...And Justice For All

I don't think I like this? I'd prefer straight screaming over Hetfield's three-note wail? Let me put it this way: most of the album is a bludgeoning of Hetfield and Hammett both playing the same drop-D riffs. Where's the pocket? Where's the interplay? "One" is the best song, and I don't think it's a coincidence that it's the prettiest and most melodic and least riff-y. Album really shines when Hetfield holds the low end and Hammett let's er rip...more of that next time, please!

Now, I never did like Metallica, but then I heard the black album on here and started to wonder if I had got it wrong. Well thanks to this offering I can confidently announce that I was right all along. Its almost a shame really, but nah this is not for me, don't like it. 1

I’m starting to think that Metallica only had one decent album. But it would have been impossible to release a crap one in 1991, in what was probably the best year for music. Everything other than their self titled album his been cliche.

Ah Metallica, this is the album I have heard more than any of their others. I must go back to my early years of working, an Indie boy surrounded by heavy metal fans who thought they would make it their mission to convert me. I made it my mission to convince Goth was the way forward. Neither tactic worked sadly. So, onto this an hour of pretentious nonsense, where they try to show their musicianship with soft melodic intros and middle bits, my colleagues used to say 'see? they can play beautifully if they want to'. Nah. No thanks. I do remember saying that I really liked 'Harvester of Sorrow' with its driving riffs and energy. But now I've got round to listening to this again after many decades due to this project, I can see why I said that to them - it was just the least annoying song on the album and I would say anything to shut them all up with their crusade to convert me to the world of double denim. That said, it is far above the bar I set for anything metal and is worth over two stars, but still somewhere under three. As I'm feeling nostalgic for simpler times and the fun we had ribbing each other over our dubious musical tastes its a three star job.

War gut aber wie so oft bei dieser Art Musik für mich irgendwie zu eintönig. Aber 1-2 Lieder die ich sehr gut fand dabei

Quero dar um 3.5, pela escuta guiada pelo Mike!

Provavelmente merece mais uma listen, mas na primeira não senti o 4

As previously mused, I can only really enjoy Metallica in short doses

Metallica - ...And Justice For All 670/1089 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This is a hard one to score. One and Blackened are two of my favourite Metallica songs, One is in the discussion for my overall favourite. There is the temptation to give it the full five stars but the album does have its flaws. The obvious and most famous one is pretty total erasure of Jason Newsted’s bass throughout it. To be honest it’s something that took me ages to realise but once I did it really is a big negative against the album. Another slight flaw is a couple of the tracks go on a tad too long for my liking. There isn’t one on the album under five minutes with most of them going towards the 7 minute plus mark. It’s a great album overall but not among Metallicas best

I have this impression that Metallica is the kind of band for non-metalheads such as myself. Aggressive without blowing your ears out, lyrics you can actually understand. I doubt they’re many people’s favorite metal band. More like a compromise candidate.

Some aspects of heavy metal just leave me cold Metallica is one of those

todo mundo sabe que é o melhor álbum do metallica blablabla

🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑 (rounded down since the album sort of flattens out, but still rallies higher than a three, that’s for sure). So, I know the genre is or was ideally supposed to be all-inclusive (minus, of course, the posers), but sometimes I think I’m only a metalhead by technicality. I’ve already voiced my total bigotry toward all pop-metal and nu-metal spawned beyond the nineties, but I think this distaste stretches back a bit further into metal evolution. Like, take my card if this is heresy, but I’ve never been able to get into Tool or even, really, Metallica because they’ve already strayed farther from “my” metal than I’d like. There’s plenty of general metal bands now (Mastodon, Gojira, Zeal & Ardor) or industrial bands from the 90s (Nine Inch Nails, Ministry, Skinny Puppy) that are great for separate reasons, but when I think of the classics—your Black Sabbaths and your Iron Maidens—they’re so great because of their emotions. The soundscapes are soaring operas, they’re gothic horrors, and the abrasive, screaming performances and instrumental acrobatics that ensue are meant to compound that spectacle. Metallica and its thrash progeny have a very distinctive sound, too—serrated vocals, buzzsaw guitars, and a steel-plated sheen despite the crunchy distortion—but it’s a sound that I don’t find emotionally compelling, at least in the way it’s used on …And Justice For All. I’m still not sure why that is, exactly. For one, I like a lot of industrial or uptight music, but being mechanical is what gives it galvanic character: like clunky, jerking robots, beastly, grumbling construction vehicles, or even faceless, calculating drones. Where those machines and the music like them become animate by leaning into their lifelessness, most thrash stuff, to me, subtracts from the full-blooded, gothic drama that makes ancestral metal so fun to create this sleek, barking flatness. Maybe less philosophically, I bet there’s a music theory thing I’m missing, as is so often the case, that might make my explanation click. Maybe it’s the leisurely midtempo for many Metallica songs that, despite the hyperactive, needling guitar—you know, going “Deedleedeedleedeedleedeedlee”—isn’t driving the song particularly fast. I have a feeling, too, that the key of most Metallica, or its limited melodic wanderings beyond that, are part of what flattens it. The musicianship on display is undoubtedly masterful—technically impressive, at least—and I think to say there’s no emotion in that is a bit reductive. There’s definitely a rush from seeing someone absolutely let it rip on a guitar solo, and I think that’s probably in large part what sparks emotion in Metallica fans (right?)—it’s certainly what gets me excited when listening to their stuff. To me, though, I don’t always want the emotion to flow through the musicianship—I want it to flow through the music. This was, in large part, my experience of the album—an onslaught of crisply-produced chugging and flat rasping that evened out into a featureless surface. Considering the incredibly fraught subject matter pervading every lyric, you’d think a hint of anything beyond anger would pierce the flat acrobatics, but even convincing anger didn’t often show for me. Case in point, “One,” the star of the show—a song that should be, by all accounts, a devastating listen. I viscerally remember when I first saw the music video for “One,” though it was more down to the subject matter than anything else—I had an awesome teacher in eighth grade who told us about how she’d written a report on the song when she herself was in middle school, and when she explained to us the context of “Johnny Got His Gun,” I was kind of scarred for life. I don’t know what it is about grievously mutilated people being kept alive in the prison of their own flesh that scares me so much, but it’s a topic I can hardly touch without plummeting into sadness—Throbbing Gristle’s similar song “Hamburger Lady” (which it seems I will have the delight of re-encountering on this very list), while really sonically cool, gives me a bit of a musical hangover that leaves me staring at the wall long after it’s finished. That’s not to say anyone writing about this is obligated to wallow in their own trauma porn, but you’d expect it would induce… you know… any feeling. To be fair, “One” does make me feel things—namely, “fuck yea,” especially in the second half of the song. This is where the aforementioned face-melting shreddage reaches its zenith, to me—it’s seething, probably angrily, though not to the magmatic degree that I’d feel as a limbless, faceless soldier kept alive by the very government so ready to send me to my death, you know? Like, I think the subject matter requires a depth of emotion that just isn’t here. You know, freedom of speech and all that—you’re allowed to write whatever kind of music about whatever kind of topic—but there’s just an odd dissonance here. It could be less fitting, certainly—“One” is really fucking metal—but I guess it still seems a bit detached from the depths of horror it invokes in a way that older metal would never have been. As usual, though, my nitpicking makes me seem like a hater, but I’m far from it. After all that, I can’t say I don’t like Metallica—I like quite a few of their songs, though probably just the basic ones. “Creeping Death,” “Enter Sandman,” “Sad But True,” “Nothing Else Matters”—to me, these have a personality or drive peeping through that really makes the whole thing. I’d also already heard “One,” obviously, but also “Eye of the Beholder,” a headbanger despite its stiffness. This time around, though, I was happy to discover “The Shortest Straw” and, this album’s winner for “best title,” “Harvester of Sorrow,” both of which I’ll come back to. Look, ultimately, Metallica’s not bad by any stretch—not objectively, certainly, but also not to me. I think I just feel so picky about them because, given their status and given my interest in metal, I think I’m just supposed to hail them as rock gods. I can totally appreciate their technical skill in that respect, yet I’m just not all the way there when it comes to the tepid heart of their music—not as close as I want to be. That said, I like it a lot more than I dislike it, which is exactly why the complaining to praise ratio is so fucked: I like it enough to wish I liked it more. 1: Bad | 2: Below Okay, No Desire to Revisit | 3: Good, Conditionally (OR Inconsistent Mix of Qualities) | 4: Great (OR Technically amazing but missing the sauce emotionally) | 5: Amazing

O melhor do Metallica.

This album is shit. Listening to it felt dry, long and completely unengaging. The songs drag on without much payoff, and the whole record has a cold, lifeless quality that never improves as it goes. The playing is tight in a technical sense, but that does not make up for the lack of feeling or real impact. The vocals sit in a harsh, strained place and the guitars just grind along without creating any memorable atmosphere. Everything feels stiff and overworked. The production is one of the biggest problems. It is thin, overly bright and strangely hollow. The bass is almost nonexistent, which leaves the sound unbalanced and weak. What should feel heavy and powerful instead comes across as sharp and empty. …And Justice for All does nothing for me. Long, cold and completely uninspired. A clear miss.

