...And Justice for All is the fourth studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica, released on September 7, 1988 by Elektra Records. It was the first Metallica album to feature bassist Jason Newsted, following the death of their previous bassist Cliff Burton in 1986.
Metallica recorded the album with producer Flemming Rasmussen over four months in early 1988 at One on One Recording Studios in Los Angeles. It features aggressive complexity, fast tempos, and few verse-chorus structures. It contains lyrical themes of political and legal injustices, such as governmental corruption, censorship, and war. The cover, designed by Roger Gorman, and illustration by Stephen Gorman was based on a concept by Metallica guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, depicts Lady Justice bound in ropes, being pulled by them to the point of breaking, with dollar bills piled upon her scales. The album title is derived from the last four words of the American Pledge of Allegiance. Three of its songs were released as singles: "Harvester of Sorrow", "Eye of the Beholder", and "One"; the title track was released as a promotional single.
...And Justice for All was acclaimed by music critics for its depth and complexity, although its dry mix and nearly inaudible bass guitar was criticized. It was included in The Village Voice's annual Pazz & Jop critics' poll of the year's best albums, and was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1989, controversially losing out to Jethro Tull in the ill-fated Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance Vocal or Instrumental category. The single "One" backed the band's debut music video, and earned Metallica their first Grammy Award in 1990 (and the first ever in the Best Metal Performance category). It was successful in the United States, peaking at number six on the Billboard 200, and was certified 8× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 2003 for shipping eight million copies in the U.S.
The album was reissued on November 2, 2018, in vinyl, CD, and cassette formats, as well as receiving a deluxe box set treatment with bonus tracks and unreleased video footage. The reissue reached number 37 and 42 on Billboard's Top Album Sales and Top Rock Albums charts, respectively.
I just can't shake the image of goateed suburban dads rocking out to this while sitting in their garages and neglecting their wives while drinking cheap beer and wiping grease on their pants. They wonder why their wives don't want to fuck them. Maybe if you stopped cosplaying as a tough guy and embraced the life your career in dentistry has allotted you you might find a warmer embrace in bed. That said, it's still kinda fun. Very technical and clean. I dunno, maybe I should shave my beard into a goatee. I'm giving this three stars as I wipe my greasy hands on my pants and try to go pork my wife.
I was 17 years old when this album came out. A friend introduced me to Metallica, via this album and also Master of Puppets. At the time, I described the experience of listening to Metallica as a kick to the gut, and I meant it in a positive way. I cannot stress this enough, how huge this album was. Among metal fans, Metallica was probably a known quantity at this point. But for the rest of us, they were new, startling and so refreshing in a sea of hair bands. It was like someone turned on the lights and everything was different after that. A freaking revelation.
The intensity and the speed is obvious, the dark imagery, the social commentary, but with real musicality as well. I compare this to my experience listening to Napalm Death recently, and the contrast is worth noting. ND's music is designed to repel all but a very small audience. But Metallica had an awareness of where the boundaries were in metal at the time and they just pressed against the line constantly until they moved it. Some have pointed out that Metallica had a more progressive approach to their music, which I had never thought about but I think is correct. The complexity of the arrangements, the eschewing of traditional song structures... the band just existed in a different space from most of their peers. There are moments that are genuinely lovely, like the intros to "One" and "To Live is to Die," which makes the contrast against the heavier parts even more striking.
What a great album. An hour+ of Metallica can be a little exhausting, even if you like them. But it's been a long while since I've listened to them, so today was a gift.
Fave songs: One, Blackened, Eye of the Beholder, To Live is to Die
Four albums by Metallica in this list is just a joke. Even the editors make apologies for this one (“tinny sound,” “overprocessed,”). Clearly they’re the experts on this genre and this band. Other than a very few redeeming bits (the opening section of “One,” which sounds briefly like actual, you know, music), I just hear repetitive sound and structure, grunted vocals, sophomoric lyrics, thrashy breaks with quick flips back to speed (what editors call “riff salads”). For all the extremity, it’s quite paint by numbers.
