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Rating:
Perhaps you are wondering why I chose, 23 years later, to review an album like "...And Justice For All". Simply because it is a must for every lover of extreme music and because from time to time it is necessary to dust off "old" works that have marked generations of enthusiasts (if ever there were a need, it is not my intention to appear as one of the few "suitable" for this task). Works that are chronologically placed in the '80s and early '90s, still unsurpassed today and that, judging by what is heard today, will hardly even be touched. For the record, let us recall "The Number Of The Beast", "Master Of Puppets", "Reign In Blood", "Rust In Piece", "Cowboys From Hell", just to name the most famous ones (but there are many more). Here, "...And Justice For All"" belongs to this category.
That being said, let's focus on the album in question: the first thing you notice on a first listen is undoubtedly a renewed sound compared to its predecessors; the tone of the guitars is dry, clean, more brutal and sharp compared to what was heard in "Master Of Puppets", although it loses something (but very little) in terms of richness. Ulrich's drumming is truly heavy, with a snare drum that sounds dry and rocky and prominent double bass drums. The only flaw is the almost total lack of bass in the mixing phase, which is a real shame because Newsted's excellent work would have added that rough touch to an already sonically violent album.
The opening is entrusted to the tremendous "Blackened"; it starts with a fade-in of harmonized guitars that flows into a dynamic and powerful riff, all supported by an ultra-fast Ulrich on the drums. The song has a tripartite structure: first part very fast, second slow and dark (2:36), third more dynamic (4:10) with interlude and a stunning solo by Kirk Hammett, certainly one of the best of his career. We move on to the title track where the pace slows down, but the power is the same: the delicate acoustic guitar introduction should not be misleading because the following riffs show that the Four Horsemen manage to impress even without speed, with cadenced and well-rhythmed riffs. The pace drops further with the gloomy "Eye Of The Beholder", in which Hetfield's cavernous voice speaks of threatened liberty, violated often, too many times; a good track perhaps underrated. And here comes the time for one of those songs that never fade away, a true masterpiece capable of delivering intense emotions (even more so when performed live): this is the famous "One". A socially committed text, it is not the usual, sometimes even banal, condemnation of war but a vortex of contrasts (life/death, love/hate, hope/despair) that can be heard not only in the lyrics but in every single played note. And so after the splendid clean arpeggios regularly followed by a refrain with very distorted guitars, we move to a moment of tension (around the fourth minute) where the sound thickens; in the melancholy progression, we reach the obvious awareness that war can only bring destruction: the sixteenth notes played with double bass drums and with palm muting on the low E string of the guitar clearly allude to the sound of a machine gun that leaves no escape: it is a symbol of death. Hammett's solo is moving but at the same time fast; the final part proceeds at a brisk pace as Metallica usually do. Breathtaking. We continue with "The Shortest Straw", dynamic and hard as a boulder; here Hammett gives us a stylistically flawless solo and one of the most complex on the album. The following "Harvester Of Sorrow" stands out for its cadenced rhythm and the powerful stops of great impact. "The Frayed Ends Of Sanity" is a more than decent mid-tempo, maybe it’s the worst track on the album, but still maintains very high levels, to be clear; the choruses at the beginning of the song are very effective and sound quite eerie, also the schizophrenic riff conveys well the idea of what is intended to be transmitted to the listener; the only flaw is the presence of a few dead spots. And we come to the instrumental "To Live Is To Die" dedicated to the talented bassist Cliff Burton, who died in a cursed road accident during a Metallica tour in Sweden. Heartbreaking track, it is all a succession of solos that convey desolation and melancholy, with the obsessiveness of one who still struggles to accept the brutality of events. And it is precisely brutality that dominates the last track, namely "Dyers Eve", a very fast piece in which Hetfield deals with the problematic relationship with parents and the education received from them. Pure Thrash Metal: shouted lyrics, hammering double bass drums. Devastating. This concludes the album listening, after more than 65 minutes of sonic violence that leaves wreckage behind.
Compared to previous works, the times further expand (more than 7 minutes per song on average) showing a clear progressive attitude, with well-studied tracks, intricate in their time changes, their irregular metrics, and the use of syncopations and countertimes. Also to be noted are the broad instrumental sections with solos of fine quality and passages with harmonized guitars also noteworthy, not to mention an amazing rhythm section, a trademark of Metallica from the beginning. There's little to criticize about the individual performances: everyone gives their best. As already said, a more prominent bass would have further benefited the overall sound, as would an "ambient" effect that is really nonexistent (as if the sounds were "canned"). It's really a pity that some band members (particularly Lars Ulrich) let themselves go and did not maintain the good level reached in this masterpiece (technically the band's peak).
