...And Justice For All

Expected this one to wear on me by virtue of being an hour long and famously bass-less, but it's probably my favorite Metallica album on first listen? Nothing really intelligent to say about it, just I like the way the guitar chugs along on it better than on their previous albums.

This was fine. Like every other Metallica album I’ve heard, it’s very long. But there are some shining moments throighout.

Standouts Eye of the Beholder One

Not bad but also not exceptionally good

Tedious to the point of absurdity.

I respect it but metal just isn't my thing bro

A classic.

Overall this album feels pretty bloated, with every song over 5 minutes long, and most are filled with riffs and shifting tempos. The compositions are mostly interesting, but it's so tiring to sit through one after another. On top of this, the mixing is really terrible. Infamously, this is the album without bass. More than that, I hate the sound of the drums throughout. They have this weird small clicky sound that is borderline annoying. What is it with Metallica and their drum mixing woes? It's like there is no reverb or room tone, and the whole production sounds really flat, no "pop" or air to breathe. "One" really is a masterpiece and is the standout on this album. Otherwise, most songs are good but similar, and I just felt really tired as the long songs slogged on. Maybe it's just my personal preference. It just seems like Metallica is better for radio, in isolated singles, rather than sitting through over an hour of terribly mixed tracks that overstay their welcome.

4 stars This is my 2nd Metallica album and I was impressed. I wasn’t sure that I’d like it much but it was legitimately good. A solid record. I don’t remember the whole thing and some parts dragged but all in all it was good. I knew “One” before but the rest was all new. I’ll listen again.

As expected for Metallica, decent riffs, guitar harmonies, solos. Solo on Blackened is quite melodic in places, reminds me of Dragonforce. More reminiscent of Black album (Enter Sandman) in places (And Justice for All). More emphasis on rhythms (Eye of the Beholder) Not as much raw enery as MoP The Frayed Ends of Sanity starting with that chant! Also has some metalcore style harmonies towards the end. Rhythm riff on To Live Is To Die feels like if could be on a Rammstein album. Best track (other than One) - Blackened, The Shortest Straw, Harvester of Sorrow 3 stars - except for One, other tracks aren't so memorable

Heavy but homogeneous

This is actually not my first time listening to metalica, as i listened to 2 other albums being Hardwired and master of puppets the both of them contained songs now in my playlists. My hopes are high dont let me down Not really taking notes since im studying for a math test but so far none of the songs have been bad or boring

Just goes on forever, thought the production quality was a bit poor

Good album but I think Metallica have done better. Favourite track: One

Good

Metal rock is not usually my cup of tea but you can’t deny the brilliance behind Metallica. Plus those guitar solos rip

I could have been listening to something that I like instead of this. Too much of this rubbish recently Please don't be more metal next.....

One-dimensional, one-directional Send this band to class 1D.

Lacking in redeeming features. A hint of bad led zeppelin amped to the max and 20 years too late. Not an enjoyable listen.

Favorite Track: One

This is my second favorite Metallica album

15 years old, It used to be one of my favourite albums. Nowadays I cant stand Metallica.

Liker dette albumet svært godt jevnt over. Noen steder blir det litt synsing (To Live is to Die for eksempel - bra sang men ikke så mye som skjer) og etter en stund begynner det å høres litt likt ut. Men på det beste er dette blandt de aller beste Metallica-albumene. Vil si topp 3 bak MoP og RtL. Tok meg friheten å høre på en versjon hvor bassen var nyinnspillt av fans i ettertid. Basert på det 4. Ellers er dette et så dårlig miksa album at jeg må trekke et poeng bare for det. Edit: Ok, da. Det blir 4.

Great album

4.5 i only listened to the melodies lol i have to read the lyrics later

Not great not terrible

Sounds like it's being played through a phone speaker, even when it isn't. It's one of my favourite thrash albums, but definitely not my preferred genre

Enjoyed this one, though not as much as some of the other early albums. Appreciate the guitar noodling and enjoyed One.

Not their best work, all a bit samey. 7/10

Duh

Not my thing

Other metallic albums are so much better. This is monotonous

Peak

Doesn't have the stand-out songs that the black album does. Sadly this leads to the same-y-ness to shine through even more. But still good fucking metal at it's core.

Honestly, I only vaguely listened. It is what it is.

They famously shat the bed with the production on this one. some enjoyable moments

I’d enjoy listening to this only if I were playing Tony Hawk. It has its place.

Not a big fan of metal. Still not. I can hear the expertise in the playing, but I can't get past the recurring metal guitar licks. Does nothing for me.

Easily Metallicas most complex, progressive album. If not for the poor thin sounding production this would be a perfect album. This is in my opinion their best album.

Great Rock album, with one of the classics One. Just a bit to raw for my favour.

Not bad

3-4

heard this before years ago but i only remember a few songs Blackened - 5/5 ...And Justice for All - 5/5 Eye of the Beholder - 5/5 One - 5/5 The Shortest Straw - 4/5 Harvester of Sorrow - 5/5 The Frayed Ends of Sanity - 4/5 To Live Is to Die - 3/5 Dyers Eve - 5/5 Average score: 4.6/5 (rounding up) it's as good as i remember it being. now that i think about it, this was probably their last "great" album, though i did (and still do) like their self-titled album that followed to some degree

Тот самый альбом, критический, со звуком словно дрелью голову сверлят и с потерянным басом.

I like one, that is all

Sympa j'aime bien, je sais pas si j'aurai envie de le réécouter souvent. Je trouve l'album un peu répétitif.

Needs more bass

The last good Metallica album. After this, they would give production duties to Pop guru, Bob Rock, and shift from being "Metal" to "Arena Rock." This album is tight. A great deal has been made of the fact that Jason Newstead's bass was mixed out of the final product. I think that this make the album sound more aggressive and sharpens its edge. Without the comfort of warm bass tones, the music becomes more urgent and comelling. I've heard the "...And Justice for Jason" mix with the bass restored, and I don't think it's nearly as good as the original. No slight on Newstead...he was great in Flotsam and Jetsam, but his contribution is best left on the cutting room floor here. Hell, even Lars' drums sound really good.

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.

Fuck yeah dude bro, no bass for you. Sick album though. Dildos on drummer something.