This album was huge for me when it came out. I think it's Lars best drumming. Hetfield's vocals are ferocious. I saw this tour in Irvine on a Thursday, went to Hollywood the next day to see the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and back to Irvine on Saturday to see Metallica again. I went to work in the morning after all three shows. To be young again. Good times. Every song is perfect. 5 stars all day.
Hearing tracks like "One" on this album bum me out because it shows that Metallica has the talent and the capacity to make more interesting music but just generally chooses not to, instead focusing on the monotonous every track sounds the same except for one or two on every album. Technically super talented band.
Funny the first repeat artist on 1001 is muthafuckin Metallic-AH. Justice for All-AH. Longer tracks-AH. Bigger jams-AH. Thrashier thrash-AH. Less melody-AH. Technically precise-AH. Respect their intellectual property-AH. Vague commercial-libertarian messages-AH. I like better this Metallic-AH. Too same for too long-AH. C+
Well, it's a classic for a reason. It's mostly fire from top to bottom. I have a few issues with the mixing (why is the kick scooped out like a used melon rind?) but not enough to take the score down from full marks.
Look, James Hetfield is a singularly silly man. In fact, Metallica are a singularly silly band. They'd possibly be a good one if they wore their silliness more proudly. Hell, if they wore it at all. But I was weaned on metal so I can tolerate the fundamental dumbness here (that muscly rage is the answer) so long as it's accompanied by shreddy breakdowns like the one that starts at 4:30 in One and carries on until next year, or the glorious combination of brutalised guitar and drums at the start of Harvester of Sorrow. Of the albums we've had so far, this is the one that delineates the directness of the path from Prog to Metal most clearly. Really, the differences between this and Made in Japan are negligible. So well done Metallica, you kept me chuckling, but nowhere near as much as Maddy singing along from the other room to deliberately misheard lyrics. Pride of place comes from the title track: "Pin your plimpsoles to your rear". Go on, listen again and find it.
One of my favorite Metallica records. It's not quite my favorite, and I rated it a five probably due to nostalgia reasons, but the riffs on this are too addictive to rate it anything less. Of course, the bass could be a little more present, but that's Hetfield's problem. The lyrics on this are as poignant as ever and the drumming is brutal without sounding like garbage like it does in their later records. I highly recommend this to any metal fan that hasn't listened to it already. Highlights: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, and 9.
Classic thrash metal. Doesn't have the melody or nuances of some of the other metallica record but it's all about the riffs. Solid riffage for some long ass songs. Great record but they needed to turn Jason's bass up.
Never been a huge fan of Hetfield’s voice, but I do understand that lyrically and sonically Metallica is one of if not the best metal bands out there. “One” is probably my favorite track. Shocker. I also like the opening track “Blackened”. I probably just need to listen to more Metallica to get used to Hetfields voice.
Crazy guitar riff after crazy guitar riff. So influential. Even though this isn't an album I will probably return to a lot, I can appreciate everything it does and created.
Unfortunately this band named Metallica (repeat that to yourself a few times, really roll it around - Metal-lica, Metallica, Met-al-li-ca) take themselves too seriously to take seriously. They are really good at guitar solos, of that there can be no doubt. They are less good at… well most of the other things that make music music. Maybe that’s too harsh - but their lyrics, their delivery, the overblown length of their songs, the fun-void at the centre of it all… it all points to the same logic that propels the ever more serious, ever more gritty reboots of Batman: you cannot laugh at this thing, this is serious - look how serious it is, it’s actually making some really serious points about… serious things. Hella good solos though.
