Chris Poland, the renowned metal and jazz fusion guitar maestro, recently reflected on his time with Megadeth and shared his thoughts on Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” upon its release in 1986.
When Metallica launched what would become one of the most influential albums in music history, Megadeth was in the midst of producing “Peace Sells… but Who’s Buying?”, which was released in September 1986. At the time, the rivalry between Metallica and Megadeth was at its peak, fueled by Dave Mustaine’s ongoing feud with James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich. While “Peace Sells” proved to be a significant success, Metallica had begun to fully realize their potential, with “Master of Puppets” becoming a cultural sensation.
During a recent conversation with Chris, he provided insight into Megadeth’s perspective on Metallica and their groundbreaking album from that period.
When asked about Dave Mustaine’s reaction to hearing Metallica’s albums, particularly “Master of Puppets,” Chris revealed, “To tell you the truth, he never said a word about any of it. He didn’t really talk much about the band. I mean, he would say funny, snide remarks about Lars, but that was like, once every six months. Just out of nowhere, he’d say something.” He added, “But it was all just poking fun at the guy. But he never sat down and said, ‘Yeah, Metallica… I hate those guys!'”
Reflecting on his own reaction when he first heard “Master of Puppets,” Chris admitted, “Oh yeah, I was so bummed out. Our record had just come out, and when I heard the production on ‘Master of Puppets,’ I was so pissed. And I knew it was because those guys were focused. We were not focused. We were drug addicts.”
He continued, “I mean, they wrote great songs. And we pulled [Megadeth’s songs] off, but we weren’t saying, ‘Maybe we should retube that amp and get it biased?’ We weren’t thinking like that. And plus, those guys were in Europe. Everything was running at 240, even the console. I think that had something to do with why that record sounded so good. And the producer [Flemming Rasmussen] was just freaking amazing. That record is my favorite Metallica record.”
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