Metallica Album: “...And Justice for All”

Epic. This is the line of demarcation... The toe in the dirt scrawling out the line bewteen fans of the old-school thrash Metallica and their more pop-conscious fans of the new. It's also my favorite Metallica CD, I find it to be their most consistently BADASS. Epic riffs, sprawling density; the songs are allowed to take up as much time and aural texture as is needed ("...And Justice For All" and "To Live Is To Die," both clock in at just under 10 minutes).

This one: Exceptionally well-paced, a tad thinly recorded, brutal sonic delivery. Killer legendary tracks. Thematically unified, this would be Metallica's most socially-driven release as most, if not all, of the tracks seem to deal (in some way) with ostracism, petty-tribal-hates, the plight of those passed-over, those forgotten, those stepped on or kicked out of the way... James's vitriol is unleashed in full! No sleepers, no skippers.

Something I don't see noted in here much: the drums! Lars really pounds the living soul out of himself on this one. There's more variety and interesting bass-drum fill work on this one than previous (and following) releases. It almost sounds like a different drummer at times. Early Metallica skin-work always comes off as a tad marginal... That's probably because I don't know anything about drums beyond digging double-bass-kicks. This one brings them aplenty.

...From the melodic building electric drone of the first track "Blackened," (which infectiously sets the tone for the what is to come), to the take-no-prisoners thrash mayhem of "Dyers Eve," a blistering and acerbic closer.

Some high points: The parts in "Eye Of The Beholder" When James starts howling "Independence, Liberty! FREEEEEDOM!" he comes off like a metal Braveheart, Plus it has one of all-time fave screechy "wong-wong--wong-WONG-WAAAAAHHH!!!!! blast-off" solos.

The chorus of "...And Justice..." is just killer. "Justice is rrraped, justice is DONE!" Recalling, "Master of Puppets" with its "pulling your strings, justice is done," line... Loss of Power/Control being an oft-recurrent major theme in the Metallica corpus.

I'm not gonna gush on and on about how slick the transistions are in "One," from the softer melodic poignance to all out thrash-insanity, seeing as how everybody knows the tune in question. But it does never seem to get old, at least to these ears.

The instrumental "To Live is to Die," is better than prior instrumental tracks (yes, there I said it- someone had to); the snakey blues-metal solo is sick, and then there's the dynamic shifting in the song...

Love the "Oh-EEE-OH," chorus opening off "Frayed Ends of Sanity," that could've sounded kitschy and dumb but the guys pull it off making it the only time anyone has referenced "The Wizard of Oz," in an ominous manner.

Nitpicking: As many other reviewers have noted- You can't hear the bass. As in: at all. It's just not there. These tunes are bassless accusations, mwah-hah-hah... Given how awful James, Lars and Kirk treated Jason for something like the first 4 years he was with them; maybe this is but one more sign of that... Still, as I think Jason is an interesting metal bassman (a rare breed) I wish there were more low-end theory on this classic... Maybe when it gets the remaster in however many years, they'll crank up the BOOM... Which remindeth me, O my brothers- completely off the topic at hand: AVOID AT ALL COSTS THE NEW MEGADETH REMASTERS; the vocals are unbelievably bad. I know, I listened. I suffered so that you don't have to: we all know Mustaine was never an able crooner to begin with (not that his chosen mode of expression demands that) but... wow. They're just plain awful, the new vox. You want to tell yourslef, "Hey it ain't that bad, but that tiny part of your soul that knows spit from spinola just keeps nudging you saying, "Dude... Umm... Dude... Just turn it off."

Back to Metallica: This one catches some flak from most fans I think, despite the fact that those who dig on this one dig the holy hell out of it.

Oh... This is perhaps the best weight-lifting CD ever. The tracks ably segue into each other so well... Great for maintaining consistent anger and power output for multiple sets of squats and deadlifts.

..And Justice For All, in my opinion, is Metallica's best album. Though horrbily produced, this album is one of the fews cd's on the market in which EVERY track is enjoyable. I listen to this album everyday and i am still not sick of it. My only complaint with this album is i can't hear any bass. The Drums also sound like Lars is playing over the telephone...

Tracks:

1. Blackened: GREAT song! very fast throughout the entire song...amazing riffs...awesome Lyrics similar to "Fight Fire With Fire" (Ride the Lighting). Great intro as well.