I'm sorry, I just couldn't with this one. It all was just noise to me and it all sounded pretty much the same, "One" aside. I know they are talented musicians but I just wasn't in the mood for making my eardrums bleed this morning. (2)

Blackened : 5 … And Justice for All : 5 Eye of the Beholder : 4,5 One : 5 Shortest Straw : 4,5 Harvester of Sorrow : 4 The Frayer Ends of Sanity : 3,5 To Live is to Die : 3,5 Dyers Eve : 5 The first half of that album is flawless, but the second half, except Dyers Eve, kept me for giving this album a 5 stars. To me, And Justice for All, along with Master of Puppets and Ride the Lightning, is the golden run of Metallica in terms of trash metal. Love kill ‘em all as well, but those three are something else. Strong 4/5, will definitely stay in my rotation.

An album I've listened to many many times. While not Metallica's best album, and despite there being a handful songs that are not that great, it's still up there. The album gets off to a bad start, with 'Blackened', 'Eye Of The Beholder' being the hands down weakest songs on the record in my opinion. Beginning with 'One', the rest of the album is a no-brainer. 'One' might be Metallica´s single best song. For me personally, I think 'To Live Is To Die' might be a contender though. It's just such a journey, in a bit similar way that 'Orion' is on Master of Puppets. The complete melody change at 4:30 going forward is so good, especially with the non-distorted part coming in at 4:56. Knowing this song was written for their bass player Cliff Burton who died a few years earlier makes it more impactful. Then you have 'Harvester Of Sorrow' which has a really cool riff. 'Dyer's Eve' is just a straight shredding session. Debating whether to give it a 5 or 4... but the more I think of it, this actually might just be the second best album they have in their repertoire after Master Of Puppets.

I feel like ...And Justice for All is an in-between album. I only noticed after a friend pointed it out that the only “hit” from this album is “One.” It sits between two greats in Metallica’s discography: Master of Puppets and The Black Album. It’s still not a bad album by any means. “One” is a great track, and “Harvester of Sorrow” is also good. The album has that classic Metallica sound, with everything that comes with it. I think I’m mainly annoyed that this got chosen over Ride the Lightning (and that S&M somehow made it onto the list). 4 strong stars still.

This is my bread and butter right here. Listened to this album a good few times in my life, metal being my favourite genre, and this listen was no less special. I actually think it’s a touch underrated in their catalogue, and the individual tracks for the most part go toe to toe with MOP and RTL, in my opinion. It’s their most progressive album by far, and I know it’s kind of cheating, but if you listen to the bass boosted version on YouTube, it’s even better. Metallica forever ❤️🤘

The band's name says it all. And even though their music is still a moderate take on their genre, I just can't get into it. To me, it sounds like noise punctuated by technical glitches in the sound system. No, I don't enjoy it at all. I didn't finish listening to the album. I just couldn't stand it anymore. 2/5

A lad in my school wore Metallica shirts everyday. He turned out to be a nonce.

Never listened to this album in full, even though 'ride the lightning' is one of my favorite metal albums. 'One' is a classic song. Enjoyed the theme on this one.

I get the message but can only deal with so many syncopated drum breaks. I'm sure it was innovative for when it came out but in the big 2026 I could either take it or leave it, and I'm leaning towards leaving it.

Third Metallica album and third time I will say this: they are an incredibly silly self serious band that think themselves profound. The one song I like of theirs is on this album, and honestly I need a cigarette after listening to it again after all these years (and One is kind of like 2 songs so maybe I like 2) but...it's about a WW1 soldier and it opens with helicopter noises. It sounds cool, and maybe if they got rid of Hetfield I could enjoy this band, but they haven't, and I don't, so while my favorite of their albums, it still isn't much of an album.

This is ok. Kind of boring. One is a good song and gets it the second star - 2/5

yep i can get behind this

put bass in your fucking songs dickheads

I grew up with Metallica, and this, Master of Puppets, and the Black Album have always been my favorites. So there was definitely some nostalgia and bias going into this one. But what surprised me was how differently I heard ...And Justice for All now. As a teenager, I was mostly headbanging to the music. Now I'm paying much more attention to what Metallica was actually saying. Songs like “Blackened,” the title track, and “Eye of the Beholder” tackle environmental destruction, corruption, justice, freedom, and people in power. More than 35 years later, a lot of those messages are still frustratingly relevant. And the anger in the music makes sense. These aren't angry songs just for the sake of being loud and heavy. The anger is part of the message. I can also admit that familiarity plays a role here. If I were hearing Metallica for the first time, I might complain that some of these songs sound too similar. But I know this music, and I still love the guitar work, especially moments like the solo in “The Frayed Ends of Sanity.” “One” remains the highlight for me and one of Metallica's greatest songs. The biggest takeaway from revisiting this album is how differently its messages hit me now. I understood as a teenager that Metallica had something to say. But after decades of lived experience, I understand and feel that anger on another level, especially because so many of the issues they were writing about in 1988 are still with us. The album hasn't changed. I have, while unfortunately, some of the world hasn't changed nearly enough.

I like a little Metallica, but an entire album feels like overkill. I guess I'm not angsty enough for it.

Arguably the best offering from Metallica

hard listen personally

Loved this one in high school. It really holds up.

Oft óþarfa langlokur og vont trommusound en jújú klassík

Þetta fannst mér allt vera eitt, langt lag. Heyri samt að þetta er töff. Tvær og hálf, sem námundast upp í þrjár.

3.5

Pretty solid nostalgia

Wiger approves. 5/5

Oké deze ga ik dus niet ‘s ochtends om 7 uur luisteren… Een uur kan lang duren… zeker met deze chaos. Hoewel ook ik moet toegeven dat er ergens ook echt wel een melodie in zit. Net niet helemaal verschrikkelijk

Ik snap best dat als je overtollig energie hebt en in muziek een uitlaatklep nodig hebt dat dit goede muziek is. Ik vind metal dan wel wat smaakvoller dan veel punk of hardcore. Ik hoor ook wel dat het goede muzikanten zijn. Het is alleen niet voor mij

Pittig. Ik hoorde dat de bas bijna helemaal is weggemixt op dit album omdat de vorige bassist was overleden en de nieuwe bassist binnen de band een ondergeschikte positie had. Dat maakt de luisterervaring nog een tikkeltje minder prettig dan hij al was. Ik hou best van harde muziek, maar ik kan niet helemaal duiden waarom ik System of a Down of Black Sabbath vijf sterren zou geven en Metallica een 1. Als ik het probeer te duiden, heeft het denk ik te maken met een bepaalde sfeer of ambiance en vooral een bepaalde gelaagdheid. Metallica is best wel rechtlijnig. De riff is de riff, de tekst zegt wat hij zegt. Er is geen sfeer die eronder of erboven hangt of een bepaalde klankkleur. Riffs en tempo's zijn technisch en tekstueel is het vrij duidelijk en houdt het weinig interpretatie over. Als luisteraar krijg je zelf niet echt de ruimte. Ook de wat rustigere albums die Metallica later in hun carrière maakte kunnen mij niet echt boeien. Het ligt dus blijkbaar niet aan de hardheid. Verder vind ik het ook niet echt sympathieke jongens waar ik na deze plaat nog veel meer van wil horen.

Ik was er aanvankelijk al bang voor dat de dag zou komen dat Metallica aan de beurt zou zijn. Ik bedacht me dat toen ik Nirvana moest luisteren, dit vind ik namelijk ook heel kut. Jaren geleden was er een collega van toen ik bij The Sting werkte, die dit altijd opzette in het magazijn waar we alarmlabels in de kleding prikten. Wat dat betreft heb ik echt al wel wat luisteruren gemaakt op Metallica, en ik kon het dan ook niet begrijpen wat die collega nou zo vet vond aan de muziek. Ik had wat dat betreft al een beeld van wat me te wachten stond en na al die jaren vind ik het nog steeds verschrikkelijk om naar te luisteren. Al begrijp ik liefhebbers wel wat beter inmiddels, technisch gezien zijn dit onwijs goede muzikanten die rete strak zijn ingespeeld op elkaar. De muzikaliteit hoor je ook veel terug in de korte stukjes waarop ze op akoestische snaarinstrumenten mooie harmonische melodietjes spelen, wat kort daarna omver wordt gebeukt door een dikke muur van gitaren in combinatie met dubbele basekicks en agressief gebulder. Ze hadden in principe ook mooie muziek kunnen maken, maar ze kozen hiervoor. Ik denk dat heel veel mensen (waaronder mijn oude collega) er heel erg dankbaar en blij voor zijn, en ik gun hun ook hun kutmuziek.

3,9/5

great

I LOVE THIS ALBUM! I’m a huge Metallica fan so this is definitely not my first listen but it has very recently overtaken ride the loghting in my Metallica rankings and is now at the top of my list of their albums. SO GOOD LYRICALLY AS WELL

every song on this album sounds exactly the same

Not my style. Not at all.

