411 Metallica Roundtable: …And Justice For All

Posted by Mitch Michaels on 09.05.2008

The 411 staff anticipates the drop date for Death Magnetic by looking back at Metallica’s fourth album, which reached the Top 10 and brought the band to MTV…

On September 12th, Metallica releases Death Magnetic, their first studio album in over five years. Anticipation for this album among the Metallica faithful, haters and just plain curious has reached a fever pitch over the last couple of months thanks to comments from the band, new live leaks, cover art, track listings and, finally, a pair of official downloads - all leading up to the big Friday drop date.

But why all the hype for a band who, in most folks' opinion, completely dropped the ball on their last release? Well, 411 has decided to find out and tell you all about it. How? By taking a look back at Metallica's other eight studio sets, from the thrash juggernaut of 1983's Kill ‘Em All to the questionable ProTools mess of 2003's St. Anger. Because to understand the future, you need look no further than the past. Or some shit like that. Here's some metal up your ass!

(If you missed it, be sure to check out Parts 1 (Kill 'Em All), 2 (Ride The Lightning) and 3 (Master Of Puppets)!)



PART FOUR: …AND JUSTICE FOR ALL

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Metallica's third album, Master Of Puppets, was a monster success for the band. It remained on the album charts for an astonishing 72 weeks and, today, is certified 6x platinum. That success is owed completely to Metallica's relentless touring, as radio wasn't touching them in the mid-80's. Following Puppets' release, the band had a huge tour with Ozzy Osbourne and then headed overseas for a set of European dates. But tragedy would strike.

On September 27, 1986, as the band travelled through Sweden overnight from one gig to another, slick road conditions caused the bus to slide and tip over. Hetfield, Hammet and Ulrich, along with the bus driver, were unharmed, but bassist Cliff Burton was pinned underneath the overturned vehicle. He was killed on impact.

The band seriously considered throwing in the towel upon Burton's death, but decided that the late bassist would have wanted Metallica to continue. Extensive auditions for a new bassist were held in San Francisco. A bass player named Jason Newsted, who had previously worked with thrash band Flotsam And Jetsam, landed the job. Newsted was thrown in the mix to complete Metallica's 1987 tour.

To introduce the new line-up, the band released a 5-song EP of covered called Garage Days Re-Revisited. The set, which featured songs by Diamond Head, Killing Joke, the Misfits and others, became Metallica's third gold record.

With Newsted firmly planted behind the bass and the time of mourning complete, Metallica released their fourth full length, …And Justice For All, in the late summer of 1988. …And Justice For All, managed to reach the Billboard Top 10 with zero commercial airplay. Connecting with a much wider audience, the band also issued their first music video for the single "One".

The 411 staff has decided to take a look back at the complex album that is …And Justice For All.



Do You Have This Album?

Mitch Michaels: Actually, yes, I just bought it today. For a long time, Justice was the only Metallica album I didn't own. I didn't mind because, honestly, it's never been my favorite. Plus, I had an mp3 of "One". Not that I've never heard Justice. I remember downloading it sometime in 1999 (along with the entire Live Sh@t album) during the heyday of ftp sites. The PC hard drive died, though, and so did my copy of …And Justice For All. However, just as I began writing this, I cruised over to the Amazon MP3 store and made an honest man of myself. I have to say, for $8 it was a steal, plus I got two live bonus tracks.

Jesse Coy: Damn! You're skipping Metallica's best album, Garage Days Re-revisited and going out of order here? Okay, if we must... yes, I own it. I picked it up when it came out. If you were a thrasher in the late 80's, it was sort of mandatory. I heard the entire album first on the heavy metal, thrash, hardcore, punk college radio station I listened to at the time... remember, college radio? They actually had permission to play entire albums back then.

Dan Marsicano: I do have the album and I picked it up a few years back. I already had a few Metallica albums, but I don't remember the exact time period when I bought it. Funny story though; I had the original CD, but it got stuck in my old laptop. I couldn't open up the CD drive, no matter how hard I try. So I had to burn a new CD, finding tracks online to replace it. I will probably buy a new one someday, but that goes to show how cheap I am to just re-buy a great album.

