Metallica - ...And Justice For All Review
Contents |
General Information
Original Author: Slash91
Artist: Metallica
Album: ...And Justice for All
Genre: Heavy/Thrash/Speed Metal
Release date: 1988
Tracklist
1. Blackened
2. ...And Justice for All
3. Eye of the Beholder
4. One
5. The Shortest Straw
6. Harvester of Sorrow
7. The Frayed Ends of Sanitity
8. To Live is to Die
9. Dyer's Eve
Sound
First off, this album is not in my opinion a thrash metal album. It is much slower but far heavier than any of Metallica's previous albums. The reason I still classified it as thrash/speed metal is because that is officially what it is classified on all sources that I have ever looked at. That being said, this transition from thrash to heavy metal is actually quite refreshing and enjoyable. 10/10
Guitar Work
The riffs on this album are absolutely crushing, some of Hetfield's best. They are more creative and complex than in Metallica's previous albums, and they all have great feels to them. Kirk Hammet's lead style also feels different and re-vamped in a very good way. If many of the solos in ...And Justice for All were played without Jame's awesome riffing in the background they would sound quite ridiculous, but they fit PERFECTLY with the backing. Both the rythem and lead on this album are great, possibley better than that of Master of Puppets. 9/10
Bass
This is where ...And Justice for All falls completely apart. In the recording process it seems that Metallica decided to all but leave the bass out. Every once in a while, a little bass run can be heard, but it is certainly not enough at all. 2/10
==Drums== I've never been paticularly impressed with him, but Lars really does a good job on ...And Justice for All. Every once in a while, he'll throw in a completely awesome sounding fill. The best drumming of any Metallica album ihmo. 8/10
Vocals
One word- AMAZING. Jame's really outdoes himself here. If you listen to previous Metallica albums, a transition can most assuredly be heard in his voice. In ...And Justice for All, it has completely transformed from a high-pitched thrash voice to a low, deep, crushing tone just perfect for heavy metal. It's sad that Jame's voice started going downhill after this album, but at least we can still enjoy him in his prime. I'd better stop now, or I'll take up a page ranting about how good his voice is. 10/10
Lyrics
Also amazing. If you were to compare these lyrics to those on say...Ride the Lightning, it would be very obvious that Jame's has matured immensly in his ablity to write lyrics. Unlike the lyrics of Metallica's previous albums, which deal mainly with destruction, anger, death, etc., these are far more politically oriented, hence the name ...And Justice for All. The previous themes are still present in this album (especially anger- just listen to Harvester of Sorrow lol) but they are not as prominent. 10/10
...And Justice for All
Lady Justice Has Been Raped
Truth Assassin
Rolls of Red Tape Seal Your Lips
Now You're Done in
Their Money Tips Her Scales Again
Make Your Deal
Just What Is Truth? I Cannot Tell
Cannot Feel
The Ultimate in Vanity
Exploiting Their Supremacy
I Can't Believe the Things You Say
I Can't Believe
I Can't Believe the Price We Pay
Nothing Can Save You
Justice Is Lost
Justice Is Raped
Justice Is Gone
Pulling Your Strings
Justice Is Done
Seeking No Truth
Winning Is All
Find it So Grim
..........So True
..........So Real
Seeking No Truth
Winning Is All
Find it So Grim
..........So True
..........So Real
One
I can't remember anything
Can't tell if this is true or dream
Deep down inside I feel to scream
This terrible silence stops me
Now that the war is through with me
I'm waking up I cannot see
That there is not much left of me
Nothing is real but pain now
Hold my breath as I wish for death
Oh please God, wake me
Back in the womb it's much too real
In pumps life that I must feel
But can't look forward to reveal
Look to the time when I'll live
Fed through the tube that sticks in me
Just like a wartime novelty
Tied to machines that make me be
Cut this life off from me
Hold my breath as I wish for death
Oh please God, wake me
Now the world is gone, I'm just one
Oh God, help me hold my breath as I wish for death
Oh please God, help me
Darkness imprisoning me
All that I see
Absolute horror
I cannot live
I cannot die
Trapped in myself
Body my holding cell
Land mine has taken my sight
Taken my speech
Taken my hearing
Taken my arms
Taken my legs
Taken my soul
Left me with life in hell
Dyers Eve
Dear Mother
Dear Father
Time Has Frozen Still What's Left to Be
Hear Nothing
Say Nothing
Cannot Face the Fact I Think for Me
No Guarantee, it's Life As Is
But Damn You for Not Giving Me My Chance
Dear Mother
Dear Father
You've Clipped My Wings Before I Learned to Fly
Unspoiled
Unspoken
I've Outgrown That Fucking Lullaby
Same Thing I've Always Heard from You
Do as I Say Not as I Do
Innocence
Torn from Me Without Your Shelter
Barred Reality
I'm Living Blindly
I'm in Hell Without You
Cannot Cope Without You Two
Shocked at the World That I See
Innocent Victim Please Rescue Me
Dear Mother
Dear Father
Hidden in Your World You've Made for Me
I'm Seething
I'm Bleeding
Ripping Wounds in Me That Never Heal
Undying Spite I Feel for You
Living out this Hell You Always Knew.
Overall Impression
This is Metallica's most complex, technical album to date. It is very unfortunate that they decided to cut the bass out, or I would rate it above Master of Puppets. Hopefully we'll something very much like this in February. 9/10