Not for me, Clive! 'One' er lyspunktet her

Så utrolig rå plate, og veldig viktig for meg. Jeg driter i at bassen er lav, killer låt etter killer låt

Really liking Metallica, this album has some bangers

Can’t we just agree this is a mediocre album? It is a massive step down from their previous two albums, with little musicality or originality. And the decision to be such assholes to Jason Newsted that they made the bass almost non existent in the mix is unforgivable (and makes an already mediocre album even less compelling to listen to). They were broken by the death of Cliff Burton and so it’s not hard to understand why they weren’t at their best here. But this album does not belong on this list.

I don't know what it is about Metallica, I just cannot groove with their music. I'm sorry, Metallica.

Nije da inace slusam metal, ali metallicu uvijek mogu poslusat. Stvarno dobar album, nema mi loše stvari, nije mi 5, jer teško da cu ga ponovno preslušati, i nisam nijednu pjesmu dodao u neku svoju playlistu. Ali osim toga uzivao sam slušajući

Really good but not my kind of thing. Makes sense that someone is out there playing the guitar like that. Seems natural to take it to that extent

A real head-banger of a record. Thrash metal at its finest. Some of the best guitar work I've heard, and some incredible songs. Blackened and One certainly stand out, but To Live Is To Die is my favourite track of the album. A stunning instrumental tribute.

yea sure it's cool I saw them live one I didn't like it came in expecting too much maybe I don't really care about them but it's sort of chill to listen to

Not a big fan.

On paper a nailed on 5 star album for me. Thrash metal on the list and some great song writing... ...that also has a drummer that is nowhere near good enough to pull off the vision. Bass that is moronically produced out the mix. And political sentiment the band abandoned for financial gain. Defeat from the jaws of victory.

Caught in a transition phase between the rawness of their first albums and the smooth production of the black album. Better choices by the same band to include in this list.

Metallica is more technically impressive than they are entertaining to me. It's funny hearing them after Black Sabbath self-titled. They sound so polished and almost... corporate or something. Some of the songs go on way too long and feel like an endless string of riffs. Most of it is solid metal. None of these songs are even close to my favorite Metallica songs.

really very good workout music. makes me pissed off at, i wanna say the gulf war? the reagan administration? something like that. the baseline is super sick, it's full of chunky riffs and those lovely grounding acoustic moments, but it does leave me wanting, i think. maybe missing some killer singles. thought it'd be One holding the score up, but i also loved The Shortest Straw and To Live Is to Die (prob my favorite). solid 4

Rating: 7/10 Metallica is still giving 80's thrash greatness here but I also find it to be the weakest album of the decade in their discography and the start of their decline (and also commercial rise). Kinda makes sense considering it's sadly the first time the great Cliff Burton is not present, it's truly not the same without him, the bass and low end suffers. It doesn't really hold a candle to Ride or Master and I totally prefer the sick rawness and visionary debut of Kill 'Em All. They get further into progressive and technical wank but in a way that doesn't make their songs better, The pretty significantly longer album runtime than usual doesn't help, ESPECIALLY considering the fact that it is front-loaded with its best tracks. Well, with all of that criticism out of the way, these songs are still pretty awesome! Blackened is a cool intro, great guitar playing. One is clearly one of Metallica's best songs and a metal all timer. Despite that weaker second half it really does end strongly To Life Is to Die and Dyers Eve. Pretty good album!

Nope, never was into this band. And this is possibly the most annoying of their albums. Tin metal is now a genre and the vocals are just w e a k. Lyrics that a primary school kid might write if they could be bothered to take the piss out of metal caricatures.

Kjennskap: 30% Bra hockeymusikk, dårlig arbeidsmusikk.

One is an absolute masterpiece of a song. If you’ve never seen the video for it, it’s worth checking out. Metal music has never been my preference. It always seems to go on for a bit too long. That happens a lot on this album. Not much is added, but the same guitar riff plays and the same lyrics are said. Master of Puppets is a much more cohesive and tight album. That said, Metallica knows their wheelhouse and they do it well. It’s a great album, but it misses some depth to its sound. And just a little long in the tooth.

This is a solid 3.5 album, rounded down for what I feel is a weaker lineup of songs.

It's not that I don't like Metallica. I just think that they're not that great. Technically this album is tight. Not a screw loose anywhere. But clocking in at over an hour, this is bloated and could have been a tight 40 minutes.

Its very hard and proper rock. You cant make out the lyrics unless you read them, and they dont make too much sense. The music is good, hard rock, and varies in some song.

Есть проблемы со звуком, но это придает пластинке особое звучание, песни очень хороши, у альбома есть интересная концепция, он звучит цельно Зрелая запись, что по звуку, что по песням, даже отвратительная игра Ларса не так сильно бросается в глаза

If you don't like this then i don't like you Still could’ve been replaced with Ride The Lightning though.

Sick riffs

If you just want to bang your head to loud beats, don’t let me stop you.

I never heard this album by the huge Metallica before - and I was shocked by the poor sound quality! Sounds like a homerecording done by some novices on poor equipment. The music? Not mine.

ambitious, complex compositions and songwriting combined with some of the worst production and soundmixing, delivering us a flat masterpiece

3.5 or like 3.75.

"... And Justice For All" by Metallica is a thrash metal album. I love this album as this album has that energy that makes me smash head into the wall. The production level, guitar riffs, vocals, drums and emotion and energy all are great and amazing. This album lyrics deals with injustice, war, corruption and religion. Every tracks on this album is great, standout for me are "Blackened", "... And Justice For All", "One" and "Dyers Eve". Few negative things I found on this album is the absence of bass as it inaudible. I found some tracks as repetitive. Besides this the album is great to listen. This album is not that superior to their other albums "Ride the Lightening" and "Master of Puppets" but sit right behind them according to my opinion.

This is a great album, one that set the way for modern metal. But jesus are these songs so long. I love a long song, but not every song needs to be 6+ minutes.

Mostly guitar music innit, with songs without real arcs that feel like they go on forever. However, the music is pretty good

I have not really listened to that much Metallica and was under the impression that they were better than their peers and the acceptable side of thrash metal that everyone can get on board with. Maybe this is true of their later albums - but I found this a struggle and only marginally better than Slayer/ Anthrax/ Megadeath and way inferior to Iron Maiden/ Deep Purple (recent listens ). Its all very repetitive - very mechanical drumming and chuggy guitars and pained vocals. There is no fun or theatre to it.

That was boring. One had a little bit going for it, but not the epic song I remember from my childhood. The rest was just muzak jamming for people that like very fast guitar playing.

"One" is a phenomenal piece of music; it has depth, it's meaningful, emotionally charged, and it completely justifies its length. The same cannot be said of the rest of the album. The songs do indeed sound samey, but that's not the real issue : it's the structure and composition of those songs, which are frankly lacking. The sound is good, I love the guitar play, I love the voice, I love the drums, I should love this album, but I don't because the songs go absolutely no-where, they just happen. It's loud just to be loud, there's no real emotion, it has no sense of purpose. There are quite a few songs that I love from Metallica, but they're sadly on other — I assume, better —, albums. I can't believe I'm saying this about a thrash metal album, but this was quite boring lol

The album felt long with just a few peaks of interest here and there.

Not really for me, but not terrible. One slaps though

Feel the same way about this one as I did about the last Metallica album - one banger (One), and the rest not impressive

One is definitely the standout. Oh that’s the monkeys in wizard of oz in the Frayed Ends of Sanity I feel like all these songs are 3 minutes too long

Not my cup of tea

preety goood

Best Metallica album

If you were to ask me my favorite Metallica album, I would probably say Master of Puppets. It's certainly the one that I've revisited most. But if I were truly being honest, the album that I find most appealing is definitely The Black Album. It has my favorite Metallica songs on it (Sad But True, Wherever I May Roam), and I can appreciate the attempt to shorten the songs and go for a less alienating structure. and while I wouldn't say that the longer songs and shorter track listing is necessarily to this album's detriment, I definitely don't love it. I find it hard to be engaged with an album, especially one of this length, when almost every song is over 6 minutes, with some being almost 10 minutes. Despite that, this is almost certainly Metallica at their most technically proficient. These are some of the most intense and enjoyable riffs I've heard from the band, and there are a lot of really impressive solos and such. I just wish it was slightly more concise. Nevertheless, it's nice to finally scratch this off my albums bucket list, I wish I could've told my dad about it. Favorites: ...And Justice For All, One, To Live Is To Die

Really enjoyed this album

Was surprised by how much I enjoyed this one. I thought I didn’t like Metillica at all.

Rhythmically fascinating and strangely melodic. Probably my favourite Metallica album that I’ve listened to (so far).