Aivan upea timantti alusta loppuun asti. Levyllä ei ole yhtään huonoa biisiä ja on yksi kaikkien aikojen parhaimmista metallialbumeista. Toki Cliff Burtonin poissaolo näkyy ja bassot jäävät hieman vaisuiksi, mutta tästä varmaan jaksavat rillejään suoristella ainoastaan itse basistit. Levyltä löytyy paljon hieman kokeellisempia aihioita verrattuna esimerkiksi aiempaan Master of Puppetsiin ja kaikessa raakuudessan ...And Justice For Allin riffit ovat monipuolisempia vaikka MoP voi monien papereissa ollakin se metallican paras albumi. Levy myös hieman keventää pudotusta seuraavalla levyllä tullutta Metallica goes rock'n'roll muutosta kohtaan.

No onhan tämä nyt kova levy. Tuttuja biisejä roimasti, mutta muutama kuuntelematonkin. Pituudeltaan aika reiluhko, mutta menee mukavasti hyvien biisien parissa, eikä tunnu liian pitkältä albumilta. Levyn paras biisi on ansaitustikin tunnetuin One. Hauska huomio myös, että levyn lyhyin kappale on 5:13 pitkä Dyers Eve, joka on nykymittapuullakin jo pidemmän puoleinen kappale. Biisien keskimittakin huitelee päälle 7 minuutissa (7:17). Pieni miinus tulee loppupään To Live is to Die biisin kummallisista siirtymistä alussa ja lopussa, sekä yhtäkkiä loppuvasta biisistä. Mutta! Silti viiden tähden setti.

Jos Metallica olis ihminen niin se olis 150cm kehonrakentaja, joka yrittää olla pelottava mutta jää todellisuudessa kiusalliseksi yritykseksi. Tässä levyssä oli sitä potkua jopa vähemmän, mitä Winehousen levyssä, mikä on sinäänsä jo saavutus, kun ottaa genren huomioon. En tiedä enkö vaan ymmärrä Metallican musiikkia, mutta jotenkin kuulostaa kun ne soittaisi jossain merikontissa ja kaikki nauhotetaan ulkopuolelta. Hetfieldin soundista oon aina tykännyt, mutta tuntuu että se on liian dominoiva verrattuna muihin instrumentteihin.. Jotenkin epäbalansissa. Metallicalla muutamia hyviä biisejä ja niistä tähän levyyn osui yksi ja varmaan ihan syystä se on myös yksi kuunnelluimmista. Silti tälle annan yhden enemmän kuin Amylle, koska Metallica ei kuitenkaan samalla tavalla kyllästytä ja sentään yksi hyvä kappale lätyllä.

Lapsena tuli kuunneltua helvetisti Metallicaa, mutta nyt näin 30 vuoden tauon jälkeen tämähän oli mielenkiintoinen pläjäys. Saundi on kyllä hyvin omalaatuinen, sekä hyvässä että pahassa. Kitarariffit oli aika solideja ja muutama mainio rämpytyskiertokin mahtui levylle. Kirk hemmetin sooloilut alkoi vähän loppulevyä kohden puuduttamaan kun kuulosti, ettei oikein mielikuvitus riittänyt säveltelyyn puolen välin jälkeen koko levyn pituudelle. Voiton vei kuitenkin (tahattomasti?) progeiset rummut. Varsinkin levyn loppuvaiheilla kun To Live is to Die-biisissä tuli hempeää kitarasärötunnelmaa ja fiilistä nostatetaan ja yhtäkkiä lävähtää tärykalvoille aivan mielipuolisilla rytmivalinnoilla rumpuraita virran mukaan, niin pitää myöntää että hymyilin ääneen!

Bändi muutti tälle levylle soundia aika reippaasti ja itse en niin paljon tuosta tunkkaisemmasta soundista välitä. Biisit on aiempaa synkempiä ja niissä on enemmän proge-elementtejä, joka on aina plussaa. Biisit on hyvin rakennettu ja löytyy joitain mukaan tempaavia kertsejäkin. Basson kun olisivat vielä laittaneet kuulumaan niin ois ollut kiva, mutta toimii tämä näinkin erittäin hyvin.

Olen monessa levyarviossa narissut saundeista, joten pakko jatkaa tässäkin KAIKEN REILUUDEN NIMISSÄ. Basso on unohtunut tarkoituksella tai tahattomasti kokonaan (meemitierin juttu) ja kitarapuolikin on jätetty sävyttömäksi, joten nämä elementit saavat yleisesti tämän kuulostamaan ohukaiselta eikä hevanderius välity kuulijalle. Varmasti ideana on olla KARU, mutta jos samalla haluaa, että on HEVI, niin ratkaisu pitäisi olla joku muu kuin valittu linja. Biisit eivät ole parasta mmmheetallicaa, joten ei tämä kokonaisuus kauheasti plussan puolelle jää.

Metallica ei ole jotenkin napannut koskaan, mutta tulipahan täytettyä taas aukko sivistyksessä kuuntelemalla joku kokonainen albumikin. Ihan jees menevää riffittelyä paikoitellen, mutta Hetfieldin ääni/laulutyyli ei ole koskaan osunut omaan musahermoon (hyvällä tavalla), ja yleisesti soundeista voi olla montaa mieltä

Vaikka ei ole Metallic maistunutkaan nyt viimeaikoina, niin onhan tässä nyt pirusti hyviä kappaleita ja nostalgista settiä. Kokonaisuus ei ehkä täydellisessä tasapainossa, mutta yksittäisinä osumina, kappaleet kyllä kovia.

Mikähän siinä on, että metallica ei vaan kertakaikkisesti lähde. Höh.

Vähän pelolla jo odottelin tätä päivää että joutuu omasta Spotifystä kuuntelemaan Metallicaa, ja näin ollen antaa algoritmin luulla että minä pidän tällaisesta musasta. En pidä. Itseasiassa en voi sietää tätä. Olisi varmaan incognito-tilassa pitänyt Youtuben selainversiolla ajaa tämä. Junnaavat yksitoikkoiset biisit, sahakitara ja Hetfieldin huuto on omaan korvaan ihan täyttä myrkkyä. Metallica on yksi niistä bändeistä mitkä tunnistaa välittömästi (paskasta) soundista, ja se on aina välitön merkki itselleni vaihtaa radiokanavaa. One on ehkä ainut edes vähän siedettävä biisi tältä levyltä, mutta Hetfield pilaa senkin. Ja se loppu siitäkin on ihan kidutusta korville. Toki taas vika on varmasti ainoastaan omissa korvissa. En minä Metallican suosiota lähde kiistämään, eikä se varmasti sattumaa ole. En vaan tosiaan itse voi sietää tämmöistä musiikkia. Veikkaan että metallicapäät ajattelisi minusta ihan samalla tavalla kun löisin Arpan uuden levyn heille tulille, että kuunnelkaas tuosta miten on hyvää musaa!