2. ...And Justice For All: Amazing song. Although VERY long, i still listen to the song entirely. The intro is awesome and the lyrics discuss the Amercian court system and its many cracks. A bit repetitive, but still Execellent

3. Eye of the Beholder: Good song. The riffs are arranged very well and the drums are great. This is the song i listen to the least, but i still like it.

4. One: How the hell can a Metallica fan not love this song? in a word or two: UNBEILEVELY GREAT! The most famous song on the album. Starts out slow but ends in machine gun- like guitar riffs.

5. The Shortest Straw: VERY good song. Fast the entiire way. Awesome riffs and the solo is great. If produced better, this song would proabably be the best sounding track Metallica has ever recorded.

6. Harvester of Sorrow: Great Song. Best intro of the cd. Lyrcisc are great and the guitars are amazing

7. The Frayed Ends of Sanity: Probably the best title for a song I've heard. GREAT SONG. Amazing riffs. The Best solo Kirk has ever done. Great ending.

8. To Live Is To Die: OK. This song alone proves how GREAT Metallica is. This is my all-time favortie Metallica song. a 10 minute tribute to former bassist Cliff Burton (R.I.P) who died in a buss accident. I listen to this song EVERYDAY. Its amazing beyond description. The band's sorrow is felt every second. My only complaint with this songs is that they never play it live.

9. Dyers Eve: Great closing track. Heavy the entire time. Great lyrcis and guitar riffs are lighting quick..

Overall: I can't say it enough: THIS IS THE BEST METALLICA ALBUM EVER! I you are a fan of Master of Puppets and earlier, you will love this album. Fans of new work like Load and Re-load will be in for a suprise...but this is a amazing album...That's all that matters.

This album always produces very differing opinions amongst Metallica fans. Some say it was their best work, some say it signalled the band entering a downward spiral and heading into the mainstream. Some fans turned against the band altogether after they released 'the video they said they would never make' for the song 'One'. Lots of question marks hang over the quality of production on this record. The guitars sound very over-processed, Lars' bass drums convey more of a click sound than the thump we are used to hearing. However, the main source of discussion is the distinct absence of Jason Newsted's bass. Those who know Metallica will know that Newsted was a new addition to the band for this record; previous bassist Cliff Burton died shortly after the recording of 'Master Of Puppets'. But if you were to listen to '...And Justice For All', you wouldn't have thought that Metallica had even found a replacement as the bass is buried so deep beneath the guitars that it is almost unrecogniseable. Some of the songs contain such complex tempo changes and disjointed rhythms that the band found it particularly hard to replicate any of them on stage. The tracks are much longer than ever before, two of them are over 9 minutes long and only two are less than 6 minutes long. However, all this aside...I still believe this to be Metallica's greatest album to date.

The album opens with 'Blackened', and an atmospheric opening which was actually recorded backwards. After the build-up, James Hetfield displays the song's main riff before Lars Ulrich comes in with a lightning-fast drumbeat. Kirk Hammett's solo in this one is also guaranteed to impress. The title track then follows. This epic is almost ten minutes long and the lyrics are the key focus here; James Hetfield lets his feelings be expressed regarding America's judicial system. 'One' is the highlight of the album and a music video was released for it in the following year. It starts with a clean guitar intro, which builds up throughout the song and eventually transforms into an onslaught of thrash metal for the last couple of minutes. The concept is haunting in this track. Hetfield sings about a solider who is bombed in the war and loses all of his senses but can still feel the pain as he is kept on a life support machine. Ulrich's machine gun drumming is absolutely stunning, Hetfield's vocals are overwhelmingly passionate and Kirk Hammett's atmospheric guitar solo is voted the 7th best of all time. In comparison, the following three tracks can become slightly boring...but all the passion of the album is regained in the instrumental track 'To Live Is To Die'. This song was written as a tribute to former bassist Cliff Burton; a poem that he wrote is spoken by Hetfield towards the end of the song. The middle section is probably one of the most emotional things I have ever heard...Hetfield's guitar solo is extremely heartfelt. Then the atmospheric melody kicks in which builds and builds until the song returns to its original riff and the poem is spoken. Perhaps this represents the band's journey from complete agony and despair, to picking themselves back up and surging on just as Cliff would have wanted them to. If Cliff could have heard this, he would have been proud...it is very reminiscent of the track 'Orion' from Master Of Puppets. The last track, 'Dyers Eve' is the fastest song on the album and contains some of the best lyrics ever written by frontman Hetfield as he tells the painful story of his childhood, and cries out for his parents' guidance: "I'm in hell without you, cannot cope without you two...shocked at the world that I see, innocent victim please rescue me..."

