"Master of Puppets" consists of several riffs with an odd size and a clean section in the middle for a melodic guitar solo. Structurally the composition resembles the track "The Four Horsemen" from the first album of the group: two consecutive verses with a chorus are replaced by a long interlude, passing to yet another bunch of verse / chorus. The starting and pre-knockout sections contain fast descending chromatic riffs at a rate of 220 beats per minute. Gradually monotonous eight-note riff, sounding in the first verses becomes more intense. After the second chorus follows a long interlude, starting with a purely sounding arpeggio, against which the melodic solo of Hetfield sounds; gradually the riffs become more distorted and heavy, then Hammett enters with a more masterly solo, after which the song returns to the main verse. In the final of the track there is a fading ominous laugh. The song tells about the dependence on cocaine.
—Peter-Patrick76 (peter-patrick@mail.com)