Metallica makes good pump-up and hype music for crowds, but not so much music to listen to on a regular basis, at least for me. Didn't really enjoy this, actually liked their live album much better
I think this album was Lars reaching peak narcissist- his drums are pulled far too forward in the mix, but the album still sounds fresh today. Probably my 3rd favourite album by the band
This album felt like Metallica dropped a lot of the melodies featured in Puppets and went back to the thrash of earlier albums but combined lots of riffs and changes into longer and more complex songs. I liked it overall, the mix is weird, but the album feels meaningful and is a great listen.
it's trite. it's been said. it's been a punchline and a dead horse and a nickel in the jar.
but man -- not having bass (i will not be saying that word again in the review) on your thrash metal album REALLY makes you come to terms with how fucking bad Lars Ulrich is as a drummer. so many complex songs and all he can do is pound the same three patterns. he's like the guy in "Deacon Blues" who learns to play the saxophone as part of a midlife crisis, and you get the feeling this is his skill ceiling. instead of being OK with his cover band and job as a forklift operator, he's part of the biggest metal band in the world and earns millions from fucking up drum parts in front of thousands of adoring fans for over 40 years at this point.
it's equally frustrating because for all the shit around Ulrich, Hetfield and Hammett are going insane on the guitar -- their most ambitious song structures and solos and scooped tones yet. and Lars, he's just not up to snuff. the whole band has to make room for him as he plods through each track. i also don't think that this album should be as long as it is, but i also really couldn't tell you what to cut. there's so much of it; i feel fatigued.
"One" kicks ass though -- makes the whole thing worth it at least a little. the key to being a metal superstar is probably "writing songs based off of a book you read" if it and Iron Maiden's "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" are anything to go on.
Arguably the best Metallica album ever made. It's no wonder that everytime they try to do a "thrash comeback" it ends up sounding like Justice. Death Magnetic and Hardwired, I'm looking STRAIGHT AT YOU.
Metallica's greatest moment influenced by personal tragedy.
10/10.
This is amazing! The playing on this track is phenomenal and the energy and power off the charts. This is not a genre I’m familiar with but I get the appeal - absorbing and exciting, an incredible sound. I kind of enjoy the angry political lyrics, less so the rebellious teenager stuff (but hey maybe this is as therapeutic as seeing a therapist), but overall a musical smack in the face.
Metallica’s 4th album is refined from earlier works. It’s clear they found their footing with their new bassist Jason Newsted following the tragic death of bassist Cliff Burton in a tour bus accident. This album boats “One” which is a beautifully crafted piece of work even for being over 7 minutes long it’s easy to get lost in masterful guitar work. This is a solid thrash metal album (4th of 5 in a row masterpieces in their genre) from arguably the greatest Metal band ever assembled. Giving 4 stars, but would give it a 9.4 out of 10.
“Hold my breath as I wish for death”.
The second thrash metal album in 5 days, and my second or third Metallica so far. Too much metal and punk ( and I like punk), just too much, there is more music variation than this list would imply.
Thrash metal is the tedious end of the genre, it’s such a caricature of itself. I just find this so monotonous, repetitive, paint by numbers music; here’s the musical intro, song plods on, vocals drone on in that earnest way, then time change either speed up for a bit or slow down with usually a guitar/ instrumental break, then return back to plod repeating as many times as wish for minimum of 6 minutes. Nothing seems to ever go anywhere musically or vocally, and where they may be heading it’s at a glacial pace. FFS write something under 5 minutes. Long doesn’t always equate to epic, sometimes it’s just long. Think I heard they have lots of short ideas and then join them together which would explain a lot. Even when they have some variety such as the start of One they can’t stick with it and have to descend into the plod etc etc. And what’s with that simple snare sound front and centre? on every track, it’s not a great sound.
I just don’t get Metallica, either on record or live ( seen a few times at festivals from bottom of bill to near the top) they just strike me as being so, so workmanlike.