It’s an 80s Metallica album so it’s gonna be amazing ofc, but I feel like some tracks couldlve been done better on their previous albums. Some places the bass mixing isn’t awful (probably because hetfields rhythm guitar fills in for it well) but on others like eye of the beholder it’s more noticeable. The albums also too political, it’s not that Metallica can’t be political just the ideas are so vague that it feels like nothing more than “freedom good authority bad” stuff and just feels so boomer in what it’s saying. It’s also a bit bloated, it’s 10 minutes longer than master of puppets but it feels like that space is taken up with less. It’s still a good album tho it’s got some rlly nice headbangers, just I think with the death of cliff their sound got shaken up and this is the growing pains of that. My favorite tracks are one, blackened, harvester of sorrow, and frayed ends of sanity

An okay album that overstays its welcome. Still just not a big metallica fan

Rawk and roll!.....a milestone album....

The drums and bass sound amazing; James Hetfield just couldn't get into it. 🤔

pros: the writing is maybe the best Metallica ever got, One is a wonderful homage to Johnny Got His Gun, and it's still in their 80s prime so it has some real teeth to it. cons: it suffers from CD bloat a bit, the original mix without the bass is memed on for a reason, and is probably the least interesting Metallica album of their first 5. i don't know... it's definitely a tier above the often mediocre Black Album but i can't get into it like i can with Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets. deserves to be one of the 1001? there's a case for it i think but Ride the Lightning is obviously a more important inclusion. so.. maybe? but it's about the fourth most notable Metallica album and i don't know if i would include more than three if i were making the list

Not as good as the black or master of puppets but still a great thrash metal album. The production is a little lacking with the bass guitar almost totally hidden

I appreciated the more “progressive rock” elements of this. Less so the heavy metal lead guitar thrashing or constant “chug-chug-chug” of the rhythm guitar on straight eighth/sixteenth notes with no syncopation, but that’s a big part of what makes metal what it is. It’s not quite my cup of tea but there’s no denying they do it well. (The mastering is less than great, with the bass almost inaudible and the drums very tinny). Also, One is an all-timer. Other than the mastering I’d think this is one of the best metal albums I’ve heard. 3.5/5

Most of the tracks follow the usual 2-3 Metallica patterns for their songs including the lyrical meter. That's nothing unusal in metal, but there are a few exceptions on this album, and they make the difference. Overall, a good album.

Enjoyed

A great album, people tend to say the bass is turned down almost all the ways however the version I listened to on Spotify wasn't as bad as anybody seems to say, standouts include eye of the beholder, one and harvester of sorrow. To live is to die is a great track also

On a real Metallica kick recently so thank you to the generator. Have always thought this album was perfect tbh, and it's really good for beginner bass learners. One is my fav song of the album. Harvester of Sorrow and To Live is to Die were my other highlights

No

I like Metallica but this it not my favorite

A couple of classic metal songs, 9 minute instrumental could have been cut from this album because it goes nowhere…I honestly feel half these songs could been trimmed possibly by at least 2-3 minutes

How is a record this loud, with some pretty technically impressive guitar solos, so… boring? It’s all so repetitive. This is my 2nd thrash metal album I’ve gotten for this challenge and the first (Megadeth’s “Peace Sells…”) had me smiling throughout and even laughing a couple of times. This record, I was anxious for each song to end.

Too much anger, not enough melody.

You got me with one of my favorite bands!

4.4/5 more bass n this cld b a top 3 Metallica album

fav songs: one trash, overproduced, riffs galore 50/100

Haven’t listened to Metallica in years. Had a stretch when I would listen to more heavy stuff and some heavy metal but it’s been a while. I’ve listened to this album but don’t remember if it was a good one for me. Early on and this faster harder metal is definitely the type I normally liked less. Always some good guitar riffs and solos but sometimes this stuff starts to get repetitive sounding. The title track has an interesting opening. Overall this music just isn’t for me really these days. I know I would like their Black Album still as it’s a more regular heavy metal sound and has a lot of hits. This still feels a little too intense for me. One is the first song I’m legitimately enjoying and it’s a different sound with a better guitar sound and not as fast. Also enjoyed a lot of To Live is To Die as an instrumental. Overall don’t hate this, but doesn’t feel like the best of Metallica to me. But I’m admittedly a casual listener who generally doesn’t like this style of metal. This isn’t the worst version of it, just not for me. It’s also pretty long as a whole. Feels like a 2 to me. Maybe a 3. Metallica does have a weird distinct quality to them where they stand out from versions of this metal that I don’t like. Maybe it’s familiarity with his voice. Think I’m going 2.

It gets too long from "The Shortest Straw". So it's an OK album but don't expect more than 3 stars.

Not super my vibe

It's cool they can play like this with all the wild solos and everything, but I find metal so monotone and lacking in subtlety. It's less shouty and thrashy than some of their other albums I've had, but I still won't ever be choosing to listen to this.

I'm not a fan of metal music, and it felt like I was listening to this album just to say that I did. I'm sure that metal fans would enjoy it and appreciate the influence this band has had on the genre, and I think that's great for them. However, personally, I didn't find it enjoyable or relatable. That said, there were a couple of songs I did like, such as "One" and "To Live Is to Die." I wasn't particularly fond of the singer's voice or lyrics; maybe I just couldn't understand what he was saying. Regardless, I probably wouldn’t choose to listen to any of these songs again.

Wasn’t helped by this being my album for a lazy Sunday morning

Not quite as good as Master of Puppets or the Black album, but I dig it.

In the running for my favorite Metallica album. Perfectly blends Metal and Prog with long complex yet memorable songs. 25 years of playing guitar and I still can't play the Blackened riff correctly...and Hetfield plays it while singing. Dude is a beast!

3.25 - One is a top tier Metallica song for sure, but I've never really latched onto the rest of this album. To Live and to Die is close.

Been a long, long time since I listened to this one, though I had it in very heavy rotation at a certain age. One is still great, but mostly this reminded me why Ride the Lightning was my favourite Metallica record. Dyers Eve was always a favourite and still is. The compositional nature of a lot of this doesn't hold up without their best composer.

Some really nice guitar tones, especially on One. I think it’s a pretty solid album, I’ve never been a huge metalhead but this was one of a good handful of metal albums that i’ve really enjoyed.

I would have gone with either of their previous two albums personally but I'll take it.

Outstanding

If I had a nickel for every time James Hetfield ended a line with “Ah!” on this album, I’d have enough money to buy myself a pretty nice lunch. Anyway, ...And Justice for All was just okay for me. There are definitely a few powerful tracks here, with “One” being the obvious standout. It’s emotional, intense, and easily the song that grabbed me the most. For the first two-thirds of the album, I was mostly enjoying myself. But once I reached that final stretch, I started thinking, “Okay, I’m pretty sure I’ve heard all of this already. Are they going to surprise me with anything else?” There are some strong riffs and nice melodies scattered throughout, but not much that made me want to come back and hear the whole thing again. I guess metal just isn’t really my thing, and apparently neither is headbanging for over an hour. There’s plenty to admire about the musicianship and ambition here, but by the end, it all blended together a little too much for me. A few great moments, one excellent song, but overall, it was just okay.

I see why people like this, but it is not for me.

Good old classic.

Except the bass mix a great album

I want to go work at an electronics factory assembling screws after listening, cuz I have many energy for that.

OK WE GET IT

Not my favorite Metallica, but still a lot of fun. Most everything that makes the band great is present here: wild guitar solos, pummeling drums, and adventurous song structures. This album is infinite for how inaudible the bass is, and while that does make it slightly worse than their best work, it didn't bother me as much as I anticipated. James Hetfield's lyrics split the difference between political commentary and personal demons. It's not exactly the deepest or most intricate look at these issues, but Hetfield's raw emotion in both the delivery and the writing really sells it. The most emotionally effecting parts come from the tributes to their former bandmate Cliff Burton, who died shortly before the recording of this album. I wouldn't describe it as a beautiful sendoff, but the raw aggression feels fitting.

It starts epicly with everything spot on. It sounds like a usual Metal album until "One". The thing about "One" is that it really brings that anger out with those drums. The electric guitar riffs just go insane. After that, the drums and the electric guitar are just epic. The only downside I could find is the lyrics which can be repetitive at times. Other then the vocals sound constantly angry giving rarely any pauses for the madness. But the anger is well represented. I like how it ends with that same intensity it had throughout the whole album.

Thrash metal, progressive metal.

listened to this backround music ass album for FREE on a streaming service

Thoughts before listening: One of the only Metallica albums I owned on cd, and it includes my favorite song by them in "One". I have always thought of this as Metallica's prog record with longer songs that include multiple parts. I really like it. Review: Yeah I love this album. It slows down their thrash assault a bit, without losing any of their power. If anything, the longer, denser songs are more impactful due to the added layers of drama that come from the different parts. They still crank up the speed from time to time, but its a slow build to get to that point instead of being the entire focus of the song. The perfect example of this is "One" which starts with a lovely guitar melody and eventually turns into a double kick drum shred fest. I love it. 5-stars

Gutes Metall album, aber muss nicht nochmal 2/5

Probably my favorite Metallica album. Certainly it features the best drumming from Lars Ulrich besides Master of Puppets. The guitar melodies are also too good on this album.