Some incredible riffs. The precision timing and complex song structures are genuinely impressive, but they do get a bit too long at times. The production/mixing is the big story with this album, and it is just a travesty what they did to Jason Newstead with this album. If his bass parts were audible, this could probably be bumped up a whole star.

I’d download this off of Napster given the chance.

This is a solid album by Metallica. It's somewhere in between the thrashiness of Ride the Lightning, and shows signs of their newer sound that they did well on the Black album, but i prefer those two albums to this one.

Overraskende godt af et rock album. Sangene føles ikke for lange som jeg har haft et problem med førhen og sangene er ikke for ens artet. 6.5/10

ojala suene en el tiktok edit que me va a hacer alguna genz anarquista despues de que mate al presidente y mee todo el sillon de Rivadavia

Whatever. Didn't connect with me

Come on!

Objectively, they are good at what they do. I just really don’t like it. Metal does not do it for me. 2 stars for talent, but I’m not going to listen again

The genre just doesn’t cut it for me - it has to have something more than super fast guitar riffs and drum skills which Metalli has.

# 576 : ...And Justice For All …And Justice For All - A solid thrash metal epic that overstays its welcome Only nine songs, yet over an hour of relentless thrashing guitars and pounding drums. ...And Justice for All is kind of alright, but it’s also kind of exhausting. Metallica are undeniably brilliant at guitar solos—of that, there’s no debate. But they’re less good at… well, most of the other things that make music music. Maybe that’s harsh. This is a great example of progressive thrash metal from arguably the greatest metal band ever assembled. It’s technically impressive, ambitious, and occasionally thrilling. But the lyrics, the delivery, and the overblown song lengths create a fun-void that’s hard to ignore. “One” is the standout—a beautifully crafted piece of work that shows what Metallica can do when they rein it in just enough. The rest? Solid, but not as enjoyable as their other albums. Verdict: A solid thrash metal epic—just one that overstays its welcome. Best Track (if you must): One – a haunting, powerful track that earns its reputation. Closing thought: If justice is blind, this album is deafening.

Incredible arrangements, so many changes and colours and moods

It is a very thin mix but it still sounds great. I am a bass player, I've heard "...And Justice for Jason", but this album is still early days of thrash metal and it is a time capsule of ripsaw guitars and snappy drums. That's fine! The opening is a great build-up to what you know is coming: Metallica. Their riff style and solos are so distinctive. Honestly this has some of the better "live" drum sounds I've heard from 80's metal (but I am no expert - just an off the cuff observation). Toms move around in space and there are some great double-kick moments and breakdowns. "Blackened" and "One" are definitely the highlights of the album. "To Live Is To Die" is kind of a hidden gem. The lead sound really comes out of the mix because the rhythm guitar is so high-gain and compressed it almost sounds like a sound effect. Hetfield will always be the riff master, it's crazy. All in all, I definitely enjoyed it and had never listened to the whole record before.

Meh.

Endelig noe bra musikk hæ. Litt biased her siden Metallica er en av de store fra min ungdomstid, og digger jo det albumet her. Låter som One og Dyers Eve er jo fortsatt absolute bangers. Velger å holde litt igjen og legge meg på en 4/5 siden det er minst tre Metallica album jeg holder høyere enn dette

Klassiker, gledelig gjenhør Overraskende få store hits herfra Elsker One Usikker på om det ville falt i smak om jeg hørte det for første gang nå, er kanskje litt ensformig

Excellent

classic metallica.

It was okay.

One is an incredible track. I could really care less after that. I just don't like thrash metal.

7/10

Um, yeah. No review needed

My a huge Metallica fan but enjoyed the album. Don’t think I would go out of my way to listen to it again

My favorite Metallica album but is to commercial for mo Metallica fans.

One of my favorite Metallica albums. I still will turn it on loud when I need to get shit done

Modern fuckery makes for a better appreciation for the lyrics of albums like this.

I relistened to that Judas Priest album we got already & I think my preference is just faster metal. I’ll put some Metallica in my rotation but I find I’m wanting it to just get goin’ cuz when it does it’s really good. I’ll be interested if the other Metallica albums offer any variation to this, which is pretty much what I expected from them.

Pretty boring but that’s expected from Metallica

Classic Metallica album with the classic Metallica sound. While I had heard several of the songs, independently, I hadn't ever listened to the album, as a whole. Overall, this was enjoyable and will get more listens in the future.

not into thrasher metal like this!!

What is up with all the long, extended intros? Just get on with it already! It didn't really matter anyway, I couldn't sit through this injustice to my eardrums.

Chugga-chugga-wug! Chugga-chugga-wug!

This is gonna be another H F’ing Yeah! I think this is my fav Metallica album to be honest, SO GOOD!!

I'm sick and tired of being judged for Metallica being my favourite band... you guys cannot take this away from me.

This album was my soundtrack to my walk home from summer school after failing English junior year of high school. The whole year itself was not great, and I finally just let the album in. It was heavy and angry and I needed that at that point. After that summer school phase though, I never really went through a deep dive again of Metallica until my 30s. I went on instead to find other groups and other bands that I followed for 30 years religiously. Listening today I don't feel that angst at all, but listening to the album again I understand the lyrics better and appreciate how tight the instrumentation is, in spite of the bass being kind of hiding in the background of the album. Still, overall a great album from start to finish

Great album, big Metallica fan.

