«…And Justice for All» is Metallica’s fourth album, released on 7 September 1988 by Elektra Records. It is the band’s first complete work with Jason Newsted on bass, after Cliff Burton’s death in 1986. Production was handled by Flemming Rasmussen and the recordings took place in early 1988 at One on One Recording Studios in Los Angeles. The line-up is James Hetfield on vocals and rhythm guitar, Kirk Hammett on lead guitar, Jason Newsted on bass and Lars Ulrich on drums.
“`Country: USA
Genre: Thrash Metal
For fans of: Megadeth, Slayer, Testament
The album is more complex than its predecessors. The songs move fast but have many parts and changes, with few classic verse-chorus structures. The sound is dry and the drums come through clearly, while the bass sits low in the mix — a detail still discussed to this day. Above everything stand the riffs, tight and dark, and Hetfield’s vocals, cleaner and sharper than before.
The album opens with «Blackened» and continues with the title track «…And Justice for All». «One» stands out: it begins quietly with acoustic guitar, then erupts into a fast second half, and it became the band’s first video. Next to them are «Harvester of Sorrow» with its heavy riff and «Eye of the Beholder». The lyrics deal with political and legal injustice, censorship and war, with the title taken from the American pledge of allegiance.
The cover shows Lady Justice bound with ropes, with banknotes falling from her scales. The album sold very well, climbed high in the charts and gave the band three singles. The tour that followed, Damaged Justice, ran for months. For many fans, this is where Metallica’s first, classic era ends.
See also
See also: Megadeth – Rust in Peace and The old school thrash albums that laid the foundations of the genre.
