Holy Vision: Metallica Master Hammersmith

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September 21, 1986: The Four Horsemen bring their crowning achievement to the Odeon

Metallica Hammersmith

Mere months after casually dropping one of the single most influential heavy metal albums of all time, Metallica brought Master Of Puppets to London on September 21, 1986 during their epic Damage Inc world tour.

With James Hetfield having recently broken his arm in a skateboarding accident, rhythm guitar duties were left to the band’s guitar tech, John Marshall (who’d later go on to play in respected US thrashers Metal Church).

“Looks like this place is packed full of fucking freaks, huh?!” joked Papa Het after witnessing the crowd lose their minds to their new album’s masterful title track. Sadly, it would prove to be the last time London bore witness to Metallica’s classic lineup – bassist Cliff Burton lost his life just six days later in that fateful bus crash in Sweden. The band would never be the same again.

Merlin Alderslade
Merlin Alderslade
Executive Editor, Louder

Merlin moved into his role as Executive Editor of Louder in early 2022, following over ten years working at Metal Hammer. While there, he served as Online Editor and Deputy Editor, before being promoted to Editor in 2016. Before joining Metal Hammer, Merlin worked as Associate Editor at Terrorizer Magazine and has previously written for the likes of Classic Rock, Rock Sound, eFestivals and others. Across his career he has interviewed legends including Ozzy Osbourne, Lemmy, Metallica, Iron Maiden (including getting a trip on Ed Force One courtesy of Bruce Dickinson), Guns N' Roses, KISS, Slipknot, System Of A Down and Meat Loaf. He has also presented and produced the Metal Hammer Podcast, presented the Metal Hammer Radio Show and is probably responsible for 90% of all nu metal-related content making it onto the site.