1. Blackened - 7 It's a good sound with decent sound. My biggest issue with the track is how absolutely rigid the pace and structure of the lyrics are. They feel confined into a tiny space between the head drumming and quick guitar riffs. When the track changes tone the lyrics are still very rigid in their construction despite being given more space become the focal point of that part of the track. 2. ...And Justice For All - 10 Just an all time classic. The riffs, the solos, the vocals, the lyrics. Perfection. 3. Eye of the Beholder - 8 Decent track and lyrically very well written. Instrumentally it's an excellent sound with a superb sound all throughout the more than six minute song. 4. One - 8 Amazing opening four and a half minutes with a superb intro. Absolutely awesome guitars. The tone change isn't great but the guitars riffs and solos in the heavier final three minutes make this a solid and enjoyable track. 5. The Shortest Straw - 3 Lyrically not great. Feels like a forgettable track on the album and just not anywhere near the quality near the previous three tracks. 6. Harvester of Sorrow - 7 Standard heavy metal track. Not bad but nothing to rock your socks off. Does have an amazing guitar solo in it though. 7. The Frayed Ends of Sanity - 7 Lyrically it’s okay. Another good-but-not-great track. Sound of the instrumentals is good. Bass drum towards is the end is awesome. Fantastic guitar solos on the end as well. 8. To Live Is To Die - 2 Really meaningless intro. The track then immediately gear changes with no build up or need. It then just kind of meanders around with no purpose containing riffs and drums that eventually fade into the same thing we had in the intro but again with no come down or need. 9. Dyers Eve - 3 The same problems Blackened have exist on this track in the chorus. The track doesn't really get enjoyable until about two minutes in but the riffs between verse and chorus and too quick and too packed. Average Rating: 6.11 Adjusted to 5-Point Scale: 3.06 Rounded Down: 3 Stars

Old school Metallica fans may kill me for this, but those guys are militant weirdos so I'll say it: This album is better than Master of Puppets. One is a classic. Metallica fans really do get weirdly aggressive about which are the best Metallica albums, don't they? Anyway, good album. Four stars!

The bar for metal music

Virtuoso rock, full of energy.

It’s Metallica. Yet another of their albums isn’t going to convince me

Enjoyed this somewhat. To live is to die was the highlight. Album does feel a bit like if you asked an AI to generate some metal they would be able to create 60% of what I heard. Worth noting this is my first Metallica album (and first full metal album sit down)

music for wife beating session. ‘one’ and ‘to live is to die’ are good, all the other stuff are just the same song with minimal variations

Well this is no-brainer amazing album from amazing band. What can you say but it's Metallica.

Peak era Metallica. 1988 was a great year for rock and metal music, with Metallica, Sonic Youth, and Dinosaur Jr. all putting out some of their best work.

Listening to a whole hour of heavy metal at once really does my head in! My ears started twitching towards the end

🤘

Most complex and technical Metallica album. Lot of prog-ish influences, the hardest riffs to play on guitar. Probably my favorite one of theirs.

I prefer their namesake album.

This album is like a concrete monolith carved by sweaty libertarian Vikings with guitars. It’s cold, technical, unrelenting, and somehow manages to make you headbang while contemplating the collapse of Western civilization. Metallica said, “What if we wrote an album with zero chill, no bass, and all riffs?” and then actually followed through. It’s like a courtroom drama soundtracked by jackhammers. Rating: 4.3/5 Short Review: Riff labyrinths, legal cynicism, and enough palm muting to flatten a mountain range. Favorite Track: “Blackened” – starts with the apocalypse and gets worse.

As a punk with friend with friends who were more into rock/metal when this album was released, I remember it as a unifier. Listening to it many years later, I can still see that, but it is way more underwhelming than I was hoping it would be. Don't get me wrong, there are some riffs that absolutely shred. The songs that lean into speed metal are amazing and what I remember loving about this band back in the day. They have held up, even by the standards from the bands who took their lead and ran with it . I good album, punctuated by some truly great moments.

Awesome, loved it.

Like that we used to have 6 or 7 or 9 minute songs. Favorite track: One other picks: blackened, harvester of sorrow

Den er jeg ikke lige i humør til i dag.

I don't get Metallica. All their songs sound the same and boring

Good all round metal album

Of all the pre Black Album Metallica albums this is my least favorite.

Hey, this has that One song on it!! The title track is a bit different of a vibe than many of songs on previous albums. The drum sound gets on my nerves on this. Not sure I really noticed that before. It's not that I can't hear it, but it just sounds strange to me. Might be the guy playing.. I don't find this nearly as awesome as the previous three. There are some killer riffs in it, so I'll give it a 3.

Damn....this one brought me back. I haven't listened to it in a long time, but I remember being 13 or 14 and wearing this one out. Listening to all the guitar work over and over. At times it makes me think of classical music.This is one of the albums that really put metal on the map for me.

I kind of get into the music-only introductions , but only just (seems mostly juvenile), and when Hetfield starts singing I skip to the next song. Repeat. Why does the guitar sound never change (except for One, and then only partway)? Maybe more later, but by then I just abandoned it.

And Justice for all… just is not for me.

I had this album when it first came out. Each individual song is solid, a couple are really excellent, including One. But as a whole, it’s stuck in neutral. Never really quite got the super dry production aesthetic, feels it washes some of the depth away, and while it defines Metallica’s sound in this era, I never loved it. Also always thought the lyrics were a little too on the nose. Never spoke to me. It’s probably more of a 3.5 star, but I’m not ready to round up.

At the end of the day, I just can't with these guys. They have maybe 4 songs that I like, but even then, I certainly don't want to hear those 4 in a row. "One" is a good tune. The rest of these just all sound the same to me.

I was unable to get too deep into this and risk migraine onset. It's not for me.

Again, like master of puppets, it's got good melody and rhythm, but the mixing and mastering makes the instrumentals feel like they lack punch, power, and impact. 3/5

I’m sure it was innovative at the time but just sounds a bit repetitive to me - the same heavy guitar riff and drums for an hour

Great metal album, a little flat sounding with the drums and no bass. But if you are looking to get hyped slap this one on, it will do the trick

A true masterpiece and Metallica at the height of their powers

I don't think there's enough melody present on this album for my tastes.

The only thing keeping this from a 1… is One.

I have never been that much into Metallica, but this album proves that even a technically limited band can still produce great heavy metal stuff if they are musically talented, write songs with sophisticated rhythm structures and play it tightly. Apart from the title track, "One" is the other track that was still in my ears after decades. Clearly the second best Metallica album (Master of Puppets being #1 of course), for me actually four-and-half.

Not for me... didn't like it when it first came out, still not my thing.

M E T A L L I C A

Hell yeah, let's go Metallica. I did make the mistake of saying "I'll stay in my car until this songs over" and then had to wait 4 minutes until the song was over 💀.

Some crazy riffs but overall it just wasn't for me. Felt a little too long

Metallica pushing themselves to the absolute limit, stretching the boundaries of their playing. Great album, warts and all(the burying of Jason Newstead's bass tracks) and the length of songs which by the bands own admission was maybe too long in some parts. But you got classics on here like Blackened, One, Harvester of Sorrow, the beautiful instrumental To Live is to Die

Ooh no thanks

This lead me a little down the "missing bass" rabbit hole. I wasn't consciously aware of it; but I'll always go for "Master of Puppets" over this one, probably for a reason.

