Metallica - ...And Justice For All review
| Band: | Metallica |
| Album: | ...And Justice For All |
| Style: | Bay Area thrash metal |
| Release date: | August 1988 |
01. Blackened
02. ...And Justice For All
03. Eye Of The Beholder
04. One
05. The Shortest Straw
06. Harvester Of Sorrow
07. The Frayed Ends Of Sanity
08. To Live Is To Die
09. Dyers Eve
10. The Prince [Diamond Head cover] [Japanese bonus]
11. One [live] [digital reissue bonus]
12. ...And Justice For All [live] [digital reissue bonus]
When I came across Aguirre's review of Metallica's '...And Justice For All', I immediately spewed Coca-Cola everywhere and threatened the non-stickiness of my keyboard. I didn't see it coming, I guess. Aguirre is entitled to his opinion, but what follows is my review of Metallica's 'last great' and 'progressive' album.
Within 30 seconds of listening to the album it is easy to tell it has a sound unlike any other album before it. The guitars are paper-thin, the drums are 'clinky', and sometimes you forget the band has a bassist. However, the sound fits the songs perfectly and it would be hard to imagine them with 'Ride The Lightning' or 'Master Of Puppets' era production.
The album starts off fantastically with 'Blackened'. It's about the end of the earth through nuclear war, much like 'Fight Fire With Fire' from Ride The Lightning. The title track is excellent and progressive. "One" is great (though it is overrated). I crank up my speakers while driving 80 mph down the freeway at 3:54. It's one of my all time favourite parts to any Metallica song. Other highlights are up, down, abound and around such as the slower 'Harvester Of Sorrow', the semi-instrumental 'To Live Is To Die' with a few lyrics penned by the late great Cliff Burton (RIP), and the farewell to Thrash speed of 'Dyers Eve'. The only song I find boring is 'Eye Of The Beholder', and even then I love the chorus.
This is an angry album. James is at his rage-spitting best here. It's great to listen to now and I can't imagine what the people thought when they heard this back in 1988. Plus it sounds even better today standing next to the following three Metallica albums beginning with 'Load'. It's a great, angry, slightly progressive, slightly slower album that deserves respect. It gets criticized due to its sound and progressiveness. I do not think this is a Progressive Metal album. It has progressive tinges and dabbles in it a little, but this is still a Thrash album.
...And Justice For All is not as good as the previous two Metallica albums in my opinion, but it is still a classic Metallica release and shouldn't be considered otherwise. Crank it up!
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 10 |
| Songwriting: | 9 |
| Originality: | 9 |
| Production: | 8 |
Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
Rating:
5.0
5.0
|
Rating: 5.0 |
Hmmm, so this is the last "true" Metallica classic? Let me start off by saying a lot of fans consider this to be their "progressive" album, while after hearing it through, the only thing I can point out that has "progressed" is the band's ability to bore the listener into a deep coma after a couple tracks. Read more ›› |
Rating:
8.0
8.0
|
Rating: 8.0 |
It can easily be said that music is a photo in time. A fragment in where society is once shot, forever leaving the remembrance of where and who we were. This translates directly and more so intently to an artist or band, and where they were in their lives and careers when a piece of work was released. For Metallica in 1988, two-years removed from a loss of a brother, a friend and a band mate, bassist Cliff Burton, they showed their scars in an album that I can only help but adore. "?And Justice For All" is a long, (65-minutes long, 10 less than the maximum) drawn out, epic, loud, angry, and emotionally charged record that sweeps its listeners up into its messages and endless musicianship. Read more ›› |
Rating:
8.9
8.9
|
Rating: 8.9 |
Metallica! Need we say anything more about this band? They are the biggest Heavy Metal band ever to have existed, sold more records than any other Metal band and have performed in almost all the countries on the planet. They are the fathers of Thrash Metal and are one of the most influential bands of all time. Most of you know a great deal about them so I won't be elaborating anymore. Read more ›› |
Comments
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Comments: 40
Visited by: 195 users
| Syk myspace/bonerama Posts: 1504 From: New Zealand  |
Niiiiice review, I agree with nearly everything here  I'm not sure if I'd say it's slower, the previous albums all had their fair share of heavy metal and groove. Could also be improved with a tad deeper description of the compositions.Justice is my fav album of theirs and I give it 9.0/10 at the very least
---- death ? thrash ? death/doom/prog ? Hail Zoldon! he's not the kind you have to wind up on Sundays
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| Katatronik Angel of Lust Posts: 1018 From: Italy  |
Great review man, I agree with you! This is the last great thrash Metallica album: One, Eye Of The Beholder, Harvester Of Sorrow, the title track... masterpiece songs!
