 × 75 cm (22 × 30 in) portrait poster, from 2007. It is an original magazine insert, never hung, with no staple holes, folded three times as issued. The sheet is double-sided, with Ozzy Osbourne on the back.
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Quick answers
Who painted the Master of Puppets cover?
Don Brautigam, an American illustrator. The concept came from Metallica and their manager Peter Mensch.
What does the Master of Puppets cover mean?
The crosses on strings stand for people being manipulated without knowing it. The title track is about addiction pulling the strings.
When was Master of Puppets released?
On 3 March 1986, on Elektra Records. It was recorded at Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen in late 1985.
How big is the poster?
55 × 75 cm (about 22 × 30 inches), portrait. It is a separate insert, so it has no staple holes, and it is folded three times as issued.
What is on the other side?
An Ozzy Osbourne poster. The sheet is double-sided, so you choose which side goes on the wall.