In conclusion, "...And Justice For All" is an album not easy to listen to that is absorbed after multiple times, both because of the particularly intricate structure of the songs and the cold, rough sound. It should be listened to with both the heart and the mind. Historic record (perhaps more important than its predecessor in some ways) that defines new stylistic standards and that will be crucial for the development of future currents, like groove. Obviously, it's not the only one to do so, and anyway these are entirely debatable considerations. The fact remains that "...And Justice For All" is indispensable both for die-hard fans and for anyone intending to hear what Metallica managed to produce (old bygone times...).
Simply: listen to it.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Blackened (06:43)
Blackened is the end
Winter it will send
Throwing all you see
Into obscurity
Death of Mother Earth
Never a rebirth
Evolution's End
Never will it mend
Never
Fire
To begin whipping dance of the dead
Blackened is the end
To begin whipping dance of the dead
Color our world blackened
Blistering of Earth
Terminate its worth
Deadly nicotine
Kills what might have been
Callous frigid chill
Nothing left to kill
Never seen before
Breathing nevermore
Never
Fire
To begin whipping dance of the dead
Blackened is the end
To begin whipping dance of the dead
Color our world blackened
Blackened
Opposition (opposition)
Contradiction (contradiction)
Premonition (premonition)
Compromise
Agitation (agitation)
Violation (violation)
Mutilation (mutilation)
Planet Dies
Darkest color
Blistered Earth
True death of life
Termination (termination)
Expiration (expiration)
Cancellation (cancellation)
Human Race
Expectation (expectation)
Liberation (liberation)
Population (population)
Lay to waste
See our mother
Put to death
See our mother die
-Solo-
Smoldering decay
Take your breath away
Millions of our years
In minutes disappears
Darkening in vain
Decadence remains
All is said and done
Never is the sun
Never
Fire
To begin whipping dance of the dead
Blackened is the end
To begin whipping dance of the dead
Fire
Is the outcome of hypocrisy
Darkest potency
In the exit of humanity
Color our world blackened
Blackened
02 ...and Justice for All (09:45)
Halls of justice painted green
Money talking
Power wolves beset your door
Hear them stalking
Soon you'll please their appetite
They devour
Hammer of justice crushes you
Overpower
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 you 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
Apathy their stepping stone
So unfeeling
Hidden deep animosity
So deceiving
Through your eyes their light burns
Hoping to find
Inquisition sinking you
With prying minds
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 you 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
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 us
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
03 Eye of the Beholder (06:25)
Do you see what I see?
Truth is an offence
Your silence for your confidence
Do you hear what I hear?
Doors are slamming shut
Limit your imagination, keep you where they must
Do you feel what I feel?
Bittering distress
Who decides what you express?
Do you take what I take?
Endurance is the word
Moving back instead of forward seems to me absurd
Doesn't matter what you see
Or into it what you read
You can do it your own way
If it's done just how I say
Independence limited
Freedom of choice is made for you my friend
Freedom of speech is words that they will bend
Freedom with their exception
Do you fear what I fear?
Living properly
Truths to you are lies to me
Do you choose what I choose?
More alternatives
Energy derives from both the plus and negative
Do you need what I need?
Boundaries overthrown
Look inside, to each his own
Do you trust what I trust?
Me, myself, and I
Penetrate the smoke screen, I see through the selfish lie
Doesn't matter what you see
Or into it what you read
You can do it your own way
If it's done just how I say
Independence limited
Freedom of choice is made for you my friend
Freedom of speech is words that they will bend
Freedom with their exception
Do you know what I know?
Your money and your wealth
Your silent just to hear yourself
Do you want what I want?
