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In 1988, Cliff Burton, the legendary bassist, had been dead for two years. The Metallica, however, after three masterpiece albums in the thrash metal realm, prove despite everything that they are still alive and kicking. "...And Justice For All" represents, for many, the pinnacle of the band; it is still a historical thrash album, and I personally find it absolutely incredible that after an album like "Master Of Puppets," without the greatest bassist one can remember, Metallica managed not to lower the bar. A masterpiece follows a masterpiece, and let's tell it.
Intro in Fade In... It paralyzes you, prepares you for a listening experience that lasts several minutes, minutes of power, anger, but also of great class. And Blackened proves it right away: sharp riffs, incredibly powerful drums. There's already something different: it's not just the recording that is still poor, the sound clarity is amazing if we're talking about thrash, especially after listening to "Kill 'Em All." The song has a catchy rhythm and chorus, Newsted is barely heard, buried by the power of the other three. Midway through, there is one of the most beautiful reflective digressions I can remember in Metallica's career, worthy of Master Of Puppets, Lars keeps a very, very interesting tempo while James and Kirk dialogue. Then the solo starts, I'm not one of Hammett's biggest solo fans, but this one can be counted among those I find spot-on.
The title track, "...And Justice For All," doesn't break the pace; once again, we're faced with a very powerful song with an incredibly interesting riff. James' vocals are captivating, blending superbly with the guitars showcasing riffs never so fast and precise. Indeed, we won't see them anymore. A wonderful track that, despite its length, does not bore, with several tempo changes, Lars is truly captivating here.
"Eye Of The Beholder" opens with a riff accompanied by the usual drums. The track is a bit trippy, a little less engaging than what we've heard so far, but the solo isn't bad. But Metallica is about to dazzle with a track in the style of Fade To Black, a classic, "One." After a machine gun start, the intro indeed recalls its ancestor, this flashback sensation has always made me prefer Fade, but still, we are faced with a new masterpiece. As the song progresses, it gains personality in an exhilarating way, very aggressive in the chorus but only for a few seconds. The clean riff is one of those reflective ones, Hetfield at his best. The song then explodes in the grand finale, the guitar riff really sounds like gunshots working superbly along with Lars' pedals, a massive solo, and then nonstop headbanging to the end. Great.
"The Shortest Straw" is a bit understated within the album, the solo deserves attention (yes, this album has the highest concentration of great solos, at least that's what I think). A track that doesn't leave you very satisfied but no worries, "Harvester Of Sorrow" is another gem, one of my favorite pieces. A Spanish-like riff and then into a much nastier and truly captivating one, anyone would feel like nodding to the beat in Harvester. A captivating song, rather complex and never predictable in its development.
"The Frayed Ends Of Sanity" is a nice piece, one of those that never stops. I see Hetfield increasingly inspired... Beautiful nonetheless, it fits in there with dignity. "To Live Is To Die" is an instrumental of impressive intensity, as was clear given the purpose: a dedication to the late Cliff Burton. In reality, the piece was based on some riffs already written by Cliff, later completed by James and Lars. The only sung verse was indeed written by Burton:
"When a man lies, he kills some part of the world. These are the pale deaths which men miscall their lives. I can't bear to witness anymore of this. May the kingdom of salvation, take me home."
The title itself is a quote from Burton.
The tracklist concludes with "Dyers Eve." A track different from much of what has been heard so far, much more "dirty" old style, a very powerful stop (a formula often proposed by Metallica).
Ultimately, a must in the thrash and metal conversation: I would like to highlight the rhythmic part, which I find the most surprising of all. The bass is quite scarce, also due to Newsted's absence in the mixing phase: poor as well is the production, as even Ulrich would later admit ("It sounds like it was recorded in a matchbox"). The last thrash metal album from a band that made history in the genre.
Tracklist Lyrics Samples 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 Thrash_MTL6
"...And Justice For All is indispensable both for die-hard fans and for anyone intending to hear what Metallica managed to produce."
"The famous 'One' is a true masterpiece capable of delivering intense emotions, with a social and musical vortex of contrasts."
