METALLICA — ...And Justice for All (review)

METALLICA — ...And Justice for All album cover Album · 1988 · Thrash Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
FMOTP
AND JUSTICE FOR ALL... is almost Metallica at peak performance. For my money, MASTER OF PUPPETS takes the gold medal. Only a couple of songs on AND JUSTICE FOR ALL... hold it back. Therefore, this release is a 4 star album for me. One of the complaints often made about AND JUSTICE... refers to the sound quality. Although it could be a lot better, the sound quality does not ruin this album for me. Yes, the drums sound flat and you can hardly hear the bass. However, I'm not an audiophile; I don't care about song quality as long as I can hear the instruments. I usually listen to my music with Windows Media Player. The graphic equalizer is the best feature, and takes care of any sound quality issues with whatever music I have playing.

Now that I've probably spent too much world wide web space not talking about the music itself, let's talk about the music. I think we can agree that AND JUSTICE... is a key album in the history of metal. There's a reason that "One" and "And Justice..." are so familiar to millions of people. Metallica has stretched thrash metal to its breaking point here. This is one of several Metallica albums that exerted a huge influence on the course of heavy metal. For me, the only weak tracks are "Eye of the Beholder" and, to a lesser extent, "The Shortest Straw". I could easily live without them.

These two songs suggest an issue I'd like to comment on. AND JUSTICE FOR ALL... was originally released as a double album. I can't be the only one bothered by double CD releases that are barely longer than the running time of a single disc! Do the record companies really need to release double discs just to make more money? I personally think getting rid of "Eye of the Beholder" would make AND JUSTICE... a shorter, better album! Most of the songs on AND JUSTICE... are Metallica at the top of their game. That's what earns AND JUSTICE FOR ALL... an excellent rating.
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UMUR wrote:
more than 2 years ago
I actually enjoy the sound production too. But I understand people who aren´t too happy about not being able to hear the bass in the mix.
siLLy puPPy wrote:
more than 2 years ago
Great review! I actually love "Eye Of The Beholder" but agree "Shortest Straw" is the weakest track on the album, however every track doesn't have to be equal for me to be a masterpiece. I also seem to be one of the few who loves the production. While being a sophisticated pseudo-prog thrash album compositionally speaking, the filthy muddy production retains the angry garage metal roots and offers the best aspects of both sides of the metal universe. This probably ranks as one of my favorite albums of all time actually.

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