Here, there, everywhere and it wants to punch you in the face. By the end, it kinda bleeds into one though - sorry Lars

Not a huge fan of Metallica. And what I knew most about this albums is that there’s no bass in the mix. Gives it an odd, ‘thin’ sound. But I adjusted to it over its runtime.

Favorites: Blackened, One, To Live Is to Die Not as good as Master of Puppets, but still a really great project from Metallica. My main gripe with it however is that some of the songs have nearly a complete lack of bass, which makes them feel sort of empty. Nonetheless, this absolutely rips, and One is a serious contender for the best metal song of all time. 8.5/10

Incredible how such a terrible sounding record ever got released. Couple of decent tracks.

I really like the track 'One'. Nothing else on the album appeals to me at all

A fantastic metal album, capping off the 80s era of Metallica. Fantastic songs, such as One, Eye of the Beholder, and To live is to die

Love metallica, love a lot of songs on this album. But it really is dry sounding without the bass or much low end. Still solid album.

Metallica becoming great.

Good album

I can acknowledge that this record specifically was pretty ambitious for Metallica at the time of release. The group refined their thrash metal sound, highlighted by faster tempos and longer, more complex compositions. The thing is, when listening to this album in a vacuum, everything just sounds repetitive. The thrashy riffs never really deviate from song to song (outside of a select few) and feel limited. Pretty disappointing, as I was expecting more from an album that contained the iconic "One".

*1988. 4th studio album. *One and Justice for All are the big songs off this one. *It's fine, but a lot of it sounds the same. *I like Metallica better in smaller doses - a whole album is a lot. RATING - 5/10

I lowkey got bored of it. I know it’s suppose to be really good but liek I stopped listening to it half way cus it was so fucking boring

Bon que dire de ce chef d'oeuvre

I love rock and I love metal but I think I can admit that I don't like Metallica. Is it even heavy? Or if it is heavy, it isn't anything else. Still, better than some of the nonsense on this list

I'm just not much of a metal fan. Metallica's black album came out at just the right time for me so I have a lot of nostalgia for that specific one, but otherwise this music (despite being able to appreciate the technical prowess and artistry of the band) borders on sounding cheesy to me.

3.7

Kivan kuuloinen laulajana. Mikäs siinä

Truly one of the best metal albums of all time

My middle school boyfriend was a drummer and obsessed with Metallica and I always thought it was heinous that he was a Metallica fan. Maybe I should have just ya know listened to them? (I wouldn’t have been into it the ) This album rocks. Metallica is sick.

Again, didn’t love this album but I recognize it is great music. Innovative and unique. It has the calm playfulness I’m familiar with in Simon and Garfunkel with bits of spoken word sprinkled in.

Klassikko. Ei kyllä lähellekään Metallican paras levy. 4/5.

Gran disco

Ça me confirme que j'aime pas Metallica, c'est gnangnan, toujours pareil, on se fait chier

Oui…. Bon…. Je savais à quoi m’attendre Il y a quelques sons intéressants mais je n’accroche vraiment pas à la voix

Honnêtement pas une note objective, je pense que je comprends pourquoi certaines personnes aiment bien mais oof vraiment pas mon style. J'ai trouvé ça loooong... 1/5

As high a 3 as it gets. Do I like this? Quite a bit, but it's very samey and chugga chugga. Apart from One and... Justice To Live is to Die is the only thing that stands out fot me. I listened twice too. The production being so famously flat doesn't help.

This is a lot of fun, a few stand out tracks, but maybe not the consistent level of master. I wasn't that keen on james' vocal in justice the track, but overall I liked it. I read afterwards about how this is the album they turned the bass right down. I can't say I noticed especially but I did notice there was some booming in the drums which might have been because there was a lot of space in those frequencies. It certainly didn't ruin the album for me, but I wonder if this would be marked higher if the bass was also as in your face as the guitars.

C'est pas interdit de faire des chansons de moins de 7 minutes hein.

Yeah, didn't hit for me

3.5/5

Takes me right back to the Guitar Hero days. Like many men of a certain age, I had a love affair with this album. Back in the day I would've tried to convince you that no album could ever be as heavy as this one, that the opener was the greatest opening track of all time, and that that Lars was actually a great drummer (he's fine, I mean no offense). Nowadays, while I'm not completely sour on this record, I'm pretty set in my belief that it's far from Metallica's best, and that the dynamics are virtually nonexistent across the runtime. Each song on its own does a great job showing you who Metallica is, but AJfA never really comes together to be bigger than the sum of its parts.

How could I give an album with One any less than a Five?

Classic metal album, great listen.

I love metal, and music inspired by Metallica. But I think I'm starting to realize I'm just not a fan of Metallica itself. Like, it's not varied enough for me. It's a very strange thing to realize.

Classic, but I have to be in the mood for it.

love love just kinda gets a lil boring in some parts imo

Iconic. Some songs are a bit to long for me but overall tho album is a banger. Takes me back to my childhood.

What a weirdly mixed album

Great metal album. One of Metallica’s best

What the hell happened to the bass? Terrible mix.

The post-Cliff Burton death album. Is it lacking in bass? Yes. I don't blame Newstead for that, though, he got the short end of the stick there. It's metal, it's thrash, but it's very… consistent with not a whole lot of variety (it looped on me and I didn't even realize the album ended). For the era, it was awesome, and it's still worth a listen if you like metal.

Lulls a bit in the middle, but overall it's just a fun metal album and most of the runtime is a thrill

Not a fan, but I enjoyed some tracks.

Enjoyed but a bit monotonous at times. Wanted more creativity like one

Lol the other reviews speak for themselves. If I liked metal I'm sure this would be great for me!

80s Metallica was a different beast. The first 4 albums are metal perfected as far as I’m concerned. Hits hard first to last

Always been a huge fan of AJFA. Probably my favourite Metallica album. Powerful lyrics, crushing riffs and despite the controversy, I never miss the bass. Fave Tune: ...And Justice For All

I don't mind Metallica that much but I didn't really care for this.

One is one of the best songs of all time but the rest of this is a little one note for me. 3.5 but i'll but it as a 4

If it weren’t for the pointless instrumental I’d give this a 5. One of my favourite Metallica records

bangin

Definitely one of their best. “One” is a great song.

Tässä oli vähän vähemmän tutun kuuloista Metallicaa, ja on kyllä tällä artistilta parempiakin levyjä.