If it had been a couple of tracks would give this a higher score but the cumulative effect of long song after long song of rinse and repeat over an hour is like watching a film of someone laying road all day, some brief interest in what is happening at first but then tedious repetitive boredom afterwards. 1.5 Stars
This shit is fire bro. Saved every song to my playlist. Love the political messaging, the angry line delivery, the sick beats. Favorite metal album so far.
Oh wow, yeah. Personal top ten. One of the greatest albums ever.
This album just hits top to bottom. Filled with super strong songs like Dyers Eve, One, Blackened. There’s not a weak second here.
It could use more bass in the mix but this is an all time great and an amazing listen.
This is the last truly great Metallica album. They got really weird and creative here (this has most of my favorite Metallica solos). If they'd actually let Newstead's bass be mixed in properly, it'd be a true 10/10, but because of that it will always be a 9/10.
I had many a 16 year old night lying stoned in my bed, listening to this on my iPod.
Songs of note:
- Eye of the Beholder: This is the only song on the album I ever learned to play. Something about the disonance in the main riff always stood out to me. This has my favorite solo on the album. It was shorter, more melodic and less shreddy than usual. For how progged out this album is, it feels much succinctly more tasteful (even though it is a 6.5 minute song). At the end of the solo, Kirk hits this big harmonic with the whammy bar and I remember being stoned and feeling like that moment sucked all the air out of my chest.
- One: The undeniable classic of the album. Perfect mix of pretty, soft melodic, and crushing riffage. This has to be the best solo on the album (though Eye is my favorite).
- To Live is to Die: The third in the early instrumental trio. I always listen to this as connected to Kall of Ktulu and Orion. Its a very pretty and sad song, but I was never sure what to make of the disjointed intro/outro. I read once that it was a tribute to Cliff Burton being cut short, and I've just taken it that way.
- Dyers Eve: One of the best thrash songs they ever wrote. Fast and heavy as it gets. This is probably my sneaky favorite on the album. Perfect closer too.
Album Cover: (A) So on the nose that it works.
I didn’t expect it but this album impressed me a lot I enjoyed it heavily, probably the best metal I’ve heard so far this was a great first introduction to Metallica I can see why people like them.
Favorite Tracks: Harvestor of Sorrow, The Frayed Ends of Sanity, and To Live is To Die.
2nd half was peak.
Fantastisches Album, mit zeitlosen Klassikern der Thrash Metal Musik. Ein toller klarer Klang der nur dadurch beeinträchtigt wird das ein bisschen der Bass flöten bzw. untergeht.
"One" einer der schönsten Metal Songs ever und "Harvester of Sorrow" voll der Banger. Ich gebe 4 Sterne, weil "Master of Puppets" meiner Meinung nach noch besser ist.
The mix on this album was crap - it was very bass-heavy and I don’t like not being able to make out James Hetfield’s voice and lyrics. However, the drums were phenomenal and while this version of Metallica is less melodic and more thrashy than the Metallica that I prefer, there is definitely a place for this album in my heart. I loved the last track, “Dyers Eve.” What a way to end.
I remembered this album to be better than it is. Granted, One is sublime, and one of the best songs Metallica have ever made. But the rest is really uninspired; Thrash riffs chugging along with hardly any real original idea. Except for One, only To Live Is To Die offers something for the more melodically inclined. Yes, Thrash is not my favourite sub-genre, but Metallica can do (and have done) better even before this album.
It doesn't help that massive disrespect was shown to bass player Jason Newstead, who was the new guy at the time, by making the bass tracks almost inaudible, and ruining the whole album's sound along the way.
Compared to all the other albums on this list, this is slightly above average, which makes it a 3.5/5.
…And Justice for All, but Bass for None.
As a teenager in the early and mid 90’s, I was a pretty obnoxious Metallica fan. They were the greatest band on earth, the band that mattered most to me. I’d stay up late nights in the summer watching Live Shit: Binge and Purge on VHS on my 13” TV with built-in VHS player (at least until 12:30, when I’d switch over to the antenna and pick up Late Night with Conan O’Brien). They’re the reason I started playing guitar. My identity as 14 year old was tied in very closely with being a Metallica fan.
