Master of Puppets is the third studio album by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released on February 24, 1986, and was the band's last album to feature bassist Cliff Burton, who died in a bus crash in Sweden while touring to promote the album. The album peaked at number 29 on the Billboard 200 and became the first thrash metal album to be certified platinum. In 2003, it was certified 6× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), having shipped six million copies in the United States.