Joku tykkää näistä tän levyn miksauksista mu mulle varsinkin rummut jotenki liian pinnassa, sähköset. Rosoa lisää Hyviä riffejä kuten aina...

Se Metallica levy

Onhan tää ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ levy!

Ei ole trash mun juttu. Oli siellä hyviä riffejä ja melodiaa paljonkin mutta paljon myös puuduttavaa sahaamista.

Absolut inte min grej, låter inte behagligt och dåliga texter

It got a little repetitive because the songs were so long, vibes still good though

Nawet ok. Wydaje się dobrym wprowadzeniem dla osób, które nie lubią metalu

Pretty solid. Sounds the same after a while

The absolute peak of Metallica's heavy art. While the black album was the most popular, this was their masterwork and, along with Puppets and Ride, the reason they are still considered a giant in metal despite 6 sad studio follow ups following the black album. This is the last album for which Cliff Burton would receive writing credits after his tragic passing and some of the anger and sadness embedded in this album are due to the band dealing with his loss. The soul and humor he lent to each record is perhaps the only thing missing from this production.

My single favorite metal album of all time. I know the bass recording is garbage. Don't care. Love, love, love this album

4/5. This freakin' rocks. It's like they took the concept of Master of Reality by Sabbath with multiple riffs, and doubled the length of each song. They bring it all the way up and the guitar and drums are doing the heavy lifting here. The bass is severely missing from the mix and although that does make the listening experience less enjoyable, the album as a whole is banger after banger. This definitely felt more technically impressive than lyrically, but it was still a good time. I wouldn't say it's perfect, as some tracks do sound the same, but it was still great. Best Song: One, Eye Of The Beholder, To Live Is To Die, Harvester Of Sorrow

Drums: exorbitant

Yay for metal

good shit

Not as good as master of puppets

look... i've listened to the first song and also One because i read in other reviews that this is the best song on the album, and.... i think i get the idea, you know? just not for me.

Not my favorite flavor of Metallica. Makes me realize how much their transition on the Black album really made them into the band that I like to listen to.

Surprisingly enjoyable. More progy then expected. A bit of melody in with all the chugging. The sound is so difficult though. There's the no bass thing, but also the guitars sound buzzy and paper thin and the drum sounds are like a toy or something.

Everyone knows One and maybe ...Nnd justice for all but this album as much more than those 2.

Favorites: harvester of sorrow, frayed edges of sanity. Overall, goes hard. Pretty solid sound, though I was a little surprised how similar it sounded to Death Magnetic given that the albums released like twenty years apart. Still good. 8/10, 4 stars.

Dry

Not a heavy metal guy

one carries i love that song quite a lot. the rest of it isnt solid metallica

Im glad this music exists for someone but that someone is definitely not me

Ongeveer de blauwdruk van Metallica's sound. Het is niet mijn genre, maar dit zit natuurlijk uitstekend in elkaar. Dat geluid van die gitaren dondert echt over je heen en de vocalen voelen als windkracht 12. En "One" was echt ronduit beangstigend voor me toen ik de videoclip ervan zag op 6-jarige leeftijd. Qua "ballads" een veel beter alternatief voor "Nothing Else Matters" wat mij betreft.

Box standard thrashy metal.

Favourite track(s): The Eye Of The Beholder; To Live Is To Die If you like riffs, riffs over riffs, for minutes ongoing, then this may be the album for you. Supported by punchy drums, this seems to be the main focus of most tracks, with the riffs sometimes varying but most songs congregating into a whole to my untrained ears. Most tracks also change rhythms at least once - does not make listening any easier. Lastly, upon first (and only) listen, the (mostly) sparse lyrics seem a little too dramatic for my taste. Cannot find all that much to like.

9 songs in 65 minutes…. Why so dense? Such a boring record. “One” is an ok song, the rest just all sounds like a guitar chugging the exact same chord repeatedly.

I just don't really like Metallica.

Not just not my thing, there also wasn't a single song that piqued my interest

Second Metallica album I’ve gotten on here and it sounds so similar to the first. Most of the songs on here are more than listenable, but i wanted more out of it.

Interesting but not what I'm usually into.

Domar’n man kan faktiskt skriva bra och kunna sjunga oxå. Lite för bröligt för min smak

3 out of 5. Technically good musicianship and some bangers here.

I finally understand Beavis and Butthead now... This RULES. A metal symphony! Half a point off because it really is long. But I enjoyed this! 3.5

Blackened: 2/5 j’aime pas le métal. pas assez mélodieux …And Justice For All: 2/5 même chose Eye Of The Beholder: ça en dit long quand je pense que la seule chose intéressante d’une chanson c’est le solo de guitare. 2/5 One: c’était bon, avant qu’il commence à chanter. 2.5/5 Les autres: 2/5 j’ai plus rien à dire. ça sonne tout pareil

So aggressive—please chill out. That guitarist is putting his life force into his job. People actually listen to this? I feel like im in an action movie training scene. Jesus christ this first song is so long. Ok, im 4 min into the first song. Now this sounds like the guitar they play in an anime fight scene. This guitarist must be so tired from carrying this band on his back. Why is this making me anxious? This definitely sounds like the intro to ZOM:100. Skipping to song two. Much calmer. Thank god. Guitar still slapping. Ok the addition of the drums was much better on song 2. Really enjoying the 2 min reprieve from that trash singing. I spoke too soon. I do not like this man’s voice. These lyrics are very accurate. Justice is gone. Seems like not much has changed from 1988. You know what? Hell yeah. Tell them king. Yet again, this guitarist is the best part of the song. This is essentially angry classical music with words Song 3’s lyrics are great; i wish the singer sounded different (anything would be better!) Guitar is great still, skipping to song 4 Guns??? Are we back in nam? Ok guitarist popping off again with those little trills. I see you, man. Oh, we are back in nam. Oh noooo Tf you mean ‘back in the womb’ This poor veteran. We shouldn’t have even been in nam. Who knew metallica could be so depressing? OK GUITARIST POP TF OFF. I googled what the guitarist looked like in the 80s. He is lowkey my type (medium ugly). Finished the album. It was ok.

Amazing, enough said

Everyone thinks this is the weird cousin to Master of Puppets' golden child role. But AJFA saw Metallica really flexing their songwriting muscles into new progressive territory. It also had the band's first mainstream hit with One, and that's humongous for extreme metal.