Justice, as us heads call it, was peak Metallica for me. It’s heavy and aggressive, technical with tons of twists and turns, and, most importantly it questioned authority - the long held past time of any American teenager worth their salt.
Listening to it today, at 42, I can’t help but like it still, it’s practically ingrained in my DNA at this point, but holy fuck is this album longer than I remember. Maybe it’s just that time moved slower back then or my span of attention was longer.
That there’s no bass on this record bothers more than it used to, as well. I get it and appreciate that it’s a homage to Cliff Burton, whose death left a massive hole in this band, but a lot of these songs would be better served with some kind of low end other than Lars’ omnipresent kick drum. About 40 minutes into this record, the sound of it starts to grate on your ears.
In terms of runtime, less would be more on …And Justice for All. You could probably cut “Frayed Ends of Sanity” and the record would be just as enjoyable. Conversely, in terms of instrumentation, less definitely isn’t more - this record is all high end and suffers as a result of that production choice.
Very cool, but one thing I wasn't crazy about is how many of the songs had no ending, they just stopped (and sometimes changed partway through like they know how to do a transition but not at the end of a song?)
Also, fun fact: Keegan's house used to be owned by Lars Ulrich, the drummer
I've never really listened to Metallica. Pleasantly surprised that I didn't hate this album. Some interesting songs. I think Blackened was my favourite.
Metallica’s …And Justice For All is their fourth and most ambitious album. It features some of their longest and most complex songs, such as Blackened, One, Harvester Of Sorrow, and the title track. The album explores themes of injustice, corruption, and oppression with a dark, heavy, and technical sound.
However, the album also suffers from some flaws, such as the poor production quality, the absence of bass guitar, and the tediousness of some tracks.
This album is often underrated in Metallica’s discography, as it is sandwiched between two classics: Master Of Puppets and the Black Album. It is a great example of progressive thrash metal and deserves more recognition, but it is not as accessible or enjoyable as their other works. I appreciate the album for its ambition and intensity, but I prefer to listen to their more balanced and dynamic albums. Therefore, I give it a solid 3 stars out of 5.
...And Justice for All, Metallica, 1988
-Starts boring and very generic (i.e. - sounds like every Metallica song ever) but I mean hey: listen to those drums, nothing not to love there.
-Metallica: incredibly skilled instrumentation paired with near-total inability to make their songs distinguishable from one another. They set the bar high with their preceding album, Master of Puppets, and I'm curious what they could pull off just 2 years later.
-Really loved the opening for ...And Justice for All; the song doesn't evolve into anything to write home about though. 9 minutes in and I realize: this album is going to feel long as hell. Thanks Metallica...
-Eye of the Beholder is a pretty decent song but forgettable
-One has some absolutely delicious guitar licks and their shot a stylistic shift in the vocals really pays off - they communicate a sentiment both hopeful and devastated. We love this one of course and it does a good job hoisting the album out of snoozefest territory.
-The Shortest Straw returns the album into snoozefest territory. Like so many of their songs, we build and build and build up to some self-indulgent drum and guitar ram-jams and fall back into some repetitive lyrics. Yawn.
-Yawning continues through Harvester of Sorrow as the formulaic-metal intensifies
-Did I just hear the WIZARD OF OZ flying monkey chant sample used in The Frayed Ends of Sanity, like what?????? LOL sure why not. It works.
-Basically zoned out the rest of the album. Snooze snooze snooze. Great instrumentation but mastery of your instrument and your genre only counts for so much.
Odd choice considering Master of Puppets is widely thought of as the best Metallica album and is a much more cohesive entry into their discography. Reminds me of better days before wealthy people decided they hated less stupidly rich people and decided to take a shit all over every attempt they made to make their miserable life a little less miserable. Fuck Metallica.