Love it, especially Blackened. I was half expecting their more popular music so I was pleasantly surprised. ONE is the only song I’ve heard before (I believe) which is one of my favorites. I enjoyed this album a lot more than I thought I would.

totally respect it and appreciate it's probably an iconic album but just not really my thing I guess. Not sure survey specs are hype enough to listen to this

The last gasp of Metallica's classic era

In my head I like Metallica a lot, but after this, their final album of my project, my rating averages show a slightly different story. This was ok but a bit overlong, both in several tracks and somewhat overall album duration. Not my least favorite but certainly not my most favorite, overall 3/5

One is amazing, the opening songs are so great for this era. Love Lars drumming, but I hate the production, it’s so thin and harsh sounding. Giving it a mediocre cause it’s important but not amazingly listenable

I don't know what it is but I love the sound of the drums on this album (and this era of metal generally, but specifically here). You don't hear snares like this in metal these days, and modern sound mixing also gets a lot more of the cymbals and toms and other things that you hear more in modern metal drumming. It's like, objectively worse quality than modern recordings, but there's something that's just so gratifying about the drum mixing on this album to me. Anyway, the rest of the musicians are also really good on this one. I think I had only ever listened to One off this album before today (thanks Guitar Hero), but the rest definitely lives up to the same quality. I'm typing this as I'm rocking out to The Frayed Ends of Sanity and am looking forward to 10 minutes of whatever happens in To Live Is To Die.

This album benefits from being the first Metallica album on the list. That isn't to say it's bad, but it's slightly worse than the others that we'll get to listen to. That said, this album is awesome and was a great road trip listen.

Hm

First Listen Favorites: One Blackened To Live is To Die

One of the greatest metal bands of all time at arguably their technical peak

Demasiado Heavy

All killer, no filler (well okay, maybe a teeny bit of filler). This album rules and kicks along really damn well, even if I think some of the song lengths are a bit excessive. Maybe I'm a bit square, for that one. But the solos and writing are excellent, and the way the songs progress and escalate does kick ass for the most part.

Heard it before, probably in the womb already. Some absolute bangers on this one. But also some songs I care less about (in the 2nd half especially). Still good though 4/5

Not that I didn't enjoy a bit of silly fun, but nothing really stood out. Except the poor mix and lack of low end.

One, Harvester of Sorrow, and Dyer’s Eve deserve their place in the pantheon of thrash metal, but the rest of the album didn’t live up to those tracks for me. Potentially my least favorite of their legendary 80s run.

I rage-cleaned my home to this album and it was the adrenaline boost I needed! One is such a good song. This is the first Metallica album I have received (it’s about damn time!) and I’m excited to get the others.

I appreciated this style of music much more when I was younger. I still loved One and I can still appreciate what they’re doing but overall the album just didn’t grip me

1. Cudo chemia zespołu top 9/10 2. 8,5/10 3. 8/10 4. 8,5/10 5. 7/10 6. 7/10 7. 7/10 8. 9/10 9. 8/10 Album 8/10

Of all of the music in this genre, this is pretty good. I still don't see the attraction. Again a type of music that I just don't care for

One is good enough that if I were to make a sub-list of top ten songs from the 1001 albums, it would not only be on that list, but it would be high on it. I put this song on more than I have any business to. I’m not a metal head, and the song is practically as old as I am. The lyrics are basic, even if based off a book. But the concept is sound, the slow-build is completely bad ass, and once we rip roar into the machine gun palm mutes and psychotic solos, we’ve entered metal land. This is the definition of what the big guy in Metalocolypse means when he says ‘totally metal,’ a phrase I still use which, nobody understands the reference to. One is a song that I see myself in the future with my hypothetical children, cruising down a scenic country road, saying, ‘Alright kiddos, we’re going to rock out now.’ Then, I’d turn the radio all the way up, and these kids who’ve never heard this song before would be frustrated at first, asking why they aren’t rocking out yet. I’d tell them to wait for it. They’d have no choice, being held captive by seat belts and blanketed by an ear drum-destroying volume (at least there’s no bass). Then the song would pick up and the head banging and air guitars would begin, and like ten minutes later when the whole thing is through and silence descends on us, they’ll beg to hear it again like it’s a roller coaster slightly too fast for them. I’d hope the message would instill in their hearts the true cost of war. But, we’re here to discuss the album as a whole… With the exception of One, I’ve always ranked Justice below Master of Puppets, Ride the Lightning, and even the Black Album. Listening through it now, I wonder if I’ve given the other tracks their due. I listened to this while lifting weights in the garage, and it was completely suitable. I’d rate it- totally metal.

Unreal album. Great from start to finish.

Just a wonderful little album. DARKNESS IMPRISONING ME

One of Metallica's best albums - awesome trash, and the longer tracks let them dive into more of a proggy sound. Banger after banger.

I would give this 3.5 if I could. Not their best but not their best. This is a transition album from the first three amazing albums to the their biggest hit with a completely new sound. Notable mostly as it was the first time most people heard them

wow metallica jetzt gehts los huiuiui bro ich versteh halt nix von den lyrics pahaha 10 min song 💀 ja gut one ist immerhin bisschen ruhiger... irgendwie machts schon spaß das zu hören haha

Lo estoy escuchando y recordando un poco toda mi era metalera. Este es un gran disco, pero la decisión de enterrar el bajo hace que no llegue a ser todo lo que pudo ser. Si hay algo en lo que le critico a Metallica son las decisiones que tuvieron con ex miembros de sus bandas como esta o como la expulsión de Mustaine. No porque no lo merecía sino las formas con las que lidian en este tipo de situaciones. Un gran disco pero que se ve perjudicado por la toma de decisiones de sus miembros fundadores!!

One

actually a bit too mcuh for me at least when i'm working

I remember thinking that Metallica was utter noise when I first heard it. But then I discovered that they had lots of good songs. Always confused me, but after listening to this album, I am no longer confused. Apparently the first three albums are thrash (or dare I say trash) and the fourth and onward are the "good stuff". Only one song on this album shows some trace of being listenable (One). But even that one would compel me to leave the room.

I liked the guitars and instrumentals, was in between a 3 and a 4 because it typically isn’t my style but to live is to die won me over Highlights - the shortest straw - to live is to die (fav)

good but not for me. the frayed ends of sanity is great when you're in a rush (I was late for something and this song made me feel like I was on a high stakes mission)

I just couldn't get into this, it took me three days spread out to bring myself to get through it. when i listened i enjoyed it it just felt like pulling teeth to get myself to listen to the full things idk if i just picked bad times to listen or what

Solid, impressive instrumentals. Feels like music my dad would like

This one had to win me over. One is probably my favorite metal song of all time, but I did not know much of the rest. A few genuinely great tracks, but some filler as well. Probably 3.5 for me, but bumping due to social commentary. I wish Hetfield sang like the One verses all the time--the growl gets old.

i don't like metal

Looks like I got my dose of testosterone today. Metallica has made a couple great albums and this is probably one of them. It doesn’t sound as good as Master of Puppets or the Black Album, but it’s still excellent. Highlight is One, of course. 3.5 stars

Crazy that they have four records on the list. I'd probably order to listen to this over the black album, but that was massively more influential so deserves its place. So this loses a star for not deserving it's place. Having said that it's a good album poorly produced. The drums should sound huge but instead are thin and tinny. The guitars are ok, but lack any low end, and I can't hear any bass at all. The thing that makes this is the songs. Dyers Eve is the only slightly weaker track, the rest are really solid, and it showed a band that has a lot more range than their peers.

I've been getting so many bad to mid albums in a row I was really about to give up on this challenge. Finally getting a banger. Picking up where Master left off, the guys in Metallica now without Cliff tried to carry on. This would be their final album where they're able to carry the progressive thrash sound that Cliff Burton really brought to the band. Cliff was the musical heartbeat of Metallica and it shows. Not as good as MOP but just a step below. 4 stars

Not a fan of heavy metal 🥀 but I respect Metallica so hard

I was never a big Metallica fan, but I really liked this album. I had only heard “One” before. Honestly, I thought it was one of the weaker songs. I was more impressed by the deeper tracks.

It's fine. Maybe it was groundbreaking at the time, but in 2026 this is some boilerplate thrash influenced groove metal. It's not bad. One is great. But yeah, basic Metallica. It does It's Metallica thing and then it ends.

I'm a huge metallica fan, but i have not listened to this all the way through. Classic Metallica, so good. Not my favorite album, but I can see why it's on the list.

Not my taste

Metallica never gave a crap about what the critics said and just pumped out the records it believed in, and the fans followed. "One" is a one-of-one.

Yes please!

what about justice for my ears? Honestly, this is just drivel. All the songs sound the same and that same is really really bad, they also manage to be twice as long as they need to be while doing that, at least Slipknot had the decency not to suck up so much of my time. Their name is also really unimaginative. A few songs to pull out One - yep, you nailed the rating lads The Shortest Straw - that's what I drew to have to listen to this Harvester of Sorrow - credit for dipping away from the derivative heavy metal bag of words their sort normally indulge in, to talk about a sad time at a chain restaurant The Frayed Ends of Sanity - pretty much where I was this deep into it

I've always found their mixing a little weird. They always sound like they're floating a few floors above me, in a tin can I'm sure its very technically impressive but it just doesn't connect with me. 'One' kinda slaps though.