It would have been super rad if there was a bass player on this album

was good actually sick cover art too

UNNECESSARY YELLING. The first 3 songs are just loud. Hard to listen to lyrics as there's no inflection or emotion. One- the most popular song of the album. Early spoken word stuff is a miss on me, but guitar and lyrics at 3:05 are something special, my favorite part. 4:35 is sick and iconic. Not even motivated to listen to second half of the album. I just don't like it.

If I was new to metal this would probably have hit harder

Great music but I don’t think I’m that much of a metal guy

Njihov drugi ili treći najbolji album

It cant hold a candle to the first few Metallica records, but it's actually much better than I remembered. On a good day this might get another star.

One of the things I remember about this album was looking up the remastered version on youtube where someone had really kicked up the bass in the mix so it sounded way better than on the original. It's a common complaint that you can't really hear Cliff's bass on the album despite him being universally recognised as an amazing player. Spent a fair amount of time playing along to this one too learning the riffs from Blackened I think the first song I heard off this album was when I was watching Kerrang TV in the 2000s and the video for One was playing on there fairly regularly. Telling the story of a soldier who's left blind mute and paralysed. The video was cut with clips from a movie that, and it was pretty scary at the end, really haunting when the soldier is asking to be killed in Morse code.

One of the best metal albums ever made

Go with 3 or 4 out of 5

Lots of filler here for me. Great musicianship throughout, but trying to stand next to an absolute masterpiece like “One” makes a lot of these tracks seem like maybe they are at the wrong party. A seminal metal album that deserves its place on this list, but not as solid as I remembered.

Absolute banger of an album though it is probably too long and a little too much of the same dynamic. Still, that dynamic consistently works and produces some combustible playing and great songs. "One" is an all time great song and others like "Eye of the Beholder" and "Blackened" are fantastic as well. I like the classical guitar interludes of "To Live is to Die" as well. Docked a star because it is too much of a good thing.

Good album. Always liked Metallica but never heard this one all the way through. The mixing is a bit off, its kind of flat and I feel like it could be more dynamic, but still nice to sit back and listen to some virtuoso percussion and lead guitar. Title track hits too close to home in 2025. One is one of their best songs, love the iconic opening riff/solo and the song's progression. I did find a few songs boring though, its definitely not as consistently good as Master of Puppets

1st Metallica album I listened to back in the day.

This is the best Metallica album by far.

my beloved

Album No. 0002 on my list. I was familiar with this album before, but had not listened to it for some years, so this was a nice second item on my listening list. Unfortunately, I'd have to say that ...And Justice For All is probably Metallica's weakest album from the 80s. Its production is indeed very flat, and for whatever reason, there is too little bass. In turn, there are plenty of riffs and long, complex guitar parts. The whole album sounds like a show-off of guitar-playing abilities. That does not mean that there aren't any good songs in there ("One" being the obvious candidate here, but "Blackened", "Harvester of Sorrow", and "Eye of the Beholder" belonging to that list as well). Some songs include interesting lyrics as well. And in the end, impressive guitar skills are certainly something that should be appreciated as well. But especially compared, to its immediate predecessor, Master of Puppets, this album did just not produce as many catchy metal uber-hymns. So in the end, this is a 3/5, although I have to admit that it's maybe just the comparison to its predecessors that lowers the rating, rather than an "objective" assessment.

Badass 8/10 great rock

Chugga Chugga Chugga is what's written on a note in the Metallica exhibit at the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame. I do love some palm-muted chugga chugga, but not for an hour. As everyone says, the mix is really bad. Low bass with up front, mostly tinny drums. But that's not why you're really here, right? It's those chunky, thrashy guitars. Good on them for all of those insane quick changes, starts and stops. Those guitars rip it up. Just needs a little more change-up throughout. One is one of my favorite rock songs ever. It's got dynamics. ("Johnny got his Gun" is a great and horrible little movie.) Listening to this all at once, I give it a 2.5. Listening to a song or two at a time would let me give it a 3.5. Sot's getting a 3, but "One" gets a 5!

Just a good metal album I probably should have gave master of puppets a 5 by the way but it’s too late now

It's weird listening to this mostly for the first time in 2025 as it comes across as quite thin in terms of the sound - not what you'd expect. Sure it's incisive and crisp but more like an annoying wasp than overpowering textures. It's not without interest musically but unless you can make that conceptual leap to metal with all its subcultural baggage then there's not enough compensation. The singer isn't great, and it all gets very samey. Then there's One, in the grand tradition of big songs like 'Bohemian Rhapsody' and 'Stairway to Heaven'. It's a high point, but otherwise it's kind of a struggle to keep going. And I didn't. :-(

A common sentiment is that the album suffers because the bass track has been mixed so low as to be undetectable. I completely disagree, I think the guitar, drums and vocals need to be dropped from the mix as well so I can enjoy some piece and quiet. I am an unashamed fan of the more poppy Metallica offerings.

I'm surprised I didn't hate this.

Metal

Very good rhyming.

Repetitive songs, I feel like a middle aged dad listening to it. But there’s one or two gems

While metal is a genre I typically don’t enjoy, this is the second album in a couple of weeks that has me reassessing that thought. I truly did not expect to like this album, aside from the song “One” which I know and figured was an outlier. Reading about this album, with words like “brutal” used to describe it, made me very apprehensive. But I liked it. I don’t care for Lars’ drumming overall, but the rest is quite good. A four star record.

Its got a heavy beat which you expect but it lacks in places. The Riffs are there and tracks like One which is a favourite of mine are outstanding but that is One exception. It Thrashy which you expect but musically metallica are better than this. its okay however the Black Album Metallica and even the live S & M version with strings and an Orchestra offers a more sophisticated and generally better version of them. Yes its Metal but thrash thrash thrash can be lazy and with songs like One and others they are better than that.

Probably not my favorite Metallica, but still pretty good.

It is a shame about the mixing, because I feel that this is just one special sauce from being truly bone-shattering

My coworker really loves Metallica. I tell her I also do, but it just doesn’t do it for me. I like metal, but I just don’t find them that sick. Also I checked at one point to see how much was left, thinking I must be halfway through the album at this point. Turns out I was halfway through the second song. Just a frickin barrage on my brain.