Desire not a thing
I hunger after independence, lengthen freedom's ring
Doesn't matter what you see
Or into it what you read
You can do it your own way
If it's done just how I say
Independence limited
Freedom of choice is made for you my friend
Freedom of speech is words that they will bend
Freedom no longer frees you
Doesn't matter what you see
Or into it what you read
You can do it your own way
If it's done just how I say
04 One (07:26)
I can't remember anything
Can't tell if this is true or a dream
Deep down inside I feel to scream
This terrible silence stops with me
Now that the war is through with me
I'm waking up, I cannot see
That there's 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
Landmine 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
05 The Shortest Straw (06:35)
Suspicion is your name
Your honesty to blame
Put dignity to shame
Dishonor
Witchhunt, modern day
Determining decay
The blatant disarray
Disfigure
The public eyes' disgrace
Defying common place
Unending paper chase
Unending
Deafening
Painstaking
Wreckening
This vertigo it doth bring
Shortest straw
Challenge liberty
Downed by law
Live in infamy
Rub you raw
Witchhunt riding through
Shortest straw
This shortest straw has been pulled for you
Pulled for you
Shortest straw
Pulled for you
Shortest straw
Pulled for you
Shortest straw
Shortest straw has been pulled for you
The accusations fly
Discrimination, why?
Your inner self to die
Intruding
Doubt sunk itself in you
It's teeth and talons through
You're living catch-22
Deluding
A mass hysteria
A megalomania
Reveal dementia
Reveal
Secretly
Silently
Certainly
In vertigo you will be
Shortest straw
Challenge liberty
Downed by law
Live in infamy
Rub you raw
Witchhunt riding through
Shortest straw
This shortest straw has been pulled for you
Pulled for you
Shortest straw
Pulled for you
Shortest straw
Pulled for you
Shortest straw
Shortest straw has been pulled for you
Shortest straw
Pulled for you
Shortest straw
Pulled for you
Shortest straw
Pulled for you
Shortest straw
Shortest straw has been pulled for you
Behind you, hands are tied
Your being, ostracized
Your hell is multiplied
Upending
The fallout has begun
Oppressive damage done
Your many turned to none
To nothing
You're reaching your nadir
Your will has disappeared
The lie is crystal clear
Defending
Channels red
One word said
Blacklisted
With vertigo make you dead
Shortest straw
Challenge liberty
Downed by law
Live in infamy
Rub you raw
Witchhunt riding through
Shortest straw
This shortest straw has been pulled for you
06 Harvester of Sorrow (05:45)
My life suffocates
Planting the seeds of hate
I've loved, turned to hate
Trapped far beyond my fate
I give
You take
This life that I forsake
Been cheated of my youth
You turned this lie to truth
Anger
Misery
You'll suffer unto me
Harvester of sorrow
Language of the mad
Harvester of sorrow
Pure black looking clear
My work is done soon here
Try getting back to me
Get back what used to be
Drink up
Shoot in
Let the beatings begin
Distributor of pain
Your loss becomes my gain
Anger
Misery
You'll suffer unto me
Harvester of sorrow
Language of the mad
Harvester of sorrow
All have said their prayers
Invade their nightmares
To see into my eyes
You'll find where murder lies
Infanticide
Harvester of sorrow
Language of the mad
Harvester of sorrow
Language of the mad
Harvester of sorrow
09 Dyers Eve (05:14)
Dear Mother
Dear Father
What is this hell you have put me through
Believer
Deceiver
Day in day out live my life through you
Pushed onto me what's wrong or right
Hidden from this thing that they call life
Dear Mother
Dear Father
Every thought I'd think you'd disapprove
Curator
Dictator
Always censoring my every move
Children are seen but are not heard
Tear out everything inspired
Innocence
Torn from me without your shelter
Barred reality
I'm living blindly
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
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Other reviews
By cliffburton86
Like a thunderbolt from the clear blue sky, like a Ferrari racing at 280km through the city center,...“And justice for all” arrives and devastates the world!
Perhaps the last, true, magnificent, unforgettable masterpiece of Metallica.
By Gianluca_90
It is impeccable from a musical standpoint, played to perfection.
A good album to get closer to the Metallica sound, but here’s a tip: 'Kill ‘Em All', 'Ride The Lightning', 'Master of Puppets', THOSE ARE ALBUMS THAT REALLY KICK ASS!!!!!
By evileye9000
"...And Justice For All is the band’s most technical and musically complex CD and is certainly among the most difficult to listen to."
"'One' is undoubtedly among Hetfield & Co.’s best songs, starting as a ballad and building to an immortal final part."
By power85
It's the best Metallica album and stands out from the rest of their trash like a beacon in the dark.
The impression is of a mediocre band trying, perhaps successfully, to produce a better and more original album than their previous ones.
By Frenk
‘...And Justice For All’ represents, for many, the pinnacle of the band; it is still a historical thrash album.
The clean riff in ‘One’ is one of those reflective ones, Hetfield at his best.