Trash metal, en smule prog og lange sange. TRash metal tager punkens hurtige tempo og inkorporerer i metal-genren med tunge guitarriffs osv. Der af også speed metal genren. Handler om krig og død osv, det er meget hårdt musik. Det er vidst første album efter cliff burtons død, så de er stadig meget ramt af sorg. den er åbenbart ikke fejlfri? Mener at sangene bliver meget lange, bassen er næsten ikke eksisterende og det er overfyldt med alt muligt, men det gør det åbenbart ikke mindre historisk vigtigt.

So heavy metal bands are really folk bands in disguise! Monotone shoutiness. Can't stick to a groove - unforgivable. Same problem as Beach Boys!

It’s a classic

Thrash era

Tämä levy on löytynyt omasta hyllystä jo julkaisustaan asti. Ostin CD:n julkaisupäivänä Kaivokadun Musiikki-Fazerilta. Hyvä levy, vaikka Jasonin bassot ei kuulu alkuunkaan kuten pitäisi. Hyllystäni löytyy myös Deluxe Box Set.

I'm not really a heavy metal fan, but I've always found Metallica more palatable than most bands in the genre. Back in 6th grade I probably would have called myself a fan, but that phase didn't last very long. Coming back to ...And Justice for All was a pleasant surprise. I actually enjoyed listening to it more than I expected. The musicianship is outstanding, the riffs are fun, and the songs have a level of complexity that keeps them interesting, even if they can run a little long. That said, it's still not the kind of album I'd ever put on myself. I can absolutely appreciate why it's considered one of Metallica's best and why it had such a massive influence on metal.

Generally well played. Vocals rough as always. I guess they didn’t like their new bassist, since they buried his part in the mix. 65 minutes of this is a lot for me to get through.

Painful for my ears

don't remember all these songs being this long, gd lol feels almost impossible to convey today just how big of a fucking deal the One video was when it dropped

I can understand why adolescents would be enthralled by this shit. What I don’t understand are those who don’t outgrow it. But it’s on brand.

Not really my cup of tea, prefer punk

🤘

Really like opening song drums and guitar not into the voice tho I can’t lie. Second song is funnnnnn good so far. The harmonies of the guitar remind me of something Brian May would do. Noticed it’s boring me a bit no depth to it I can’t lie but can understand it’s an influential album and band

The guitars sound like someone dragging a tin can along concrete, the drums sound like rubbish bins, and the bass, famously, is almost non-existent. But... I still have a soft spot for this album. Haven't heard it in over 30 years, but I still love it. It's PROPER Metallica, not the short haired dad rock that followed a few years later. I find myself playing that double kick under my work desk, air guitaring, and wishing I still had long hair so i could start windmilling. The guitars sound like shit, but dammit they shred. Lars has become an internet meme for his lack of drumming ability, and the tone as noted above sounds like he's banging rubbish bins, but he's hitting them like they killed his parents. And dammit, they're just some great thrash songs. Despite its many flaws, this is a classic album, the end of an era, a proper great. A worthy addition on the list, and probably my favourite Metallica album. I almost went with 5 stars but honestly that's nostalgia talking. At the end of the day while this is awesome its production is definitely flawed. Still, despite the flaws, it deserves a strong 4.

Didn't expect to like this as much as I did considering I wasn't hugely in the mood for it. It was really good tho!

After years of thinking this album was "good but nothing crazy" (as a result of ONE listen I gave to it when I was 13), It took someone comparing to this to an Albini production job for me to think about how this album actually sounds kinda awesome. I feel bad for Jason and the fact that his bass just isn't here, but this is kind of a metal version of At Action Park in terms of the recording. The songs themselves, though. I mean it's peak era Metallica. This is, for me, the last breath of strength they had left in them. We'll see if that sticks when I relisten to the Black Album for this project, but something shifted between this album and that one and it wasn't a good shift. "One" is the only song I really truly remembered before going back to the album today but the title track is pretty spectacular as well. One problem: they're all way too long. Two 10-minute songs on a Metallica album is genuinely unhinged.

Eye of the Beholder was alright. One was the only one that felt fresh. It was singular song with a different sound on the set off. Every other track ran together as one run-on guitar trill. So much guitar and only guitar. I like it but I don't want to, just a basic thrash metal album.

Cool Thrash That's Impressive but Exhausting ...And Justice for All is a pretty ambitious metal album. It tackles a lot of themes: systemic injustice, war, corruption, and personal trauma. I went in knowing Metallica's big hits (Enter Sandman, Master of Puppets) and came out... honestly? A bit tired. It's 65 minutes of relentless, technically impressive metal that, for me, gets monotonous. "Blackened" kicks things off with a killer riff. Lyrically it's about nuclear winter and environmental destruction (MAD, climate change). Which nearing the climax of the cold war is pretty cool to hear. I added it to my main playlist. 7/10. The title track "...And Justice for All" has awesome lyrics about the corruption of the American legal system. "Justice is raped" ahem overturn of Roe V. Wade. But at 10 minutes, it drags musically. Great lyrics (8.5/10) but the music is a 5.5/6, so it evens out to 6.5/10: secondary playlist. "Eye of the Beholder" has an interesting critique of the illusion of freedom all while illustrating the surveillance state. But it gives strong libertarian vibes, which drags it down for me (libertarians are just closeted conservatives/reactionaries lol). The critique falls a bit flat. 4/10. "One" is a classic for a reason. The anti-war message about a soldier trapped in his own body is sick, the riffs are amazing, and it's edgy in a way I really like. 9/10. "The Shortest Straw" is about McCarthyism and the Red Scare... I think. (witch hunts destroying innocent people). The riffs are solid but Hetfield's voice fatigue at this point in the album is real. Barely squeaks out a 7/10. "Harvester of Sorrow" is a bit too heavy and stumbling. It gets oppressive in a bad way... "darkness-slop." His voice really wears thin here. 4/10. "The Frayed Ends of Sanity" is intense but more darkness-slop. It's about schizophrenia and paranoia, which is cool conceptually, but I'm just tired of the voice. 5/10. "To Live Is to Die" is a nice change of pace. It's mostly instrumental, and mostly built from Cliff Burton's riffs after his death, and the spoken word section is actually quite beautiful. Hetfield's narration is a nice break from his usual vocal style. It's long but I can see the passion. 6/10. "Dyers Eve" is the angry closer. a pissed off letter to the singers parents about being sheltered and unprepared for life, only for them to die. I relate to this one on some levels. It's intense but the voice fatigue is real. 5.5/10, secondary playlist. Overall, I don't hate it or love it. The political critiques (MAD, environmental destruction, legal corruption, McCarthyism) are right up my alley, but the relentless thrash and Hetfield's overbearing vocals make it exhausting. It's impressive, but I'm not sure I'd revisit it often. Rating: 6/10

Another cracking album. Not their best, but still fantastic. Enjoyed listening to this one multiple times.

A classic. Loved it in my youth... but now the vocals tend to sound bit outdated and while the guitar is good it is somewhat basic trash metal. To Live is to Die sounds fresh with a memorable intro and melodies and riffes that dont souund overplayed since it has no vocals Dyers Eve has very little vocals and is more of a classic trash metal Blackened is the best of the ones I listend over and over again , from this album.

5/5 listo mejor álbum de la historia listo lalalala no escucho no escucho lalalalalala

Buenisimo

Solid stuff, never really gave Metallica much of a chance. Almost proggy. Drums, vocals, and guitar all definitely rip.

James isn’t the best lyricist

4.5 stars

I do not enjoy Metallica.

A sound that I found extremely easy to appreciate, a sound that I’ve aged into in the past five years as the world grows more unpredictable and I sometimes seek catharsis in music rather than escape. I’ve learned that I prefer post-hardcore melodic singing more than what Hetfield is doing, but it’s really the band that carries this for me. As a teenager whose parents completely eschewed metal, it all sounded like loud nothing to me on 2000s classic rock radio, but as I listen 20 years later I hear how precise and deeply musical Metallica is. I listened to this on the couch at 10pm during a summer heatwave and that felt like the perfect setting. The songs that portray tortured individuals are a little too disturbing for me, but most of these lyrics about the manipulation of political power and wealth still absolutely rip almost 40 years after they were put to paper.

I first heard about this album when Todd In The Shadows was discussing St. Anger and how people would forgive bad production if the music bangs hard enough. He mentioned that while both albums famously sound terrible, ...And Justice For All is still beloved because the music itself is up to snuff. Having now actually listened to this album, he is absolutely right. The production here is not good, but god this is still a really fun listen. It is just a really solid metal album with a surprising amount of prog elements, the mix is both very muddy and dry simultaneously though which almost feels like an achievement.