I had the chance to listen to this album all the way through for the first time in a while recently, and it inspired me to write a review about it. It is, in my opinion, the greatest collection of songs ever released, and if you haven't heard it then you must buy it and give it a listen because nothing, absolute nothing beats it. This album is why Metallica are the greatest band of all time.

I'm not going to go through and talk about each song because I think you're old enough to listen to the snipets on here and judge for yourself which is a good track and which is a bad track. What I am going to do though, is tell you a little about this dark and strangely mixed CD. First off, this is Metallica's fourth full length ablum and the first not to featured revered bassist Cliff Burton (RIP). Filling in for him is former Float Sam and Jetsam bassist Jason Newsted. This CD is quite different from other Metallica albums and sadly is the begining of the end. How is it different? The songs are much more longer and more complex than those on previous albums and for the most part are generally slower (except for the classic "Blackened", the last few minutes of "One" and the 200 miles an hour "Dyers Eve", which is the fasted song Metallica have done) These songs are chocked full of time signiture and riff changes and are LONG. Two clock in at over nine minutes and the shortest songs are still five minutes long, which isn't a bad thing (unless you have ADD)The compostions are far more complex than other Metallica and have a heavy classical influence, especially the title track. One of the first things you'll notice when listening to this is hey! where's the bass? Sadly Jason is buried deep with in the mix through out the album. It's almost as if Metallica was sending a message to the word. A message like, Cliff was such a huge part of us and he left a massive whole in us that no one can ever fill. Which is a shame because Newstead has some great basslines. The lyrics are a high point of this album and show that a great deal of thought went into them. James' voice is at its best imho - growly and angry with just a touch a raspiness. Some of Kirk solos are really interesting and just a joy to listen too. While Lars has never been a great drummer, I fully enjoy his drumming on this album. Even better than his drumming is the sound of his kit, which is perfect imo: the clicky big sounding kick drum and the tight warm sounding snare.

Pros: Metallica are at the top of their game lyrically and musiclly. Kirk plays some of the best solos of his career. The composition work is much more complex and better than anything else Metallica has done. Lars' playing and James' vocie are at their respective best.

Cons: Horrible production hurts this album. For the most part Jason is buired so far into the mix that you really have to strain yourself to hear him and in some spots he is more or less completely inaudible. But its not just the lack of bass, its as if someone chopped the whole CD off at about 5,000 hertz.

Long songs might put some people off. Some of the songs are weaker than others.

Final word: This really should be about a 4.5 but the horrid production, I feel, hurts it too much to warrent a 5. But this is really one of Metallica's best and probably my personal favorite of theirs. If you like Metallica at all this should be in your collection.

Anger. Rage. Antisocial. Anti-just about everything this album is. Whoever calls Led Zeppelin the greatest metal band of all time is simply brain dead. Zeppelin was NOT a metal band, and when they would get into a progressive groove, they sounded dull and arrogant. Zep was great, but at least Metallica never got sued for ripping off other people's riffs (does Whole Lotta Love ring a bell?) And Justice for All got a little too prog at times, but is never boring, and when you break down the song structures, how they forced all the parts to fit perfectly is just a tiny demonstration of their supreme talent and skill level. In comparision with Puppets, both share the energy level and attitude. Justice however, has more focus in it's content of expressing rage. Hetfield's guitar tone is simply the be all and end all of metal guitar sound. Lars Ulruch's drumming is masterful, and propelled other great metal drumming styles like the great Vinnie Paul. Hammett's lead work while a bit short of his best, is still amazing considering his time frame (hey, you try to put tracks down on an album like this in 8 days, 16 hours a day). For true heartfelt anger with a real sense on real everyday life, there is no album heavier than this, you all know the songs so I wont bother to get into them in detail. One, Blackened, and Dyers Eve are obvious classics, but the title track, and The Frayed Ends of Sanity are golden as well. Actually, all the songs are great, BUT THE PRODUCTION, AAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHH! . It's relly not Newstead's fault the bass can't be heard. The duo of Hetfield and Ulrich (like Waters/Gilmour or Lennon/McArtney)tightly controlled this disc, and Newstead sufferes because of that by being forced to mimic James's rythym parts and drowned out by the guitars and drums. In closing, if you ever got screwed in a court case, fed up with politics, seriously distrust the government, have an issue with anger management, or just love superhumanly intelligent thrash metal,trust me, get this album. Would I lie to all you good people? I think not.