Michael Melchor: ...And Justice For All was almost an afterthought, despite the fact that this is where I first discovered metal. Prior to this, Metallica was an intimidating t-shirt that all the stoner kids wore in school. I never really heard the albums that came before this until some years later and, in a statement that may border on blasphemy, I don't know those as well as I do this one (though I do enjoy them today). That stigma of danger and "this-is-something-I'm-scared-to-fuck-with" surrounding them (in my eyes) stuck with me until one fateful day watching MTV.

The video for "One" was starting to make the rounds and once I saw it for the first time, it blew the crap out of all the other "metal" videos I had seen come before. The story of Johnny and the desperate race toward his conclusion by the band sucked me right in.

I loved the song, but then didn't really follow up on getting the full album. I started really listening to metal a couple years later when I got my hands on Anthrax's Persistence Of Time. After making that slight detour – and after wearing out my cassette single of "One" – I picked up and heard all of ...And Justice For All. I've loved that album like one of my children ever since.

Ben Piper: Ben Piper: Again, bought it within two weeks of it being released.


What Tracks Do You Love?

Mitch Michaels: You can't mention …And Justice For All without mentioning "One", which, of all the "#4 track power ballads" is Metallica's absolute best. And that fucking video! How can you not love this one? But re-listening to the album now for the first time in several years, I'm stricken by how amazing "Blackened" is – fucking brutal. I also never hear "The Shortest Straw" getting any props, but Kirk Hammett is playing for his fucking life on that one.

Jesse Coy: "Blackened" follows the format of other intense openers from the previous two albums (that Metallica blueprint recycled), but for some reason, tends to be my favorite opener. I think part of the reason was because I like the dry production of this album, and the opener introduced it in a quick burst. Then there's the title track... kind of grand like the last album's title track, but with this new and drier production that I liked.

Dan Marsicano: "Blackened" and "Dyers Eve" are two thrashers in the vein of "Battery" and "Damage Inc." off of Master of Puppets, only taken even more to the edge than those two tracks. The title track is the most epic song the band has ever done, with time changes and progressive elements that were much different than fans were used to. Of course, we also have the ballad "One" that made the band famous, and with good reason. The last three minutes of the song is probably the most memorable Metallica moment of all time, in my opinion. The instrumental "To Live Is To Die" is a little long, but the emotion is there, and you can also hear the pain coming out of the band over Cliff's death. The main verse, written by Cliff and spoken by Hetfield, is the most somber passage of the album.

Michael Melchor: Obviously, "One" holds a near-and-dear place in my heart for being one of the songs that finally converted me to a violently gorgeous genre. There are several songs on here that stick out – "And Justice For All", "Harvester Of Sorrow", "Dyer's Eve", "Blackened"...it's almost unfair to single out specific songs because this, in my eyes, is one of those seldom treats; hell nowadays it's downright rare.

...And Justice For All is on the short list of albums that can be enjoyed beginning-to-end with no weak spot or sign of slowing down in sight. The musicianship here is at its peak. There are several breaks in the lyrics to take some long and winding turns, but it all comes back home by the end of each track (whereas, especially on Kill ‘Em All, a couple songs in their canon before this simply don't feel like they'll ever end). Every note and beat – from the locomotive rhythm of "Eye Of The Beholder" to the slow build into desperation of "One" – ties together for an amazing experience.

Ben Piper: The entire first side. "Blackened" - awesome opening track in which Jason Newkid makes his first contribution, songwriting-wise, by coming up with the main verse riff. What really sells it for me is the start of the middle section leading up to the solo, which progressively builds with the sub-tones. "...And Justice For All" - Truly. Epic. 'Nuff Said. " Eye of the Beholder" just for its simplistic yet punchy intro. "One". The be-all end-all with regards to Metallica ballads. Overplayed? Yes, but for good reason. Also, "Frayed Ends of Sanity" rocks my world, Wizard of Oz shout-out be damned. And "Dyers Eve" is an appropriate thrashy sign off.


