UMUR
"Justice for All" is an EP release by US, Arlington, Texas based doom metal act Solitude Aeturnus. The EP was released through Doomed Planet Records in 2000. "Justice for All" doesn´t feature contemporary original material though, as it´s sort of a compilation, featuring 6 tracks from the band´s two pre-album demos "And Justice For All... (1988)" (originally released under the Solitude monicker) and "Demo 1989)". 5 tracks from the former and 1 track from the latter. So "Justice for All" is basically a reissue of the "And Justice For All... (1988)" demo with a bonus track. Some of the material featured on the two original cassette tape demos would appear in re-recorded versions on subsequent studio albums.
Stylistically the music on the EP is epic doom metal and Trouble and especially Candlemass are valid references. The tracks from the "And Justice For All... (1988)" demo features Kristoff Gabehart on vocals while "Opaque Divinity (3/89)" from "Demo 1989)" features Robert Lowe. The latter is a strong vocalist and the Solitude Aeturnus singer who most people probably know as he performs on the "classic" studio albums by the band. Kristoff Gabehart is not without skills though and while his low register singing/talking type vocals aren´t the most appealing, his more powerful and majestic vocals are of a good quality.
The material are well written heavy doom metal tunes packed in an epic atmosphere. There are occasional nods toward traditional heavy metal and thrash metal in the music too. Considering that the tracks are demo material from 1988-89 the sound quality is relatively well sounding. The guitars are slightly thin sounding and there´s a bit too much reverb on the drums, but other than that the EP is well produced.
So upon conclusion "Justice for All" is well worth a listen if you´re a fan of Solitude Aeturnus. The more casual listener is recommended starting with the "regular" studio albums. With that said the quality of the material featured on this EP is still so high, that a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.