Metallica's first album with Jason Newstead on bass. Over the past few years I've heard that the mix on this album intentionally drowned out his bass work because of some weird Cliff Burton honor thing or something wacky. For whatever reason, it's ALL guitar, barely hear any bass on this album at all, in fact the only bass I hear is Lars's annoying bass drums. Look, I love Metallica a lot, and this CD was the first ever CD I bought with my own money when I got my first CD player in 6th grade. I love the album but it is TOO fucking long. Every song is 5 minutes or longer. Not good for jamming in your ride. I'll be fair and say the songs are good, but length plays a factor into my rating for a song. I like 5 minute+ songs if they're fucking amazing, and my favorite song on this album got a 5 star rating, the only one, Harvester of Sorrow. The rest are solid metal songs. 3.35/5 stars = 3. I feel bad for rating this one 3 stars where as the other Metallica albums I've rated have been higher.

Very good album held back by weird production choices. The drum tone is very dull. Usually want some pummeling drums in thrash metal and these are not hitting except for some of the double bass drum parts. Also wish you could hear the bass at all. And at 65 minutes, I feel like they could've tightened it up a bit. Still a very enjoyable listen

Hour four of a band I don't really like. This is challenging. The musicianship is really good. I like the time changes. It's more thrash than pop metal, which is a good thing. I actually like this album better than the other two (black and double live album).

Not my favorite album of theirs but One locked in the 3 for me.

The first CD I ever owned. One, still love it.

Hands down one of the top albums for Mettalica and for metal fans. I can’t get enough of the mellow quitar sounds then thrusting into hard guitar riffs and lyrics. A must for anyone tired of the “system”!

Always bangers!

I can get behind this, this is more my lemon full of juice

This is talent, you can feel the synergy between instruments and the songs flow nicely

Phenomenal album, perfect example of talent, creativity and execution. One is a brilliant song, it only missed out on a 5 because as good as the album was, it didn't speak to me personally.

The last round of the prog style Metallica. Cliff's influence is sorely missed. It's no surprise that there's so little audible bass on this record. Cliff was a hard act to follow! Still, Blackened and One are among the best of the pack of Metallica songs.

I'll admit it: I'm a Black Album Only Metallica fan. I just can't get into this, not sure if that means I'm well adjusted or repressed. Don't care, i don't wanna listen to this.

Crap

The One music video is still in my head after all these years. The rest sort of sounded like generic Metallica. 4* Highlights: one

Nice

Surprisingly good. For a metal band

An hour of the same overdriven guitar and grunts. I’m good.

Probably my favorite or second favorite album by a band I just can't bring myself to care about. 3/5

One of the best Metallica albums there is tbh

I hadn't heard most of this album before but it features a lot of the Metallica you know and love. Heavy chugging riffs, tight composition, great dynamic range. One is an all-timer of course

Tripe, as all other Metallica albums.

If "One" was the only song on this album it'd be 5/5.

As a Metallica fan, this is my least favorite pre-Load album. It's just too bloated. As James Hetfield said, they were trying to be too proggy and write really long complicated songs. Sure, One is great, the rest is pretty same-y, or at least loses my attention because it just. keeps. going. That being said, this is certainly better than a lot of records on this list.

Alles lijkt op elkaar. Niet mijn ding. Muziek is opzich prima

the best songs: -one -to live is to die overall rate 2.5

A little long for my tastes. Good, not great (or very good). It's no Black Album. "One" rules. Top Tracks: "One," "Blackened"

--Blackened...pretty awesome --...And Justice for All...not impressed with the first few minutes. but it ultimately rocks --Eye of the Beholder...it's fine. James Hetfield starts to drift into parody of himself --One...nice change of pace but the lack of bass is really evident here. Great guitar solo at the end --The Shortest Straw...\m/\m/\m/ --Harvester of Sorrow...weaker than earlier tracks but still a headbanger --The Frayed Ends of Sanity...didn't care for the first half. Second half fux --To Live is to Die...the longest track and the least interesting --Dyers Eve...technically impressive. Just okay as a song. Confusing ending

Rocks.

Strong 4.5 stars

Stopped listening after the first four tracks—it's by far one of the most supremely boring albums that I've encountered on this list.

A classic. Technical but kinda raw. Metal but still melodic in a way.

Metallica has to be the most well known bands where you can say "I liked them before...". And Justice For All is before Load the album where they seemed to have lost all of their fans and is, for me, part of a holy trinity of Metallica (And Justice For All, Ride The Lightning, Master Of Puppets).

Just What I expected from Metallica

Bueno. Siempre defenderé que es el tercer mejor álbum de Metallica.

I'm not a Metallica fan, but I can appreciate their contribution to the Metal(TM) genre. I knew I'd eventually have to listen to some Metallica albums for this project, so here we go... A lot of this album feels like it's sticking to bread & butter metal - a wall of crunchy guitars and drums with some lyrics shouted over the top. That's fine, I don't have a ton to say about that. Where the album gets interesting is the moments like "...And Justice For All", "One", "To Live Is To Die", and "Dyers Eve" where they weave some classical guitar interludes into the standard metal structures. I don't know Metallica intimately enough to know if this was new for this album or not, but this being their first album nominated for a Grammy suggests it probably was. I do appreciate the irony of them losing to Jethro Tull; after listening to this, I feel like the two aren't as far apart as I would have thought. A lot of the guitar solos sound like recycled Van Halen solos, but maybe that's all part of the design. This feels like a bid to bring Metal closer to the mainstream, and I think that's exactly what it did. A quick look at Metallica's history of award nominations doesn't show anything before this album and a lot from here forward. This was Metallica's big crossover moment, and that's not nothing. Overall, I don't think I need to spend more time with this album, but I'm not as annoyed as I thought I would be to listen through it.

This album is amazing. Clif dies in a bus accident, so they hire Jason to play bass. It goes on to get them radioplay with One, win all kinds of awards, well except that grammy. They were robbed that year and I'm a Jethro Tull fan. Then they tour the world on it, and after they make the Black album. Completely changing their sound. So this album is the end of phase one and the beginning of phase two for Metallica. The lyrical side is great, musically it's just so dense with riffs it's wild. Every song has huge sections that make you want to learn guitar. The solos are tight. The only issue there is they decided to mess with the new guy Jason and turned down the bass in damn near all the tracks. The album suffers from this. When I want to listen to this I always have to adjust the eq far more than other Metallica albums, well except Death Magnetic. It's a great album that I wish they would remix. Great album, historic as far as music goes, one of the the best trash metal albums around.

pretty cliched and his vocals-AH are really annoying-AH but things that become cliche were usually good till everyone got fed up of them. some great music and technique but mostly sounds really thin and overproduced. felt quite jarring when 'one' popped up, which stands head and shoulders above the other tracks

one banger

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

Product of its time