---- "The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown." Howard Phillips Lovecraft
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| BloodTears ANA-thema Posts: 11835 From: Portugal  |
Well finally a good review about this album. I agree that it is a Metallica classic and maybe it doesn't have the recognition it should but hey people have their opinions and we have ours. Still my favourite til this day.
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| DrunkenFuck Thrasher! Posts: 455 From: Denmark  |
Great album, truly shows their guitar/drumming skills. The riffs are killer on almost all of the songs. Btw, people who doesn't like Lars Ulrichs drumming should listen to Dyers Eve, because when the verse starts he just goes crazy! Incredible!
---- THRASH!!!
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| Oskmrgo83 Oskmrgo83 Posts: 222 From: Colombia  |
It's obvious... great review. I'm agree.
---- Now it's time to... rock!!!!!
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| Demonmayonnaise Posts: 362 From: USA  |
I love this album... I think it was an amazing album. I give it an 8.5/10.
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| +{Jonas}+ I R Serious Cat Posts: 4955 From: Colombia  |
Now this is teh review that I should've read first! at Aguirre's I spewed cookies and saliva everywhere, and it wasn't easy to clean from my monitor. But after readng this review I feel better. This is indeed a proggy album, with very long songs (long for Metallica), and coool lyrics. Gret review
---- "Nobody wants to be the weird kid, you just end up being the weird kid. You don't know how you ended up getting there" - Rob Zombie http://jonas-bs.deviantart.com My dA, mainly photography, go check it out!
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| IronBlackZepp Posts: 180 From: USA  |
Ive owned this album for quite a while now, but I didnt start getting into it until recently. Mabey its not quite as good as the previous 2, but its still pretty close. Deffinently more solid then the black album. Blackend is my favorite track.
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| Thrash_bt Posts: 5 From: Macedonia  |
It is their 2nd best album.One,Blackened,...And Justice for all and the other are fantastic
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| freddie420666 Posts: 43 From: USA  |
nicely said. i agree 100% with this post. im glad to see some one tht actually knows something about metallica.
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| LeChron James Helvetesfossen Posts: 3561 From: USA  |
I only like ...And Justice For All because of Dyer's Eve. Dyer's Eve is Metallica's fastest song and i love it regardless of the fact that there is ABSOLUTELY NO bass involved in the entire song.
---- Kick Ass, Die Young Less is More Stay Pure Stay Poor Music was my life, music brought me to life and music is how I will be remembered long after I leave this life. When I die there will be a final waltz in my head that only I can hear.
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| Daggon Underpaid M.D. Posts: 1689 From: Mexico  |
A well done review for an album that deserves respect. This was one of my first metal albums along with "Kill 'em All" and I still love it, yes, long songs but actually great songs! My favorite one is "To Live Is To Die", oh man, that song fucking kills me. Well, It's nice to know that some people have this album in a respectful place just like me. Just imagine this with Cliff still alive, ohm Im getting orgasmic feelings just for thinking that. My rate: 8.6
---- "Les vers savent qu'ils n'ont pas d'ailes, c'est pour cela qu'ils se cachent sous terre"
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Posts: 40071 From: The Netherlands  |
Written by LeChron James on 27.10.2008 at 07:03 There is NO bass involved in the album at all. God, I really don't understand the praise this album gets.
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996 
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| LeChron James Helvetesfossen Posts: 3561 From: USA |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 11.11.2008 at 02:28 for real, theres NO bass, the bass drums have a really annoying clicky sound to them and the album just gets old after awhile.
---- Kick Ass, Die Young Less is More Stay Pure Stay Poor Music was my life, music brought me to life and music is how I will be remembered long after I leave this life. When I die there will be a final waltz in my head that only I can hear.
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Posts: 40071 From: The Netherlands |
Written by LeChron James on 11.11.2008 at 02:34 Totally agreed with you. Most of the songs are too loing for their own good. Not enough ideas in them to keep them interested. The only THREE songs I can stomach on this underporduced piece of o.......d d....l are Blackened, One, & Dyers Eve, the rest are just an enormous waste of time.
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
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| LeChron James Helvetesfossen Posts: 3561 From: USA |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 11.11.2008 at 02:47 really to be honest, Dyer's Eve and sometimes One. but aside from that i can pass on this one without any second thoughts.