5: I will happily play this album anytime 4: I may occasionally play this album of my own free will 3: I will happily listen to this if someone plays it in the background 2: I will tolerate this if it is playing in the background 1: I will leave the room if someone plays this in the background While not Metallica's best (though quite good) this album was a seminal influence on my musical journey as a teenage kid. I'll never forget when the One video dropped and the impression it made on me at the time. One, Harvester of Sorrow, and To Live is to Die are the standouts.

Banger

Every song is so long, man, kind of a slog, but One is an all timer

The greatest Metallica of all.

Did they have a bass player for this? Just kidding. The album cover art is hilarious in light of Metallica suing the ever loving shit out of every file sharing service and university ever. The songs are too long. One is the best song on the album so far...also the biggest song off the album by a mile. Everything sounds the same on this album. This is my 16-year-old's favorite Metallica album...I think he's wrong and because he's my teenage son, he definitely is. They have added the chants from the Wizard of Oz to The Frayed Ends of Sanity...that undercuts the seriousness with which I take this album. And for a band that takes themselves very seriously, that is probably the greatest insult I can throw. To Live Is to Die coming through in the penultimate slot to overtake One as the best song...great heavy metal instrumental. I even kind of like the four line spoken word poem at towards the end. I don't love Metallica, but to have the next song in the Spotify "Based on this album" list be Break Stuff by Limp Bizkit is the real insult.

If you like Metallica, you’ll love this album. I liked it, but their sound is a bit crunchy for my taste.

A good album but not my favorite by them

I fucking hate Metallica. Canciones larguísimas que suenan igual y aburridisimas

Pure nonstop energy!

Ok let's talk for a minute about "One." Easily one of the best metal songs of all time. Add in the video, and you have one of the best things a metal band has ever done. That six-let riff is iconic. I also love that it isn't just teenage angst, it's actually about something, and tells something of a story. The rest of the album doesn't quite reach that height, but it is excellent thrash metal all the same. The production of this record gets a lot of criticism for being unnatural sounding; it sounds fairly modern to me in that respect so I don't mind it. I would love to hear what the original producer had in mind for the mixes instead of the original release. But that will probably never happen. Anyways. Metal isn't really my genre but I'm always glad to get some on this list to break up the rest of the catalogue, and this is an excellent example. FOUR STARS

Why are all the songs so damn long and repetitive?

I couldn’t get into this at all. Why were the songs so long?

Love Metallica's tracks with a slower buildup like One but I lose it a bit, particularly this album when they start furiously thrashing the guitars from the off.

Found it a bit repetitive tbh and the vocals we're a bit too quiet.

Lots of sturm & drang but not much music

Turning the volume up REALLY HIGH changes this from a 2 to a 4

Every time I listen to Metallica I'm like "yep sure sounds like Metallica" but I don't get much else from it

Let's give this... a small four

Their most technically, and structurally exciting album. Not quite MoP in terms of a full package, but the more progressive tendencies of this album are unmistakable.

Well, I didn’t expect to fall down a “where is the bass?” rabbit hole this morning. I’m team Justice for Jason. Once I noticed the lack of bass, it was all I could focus on. Thrash metal just isn’t for me, especially without bass to make it more interesting. “One” has enough complexity and melody to make the whole song feel more engaging, but otherwise this album is a miss for me.

There are some gentle quiet sounds on this album but only to lull you into a false sense of comfort before the thrashing and howling begins. Heavy metal, screaming guitars and nasty shouting (it's not singing) doesn't do it for me.

I like thrash metal, and I like Metallica, but this certainly isn't the band’s best effort. It has a few standout tracks, and the songwriting is relatively solid throughout. Where this album really falls apart, though, is in its production. The sound of the drums is seriously lacking, and as always, Lars Ulrich just fucking sucks behind the drum set. Where’s Ride The Lightning? That’s the Metallica album which belongs on this list!

Weird to say about Metallica but it felt kind of slower than what I was expecting. Or maybe I just didn't play it as loud as Metallica deserves. Album did have some classics on it though

Fuck, what an album, I dont know what Metallica does for me but I just love it. Other heavy metal doesnt do it for me, but this band, this album.... wow, it just gets me going. Incredible. i wasnt going to give it 5 stars, but to live is to die is there, so its a 5 star. Amazing song with that intro and outro.

Tampoco tenía taan altas expectativas, pero muy decepcionado. Tiene todo lo que no me gusta en las canciones y mismo la canción a la que le tenía más fé, porque es de las mas conocidas que es “one” no pude entender que tiene de bueno. Espero que cuando toque otro disco de la banda lo pueda entender y disfrutar algo, pero en este no.

Only thing that would make this album better is BASS, but everyone knows that. Still probably my favorite Metallica album

Not my thing but respect it

Before listening, I really didn’t expect to like this album. And I was absolutely right. The sound is fine in parts, but the over-the-top growling vocals and endless guitar solos really outstayed their welcome.

This was one of those albums I enjoyed less and less the longer it went on, so that by the end I can only give it 2 stars. The notoriously dry and bass-less mix certainly didn’t help, and neither did the fact that by far the best track, ‘One’, came less than halfway through. James Hetfield’s growling also really started to grate after a while. Most tracks (indeed the album as a whole) were too long for me. Like Iron Maiden, this is a sound I occasionally enjoy in small doses, but over an hour of it is too much.

Back when I had to rate Master Of Puppets, I said that was going to be top 1 of the list for me, if and only if AJFA was not in here. Now, they are both tied at #1. This album is just a beast, they produced one of the best (if not *the best*) metal albums of all time w/o even putting bass on it. The Lars and James show, it's just too much. Progressive Trash like no other :) This made my whole week! I'm only sad this might be the last Metallica album in my list, but happy these two were included.

Kind of repetitive and I don’t think anyone really wants a 10 minute Metallica song, let alone several.

Alright!

Not my cup of tea.

Sounds good but something feels missing. OH, the bass is missing. I don't think every album needs bass, but I think this one would be better with some.

No one has ever played as hard or as fast.

Hot take but someone who can shred a guitar like that is infinitely more talented than 99.999% of vocalists on this list.

I noticed with this album that a lot of Metallica sounds sonically very much the same. For all my digs at an artist for their lack of variation, I will first hand admit here that if that sound is appealing to you then you could listen forever. I'm still undecided if my praise extends to forever, but Metallica certainly has a sound that I have yet to tire of. Hetfield's voice is great and the instrumentation too is as accurate and beautiful as it is fast. My only gripe with this album is that there are a couple of songs I feel didn't do anything particularly memorable. Don't get me wrong, they are perfectly listenable and I enjoyed them. However, with so much Metallica to listen to now, it's hard not to cut these tracks some slack when there is so much good stuff out there now; "...and Justice for All", "Eye of the Beholder", "The Shortest Straw". Some of my favourite tracks for sure though: "Blackening", "One", "Harvester of Sorrow", "Frayed Ends of Sanity"... Pretty much every song apart from the 3 listed from before this. Overall, another super enjoyable album from Metallica, but not as good as the black album for me. That thing was just a monster.

My second favourite Metallica Album

Excellent album

Great metal album!

Such a good album

Not music to my ears.

The time and place for this music would be never and nowhere.

Not for me

Rock hard

I spent my 9th and 10th grade years pondering which was better: Master Of Puppets or And Justice For All. I eventually settled on Master of Puppets, and 30 years later, I still think I’m right. But dammit, it’s close. I love this record so much. Easy rating. 10/10

solid 4.5. Favs: and Justice For All, Dyers Eve, Harvester of Sorrow, One.

While a good example of Metallica’s sound, I was a much bigger fan of Master of Puppets or Ride the Lightning. “One” is an iconic track and there are other good listens. Just not my favorite. Still 10 times better than the “Black” album.

A great, essential metal album with "One" of the best rock songs of all time. Probably not my favorite Metallica album, but a 4.6/5.

absolute cinema🎞️🎞️🎞️🎞️, consistent the entire way through, no vibe gaps, no dry points just straight energy fire. Now my favourite Metallica album.

Another Metallica album. I listened to it, and made too many notes, so I stop and think, who might read my review? If you're a Metallica fan, wondering why I rate this lower than you do? Most of the tracks don't work for me as songs (the riffs don't come together), also I really don't like Hetfield's vocals. There are bits I do like (eg the thrash bits of Dyers Eve) so I gave it two stars rather than one. If you're future me, wanting to be reminded what's distinctive about this album and how did I arrive at my rating? The band put in as many riffs as they could - it could be considered prog metal, some music critics acclaimed its depth and complexity. What didn't I like? The vocals, the lyrics, the "full intensity all the time" approach, the weird mix, and the incoherence of the songs as individual songs. I don't like Hetfield's tone whether he's singing or declaiming, his vocals also lack rhythmic variety. The subjects of the song are reasonably meaningful but the actual words are not interesting. Lack of dynamic range is never good. But the biggest problem is that the riffs don't come together as songs for me. Occasional sections where something cool is happening (guitar 'tricks') don't make this an album I could enjoy listening to. For me, it's Pretty Poor, 3/10.