I can't admit to really listening to the album and I actually felt stressed when I heard it was Metallica. I have listened to some Metallica via Tim over the years and it always makes me feel quite stressed. I like some of there 'softer' tunes and I can appreciate their skill. I would never listen to this album on my own but I quite enjoy it in the right setting - very specifically a Metal bar in Hackney. I think metalheads seem like friendly people and so two stars for skill and a nice subculture.
4.5/10
A ono, thrash Metallica u najboljim danima neki bi rekli.
Poslusao cijeli i nije mi toliko lose, ali previse mi je jednolicno da mu dam visu ocjenu. One mi je oduvijek bila super stvar i favorit na albumu. Toliko o tome, next.
Metallica what happened? One was great but the rest not so much. Full of their trademark sound but with none of the hook to make you come back. Its also very repetetive. And 9 songs still pushes over an hour.
Quelle déception ... Le début de la fin pour Metallica !
Fan absolu du groupe depuis le premier album (découverte du trash metal, grande évolution dans ma vie musicale qui m'a amené aux metals dits 'extrêmes'), je me souviens avoir acheté l'album dès sa sortie, et ... avoir été vraiment très déçu à la première écoute :
- mauvais mixage, basse inaudible, son de batterie mauvais
- morceaux terriblement longs et peu intéressants
- album globalement mou, malgré les quelques accélérations ici et là (trop peu à mon gout) : où est passée l'énergie des précédents disques ?
Même après d'autres écoutes, je n'ai pas changé d'avis et ai fini par abandonner l'album, puis abandonner Metallica avec l'album suivant ... A l'époque beaucoup d'autres groupes de trash faisait bien mieux !
Cette nouvelle écoute ne m'a pas fait non plus changer d'avis.
=> 2/5
Nr. 145/1001
Blackened 3/5
... And Justice For All 2/5
Eye of the Beholder 2/5
One 2/5
The Shortest Straw 2/5
Harvest of Sorrow 2/5
The Frayed Ends of Sanity 2/5
To Live is to Die 4/5
Dyers Eye 2/5
Average: 2,33
Not the biggest fan of metal. Combined with the great lenght of the songs, made this not really fun to listen to.
Metallica is the Elvis Stojko of metal.
This album in particular is straight ice dancing. Yes, like Olympics ice dancing.
Everything is excessively choreographed, rehearsed to oblivion with the goal to be as robotic as possible and all the audience is waiting for is for you to fail. No failures here, congratulations, you're all robots.
This is the third Metallica album I've had in this project, and I was not as taken by it as Master of Puppets or the Black Album. Not that there aren't some classic Metallica elements that I recognize and like. I get that they seem to be going for a bit more of an epic feel with the extended songs and changing tempos, but it lost me a bit.
I'm also not sure what I think of environmentalist peacenik thrash metal. I like the message but it doesn't FEEL quite right.
Really? Another Metallica album? What in the name of shitting crikey did I do to deserve this guff.
This is absolute shite. Simultaneously dull and intrusively loud. I'd rather listen to virtually anything else.
One of the most highly over-rated bands in existence.
Every song sounds the same with a self-indulgent solo.
From another review, I see that there are three more of these turd piles to get through.
Metallica is an iconic band in the overall metal style, there's no arguing about that. But let's try to be honest for a second: generally speaking, James Hetfield's delivery of his bland vocal lines is totally dull and unimaginative. Another guy actually *really* screaming his lungs out would have taken those songs up to another level. As for the music itself, it sounds way too paper-thin on this particular record compared to a lot of stuff that was later done in said genre, including Metallica's own "black album" (yep, a lot of critics were right: where's the goddamn bass?). So I guess that as far as albums go, you can keep *Master Of Puppets* and *Metallica* in your list of potentially essential LPs, if only for their cultural importance, and throw everything else into the "thrash" can.
Number of albums left to review or just listen to: 798
Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory: 106
Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 50
Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more important): 46 (including this one)