---- Kick Ass, Die Young Less is More Stay Pure Stay Poor Music was my life, music brought me to life and music is how I will be remembered long after I leave this life. When I die there will be a final waltz in my head that only I can hear.
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Posts: 40071 From: The Netherlands |
Written by LeChron James on 11.11.2008 at 05:24 Wow, and not even Battery? And I thought I was hard on this album  And I actually thought that it was only people of my generation that would dislike this album and not of your generation. Well, good to hear that are actually other sensible (younger in this case) people around 
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
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| Valentin B Iconoclast Posts: 10084 From: Czech Republic  |
Dyer's Eve is pretty kickass, i gotta agree with LeChron. to be honest, on that track James's voice sounds fucking ANGRY for a change, and i like the intro for To Live Is To Die. One is pretty damn good once it goes into thrash mode and the intro for Blackened is pretty damn nice, and the verse riff is pretty fucked up. like i said the 19/15 beats get on my nerve sometimes but i think they give this album a unique taste. overrated like fuck though, and in my book doesn't get more than 7..
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| LeChron James Helvetesfossen Posts: 3561 From: USA |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 11.11.2008 at 12:41 "Battery" is on Master of Puppets and is a completely different conversation. if you mean "Blackened" then i dont really find it particularly impressive. i think "Harvester of Sorrow" is a more headbanging track than "Blackened"
---- Kick Ass, Die Young Less is More Stay Pure Stay Poor Music was my life, music brought me to life and music is how I will be remembered long after I leave this life. When I die there will be a final waltz in my head that only I can hear.
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Posts: 40071 From: The Netherlands |
Written by LeChron James on 12.11.2008 at 03:50 Yes I mean Blackened,somehow I always seem to mix those two up.I disagree with you on Harvester Of Sorrow I find that one of the most boring and sleep inducing tracks on the album
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
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| LeChron James Helvetesfossen Posts: 3561 From: USA |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 12.11.2008 at 13:51 i can understand how you can get those mixed up. trust me, those songs are almost interchangeable. thus, i say that "Harvester of Sorrow" is one of the better songs from "...And Justice For All" simply because "Blackened" and "Battery" are so interchangable.
---- Kick Ass, Die Young Less is More Stay Pure Stay Poor Music was my life, music brought me to life and music is how I will be remembered long after I leave this life. When I die there will be a final waltz in my head that only I can hear.
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| Deadmeat Necrobutcher Posts: 2437 From: Greece  |
Written by LeChron James on 12.11.2008 at 03:50 if you like dyers eve cause it's fast then you should like blackened cause it's also as fast as dyers eve. Blackened KILLS!
---- Υou've sold your human essence to the cold world of dead and empty things... You're SOLD!
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| Lord_Regnier Posts: 1469 From: Canada  |
Written by Deadmeat on 27.03.2009 at 19:36 Not true. "Dyer's Eve" is noticeably faster than "Blackened", even faster than "Battery". (at least on drums) "Ans Justice For All" is the last great album Metallica have done, by the way.
---- "Why would we fear death, when life is so much more frightening?"
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| Deadmeat Necrobutcher Posts: 2437 From: Greece |
Written by Lord_Regnier on 13.04.2009 at 02:41 yeah it may be faster 5 BPM but it doesn't make them differ a lot. dyers eve may be faster for a longer time but the highest speed i guess is equall.
---- Υou've sold your human essence to the cold world of dead and empty things... You're SOLD!
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| Lord_Regnier Posts: 1469 From: Canada |
Written by Deadmeat on 13.04.2009 at 03:33 No. "Dyers Eve" have parts that are definitely faster than anything on "Blackened". But you're right to say "Blackened" has fast parts too. And I think it's a better song than "Dyer's Eve" overall. I like it more.
---- "Why would we fear death, when life is so much more frightening?"
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| Deadmeat Necrobutcher Posts: 2437 From: Greece |
Yeah you are right. dyers eve is a bit faster. i checked it. but generally i think blackened is one of the fastest songs metallica ever wrote.
---- Υou've sold your human essence to the cold world of dead and empty things... You're SOLD!
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| Lord_Regnier Posts: 1469 From: Canada |
Written by Deadmeat on 13.04.2009 at 04:32 "Blackened" is one of their fastest songs, indeed. "Dyer's Eve" is the fastest song Metallica have ever made.
---- "Why would we fear death, when life is so much more frightening?"
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