Watch: Master of Puppets lands at #9 in the Rock 2000

Metallica’s Master of Puppets has landed at #9 in the 2026 Rock 2000, proving that nearly 40 years after its release, this thing still cranks

Released in 1986 as the title track from Metallica’s third album, Master of Puppets has become one of the band’s defining songs, with its massive riffs, tempo changes and legendary instrumental middle section.

It’s also one of the biggest songs in Rock 2000 history. It has appeared in 20 editions of the countdown since it entered in 2003, cracked the top 10 six times, and has taken out the whole bloody thing twice, winning in 2016 and 2023. 

There’s a good bit of trivia behind the track too. Master of Puppets was the last Metallica album to feature bassist Cliff Burton, who died in a tour bus accident later in 1986.

Metallica member James Hatfield fondly talks of this song as a pilar in the ‘Cliff Burton era’

“It was still rebellious, it was just the four of us, just wanting to conquer the world.”

Then came another strange chapter in its history when Stranger Things introduced the song to a whole new generation in 2022. That year it shot up to #2 in the Rock 2000, before winning again in 2023.

Now it sits at #9 in 2026.

Relive the countdown from wherever you are.