About time I got something interesting again. I was really starting to get tired of these repetitive generated albums. I’ve been hoping to get another metal album as it’s a genre I really want to get in to. This is also the first Metallica album I’ve listened to. 7/10

I loved Metallica as a teen. I do not love them now. This is fine grunting away in the background, but it's pretty repetitive: by far the best bit are the impressive guitar solos which introduce some variety and actual melody into proceedings.

Not bad! One is the stand-out track for me. Good riffs and cool time signature stuff. Not a fan of the mixing and the general vibe though. Takes itself a bit too seriously for how angry it is. Didn't love the vocals either but they fit the music really well.

Still not as good as Ride the Lightning, but pretty good.

i listen to one every time i’m powerwalking through the train station trying not to be late for class, glad to know the rest of the album fits the same purpose too

4/5 good album

One is such a great song. I wish I could give this 3.5. But since I don’t think it’s a 4 . . .

Not my favourite Metallica album that said, I still enjoyed it.

nu nez

cray cray

Album #121, Metallica, And Justice for All ⭐⭐⭐ Either the generator is sentient and playing tricks on me, or I’ve angered the metal gods, because I can’t believe this album came up today. Literally the day after I slated AC/DC’s Back in Black and used Metallica as my go-to example of the exact production style that I dislike. I’m not a Metallica fan. I’ve gone over this before in my review of The Black Album, and yesterday I probably spent far too much time ranting about my dislike of certain heavy metal and hard rock production styles. For me, Metallica are the worst offenders. I just think their music sounds artificially loud as opposed to actually loud. It sounds like a brick wall of noise where there’s almost no dynamic range whatsoever. Listening to a full Metallica album is honestly quite daunting for me because I find that sound so exhausting. But this one surprised me. Let’s get the bad stuff out of the way first, because the bad stuff is very, very bad. There are sections of this album that genuinely sound like some of the worst-produced music I’ve ever heard. I studied sound engineering in college, although that was fifteen years ago now, and I haven’t worked in audio production for a very long time. So I don’t fully understand what’s happening technically, but take Blackened as an example. The moment that main riff kicks in, there’s this horrible scraping, tearing, distorted fuzz that sits right at the front of the mix. It’s heavier than the guitars, louder than the drums and impossible to ignore. It’s almost like every production mistake has been amplified and pushed to the foreground. I don’t know if it’s compression, bad EQ decisions, the infamous lack of bass, or some combination of these, but it sounds dreadful to me. The absence of bass seems to create this strange void in the mix that’s filled with harsh guitar frequencies and distorted noise. Everything gets crushed together into this ugly wall of sound that feels like somebody scraping sandpaper directly against my eardrums. Blackened is probably the prime example. I think it sounds absolutely awful. I’ve got nearly 900 albums left to hear on this list and I’d honestly be surprised if I encounter many songs that sound worse than that. Thankfully, the mix is inconsistent because that particular issue isn’t present throughout the whole album. But whenever it does rear its head, it’s downright diabolical. To think this album cost serious money to make is kind of amazing. It proves that you can’t buy taste. With that rant out of the way, let’s move on to the positives. Because musically and lyrically, this is actually a really interesting album. The songs are long, winding and packed with ideas. It’s a lengthy record, but it never actually felt that long because there are so many twists and turns throughout. One thing I really loved is how dark it is. This feels much darker than the other Metallica material I’ve heard. The performances are also fantastic. Obviously poor Jason Newsted gets erased from existence in the mix, so I can’t really comment on his playing, but I’m going to assume he’s doing a great job underneath all the nonsense. Everybody else is excellent. Even Lars, who I thought was pretty dreadful on The Black Album, plays really well here. The guitar playing is intricate and relentless, and James Hetfield attacks every song with a great level of intensity. The whole thing feels intense from beginning to end. There are also some gorgeous melodic guitar passages scattered throughout the record. Every song eventually crashes back into thrash metal, but there are moments of real beauty here. Not a word I would associate with Metallica. To Live Is to Die is a great example, and One remains my favourite Metallica song. Shout out as well to the terrifying music video for One. That thing haunted me when I was a child. So ultimately I think there’s a phenomenal album buried somewhere inside here. The songwriting is excellent. The performances are excellent. The atmosphere is excellent. But the production choices are so damaging that they constantly undermine the music. It’s a light three stars from me.

great album

The 18 year old version of me absolutely loved this... the 56 year old version still loves this...🤘 Would be a 10/10, but the bright snare sound and lack of bass in the production still grates. Heard before ✅️ Listened this time ✅️ Revisit ✅️ ★★★★★ (9/10) Total reviewed : 349 Already owned : 78 Purchased : 16 To buy : 3 Nope : 252

me gustó mucho, no sé pq pero el flow tiene algo como diferente a lo que me gusta a mi siendo todavía muy parecido, lo tengo en cd, buen album

Nope.

Liked “To live is to die” but not the rest so much

Ulrich really is one of the worst drummers in rock and metal. People gave Meg White shit but that's what she was meant to do, it feels like they kept downgrading the drum patterns until a monkey could do it. The issue with this and the fact there's no bass, means you're left with Hetfield's growl. Pass. Never liked them, a relisten does not readjust my feelings. One is decent, the rest is just a dud.

Not outstanding

Старая Металлика просто не мое, как и весь треш-металл. Черный альбом - другое дело, но в первых 4х альбомах мне нравятся разве что отдельные песни, в основном самые культовые. И этот альбом даже на фоне других ранних записей мне не заходит. One действительно стоит особняком, легендарный трек, крутой вайб, феноменальное соло, напоминающее, что Кирк Хэммет все-таки умеет играть на гитаре. В остальном - неинтересные песни, неинтересные рифы. P.S. Карина, ты что, крэйзи?) Любишь классический металл больше меня?) Буду знать теперь кого звать на квизы по металлу)

Просите, друзья, но я не люблю металлику. Но. Тут я охуела, что мне понравилось. Не знаю, что это было. Хорошее настроение, удаленка или три выходных на горизонте. Песня One топ. Все цельное и прикольное. Без духоты и нормисности роцка нулевых. Каждый день жизни - это сюрприз. Что дальше? Мне понравится альбом радиохэд?

Kirk is gay, Robert's gay Lars is gay, but the gayest is James

что я сегодня понял - мне больше не нравится металлика( *one не в счет, это топ поставлю 4 из-за one

Badass shi, heard that

Mein Lieblingsmetallica-Album

Classic Metallica - solid all the way

This is Metallica at their most technical and ambitious, tons of great riffs everywhere. It's probably the best drumming Lars and the strongest vocals that James ever recorded. This was at one point my favourite Metallica album, it isn't anymore but it's still getting a 5 If a band consistently released albums with this weird, dry production it would probably annoy me. And despite being a big bass guy, the almost nonexistence of bass here just never really bothered me for some reason. I think I just accepted it from a young age and that's just how it is. Certainly a unique sounding album I will say, One was the first Metallica song I heard and I think I wore it out a little bit (still fantastic though) and I don't love Harvester of Sorrow and Shortest Straw Highlights: Frayed Ends of Sanity, Blackened, Eye of the Beholder, ...And Justice For All

Heavy - wasnt in the mood tbh

…And Justice for All is the band at their most extreme in another way: longer songs, more intricate arrangements, sharper angles, less swing, less warmth, more control.

This really is a great album!

Metallica is kinda funky. They've got a lot of good things going for them — they know how to use rhythm to punctuate and bolster their harmonies, they know how and when to throw in a heart-stopping guitar solo, they understand the impact of chromatic runs, they love and relish in soft-acoustic into thrashy metal turns, and so on. The problem I find with Metallica is that, if they're not one-trick ponies, they're maybe a four-trick pony at best. A lot of the same techniques are used throughout, and they start to lose their oomph pretty damn fast. Staccato riffs, three-energy-drink heart rate tempos, and sick riffs are all awesome but using them to this length and degree seriously drains them of their power. It's hard to not feel like you've just got done listening to the same song two or three times when giving the album a fill listen through. At the end of the day though, the band just rocks. There are harder metal bands, more inventive and technically impressive metal bands, more melodically sound metal bands, but Metallica sorta does for metal what blink-182 does for pop punk. They're accessible, fun, and decent enough at what they do. A pretty damn good metal album.

What an interesting album, and the first full through listen of one by Metallica for me. Obviously familiar with their style and overall sound this was an enjoyable listen. The music on To Live Is To Die was my favorite.

laughed and said fuck you to 1001ag for throwing out metallica twice in a row, but this album was sick!

i’m a sucker for dark moody rock, but not the screaming horror kind. This strikes a balance and is broody.

A classic. Favorites: Blackened, …And Justice for All, Eye of the Beholder, One, The Frayed Ends of Sanity, To Live Is To Die, Dyers Eve

FOUR? FOUR FUCKING ALBUMS BY THEM? 2/5

I struggle with this album as it represents the first storm clouds that destroyed what was a great band. Their next was the end. Gone is the spitting mad anger, the speed, the agro of thrash. In comes the radio ready unit shifter.

Great album