What Tracks Do You Skip?

Mitch Michaels: As probably my second least favorite Metallica album, there's nothing I really HATE on Justice, other than the maddeningly muted production. Seriously, it couldn't sound worse if they'd just pushed "record" on a boombox. The title track is also waay too long and "The Frayed Ends Of Sanity" sounds like "hey, let's record seven minutes of Metallica riffs".

Jesse Coy: You know, I may actually skip or zone out on "One" sometimes. Metallica just got lucky and were a little ahead of the curve. But the truth is, there are several other thrash ballads from around the same time, some pre-dating this, better than "One." Overkill's "The Years of Decay," fucking great. Testament's "Ballad," very cool. Even Death Angel's "Veil of Deception" or Nuclear Assault's "Trail of Tears." I'm not saying "One" is a bad song, it was just WAY too overhyped. Oooooo! Metallica makes a video! Oooo! Are they selling out? Puh-lease... not all too earth-shattering.

Dan Marsicano: I find "The Shortest Straw" and "The Frayed Ends Of Sanity" to be too boring and drawn-out for my taste. However, the latter does have a great solo section, and a cheesy opening to boot.

Michael Melchor: Again, none of the above. This is virtually the perfect metal album; nothing here slows anything down or puts a black eye on the band's output at all.

Ben Piper: "To Live Is To Die". While I loved the previous instrumentals Metallica recorded, this one just falls flat for me. It's slow and plodding, and simply doesn't have the energy and spirit of its predecessors.



Final Thoughts

Mitch Michaels: Listening to …And Justice For All again for the first time in years, I realize I've given this album a bad rap. The power is there, even if I still can't stand the production. "One" and "Blackened" are still my favorites ("One" being an unbeatable fucking classic), but there a lot more cream here I've noticed rising to the top. A deserving follow-up to Master Of Puppets, if not quite on par with that record's greatness.

Jesse Coy: Frankly, if you think about it, maybe Metallica making their first video was a sign of them sucking a little... uh... MTV ("sexual organ in the lower abdominal region") (thank you, "I'm the Man"). It's not that making a video meant that. Lots of thrash bands made videos before Metallica did. It's just, making such a BIG THING out of making a video was a little lame. This may have been the turning point of when they began to take themselves WAY too seriously. What was the epitome of that? Some Kind of Monster, which has to be the funniest fake documentary since Spinal Tap. I laughed my ass off when I saw it.

Dan Marsicano: …And Justice For All was the end of an era for Metallica. After this, the commercial train would be taking the band on a one way trip to Sellout City. The production is bad, with the bass almost nonexistent, but that has never bothered me. The songwriting was top-notch, and even with more filler tracks than fans were used to, the band showed that even after the tragic death of bassist Cliff Burton, Metallica could still continue on. …And Justice For All is not Metallica's masterpiece, but it was a deep, progressive, and emotional album that left a mark not only on the band themselves, but on the fans as well.

Michael Melchor: As stated, ...And Justice For All is as good as it gets. Many love Kill ‘Em All and Ride The Lightning, but, for me, those two albums represent Metallica starting out very strong but still working on constructing a record that would stand as the epitome of heavy metal. ...And Justice For All is when they finally succeeded.

Ben Piper: While not on par with either Lightning or Master songwriting-wise, this is a solid entry in Metallica's catalog. If anything, their musicianship stepped up a notch. They continued to push the envelope creatively, and while this doesn't match the brilliance of what came before, it works for the most part. One of the shortcomings of this album is that it comes off as totally dry, and bass free. As it turns out, this was a conscience production decision by Lars and James from the word go. James wanted to hog all the frequencies and left Jason out of the mix altogether. While it doesn't completely hinder this recording, it's a foreshadowing of what would come with regards to poor production decisions in the future. It's a more than decent release. From an originality standpoint, it's all downhill from here. The last salvo from an important underground band before they stepped up and rightly took their place in the spotlight.

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Join us tomorrow as Metallica storms into the 90's (and onto radio) with their controversial self-titled album!