...And Justice For All

…And Justice For All was released in 1988 and evidence that Metallica were now a huge band came in the form of a number 6 position on the US Billboard top 200 and a number 4 position in the UK album chart. The album would go on to sell over 8 million copies in the US alone and it propelled Metallica to a new level of fame.

This was Metallica’s first album with new bassist Jason Newsted and despite being a fantastic attack on injustice and war with thought provoking lyrics and tight skilful musical performances it did receive some criticism because of the dull production and the fact that Newsted’s bass track was deliberately turned down. The band was slow to accept Newsted as a replacement for Cliff Burton and they wouldn’t let him forget it. Despite these criticisms …And Justice For All was Metallica’s biggest success to date.

The album lasts over an hour despite having just nine tracks and many of them are really long, something Hammett later explained that they realised when on tour to promote it. This has led to few of the tracks becoming permanent fixtures on the Metallica live set list with the obvious exception of smash hit One.

The album kicks off with Blackened, an anti-war track which sucks you in with a gentle start before spitting you out again as Hetfield screams and the drums take off. And Justice For All came next and lasted just under ten minutes offering a damning indictment of the justice system and a number of changes in direction. Hammett’s guitar is flawless and the track also features yet more kick ass drumming from Ulrich.

Eye of the Beholder came next tackling themes of freedom stolen away and then came the stand out track on the album, One. This was the fourth single released from the album and it outperformed the others in the singles chart. One is an excellent song about a soldier who has lost his limbs and senses and is trapped within his own mind, Metallica accompanied the song with their first real music video and it has remained one of their most popular tracks.

Shortest Straw offered a paranoid blast of speed before the more subdued and extremely dark Harvester of Sorrow. Frayed Edge of Sanity offered some classic head banging material before the stirring instrumental To Live is To Die which was a tribute to the late, great Cliff Burton. The song is an instrumental featuring riffs that Burton wrote but never got around to using and it is a fitting tribute to his genius. The popular thrash classic Dyer’s Eve rounded off the album with a fast paced explosion of drums.

This album is a classic piece of metal history and it was the last album Metallica would release before their incredible mainstream popularity exploded with the 1991 album Metallica (usually called the Black Album). …And Justice For All is packed with creative ideas and it does mark a progression from Master of Puppets but whether it marks an improvement is a matter of personal opinion.