| …And Justice For All, referred to as Justice in this
review to save my typing hands is without question a fucker of an album,
a monster without apology, without remorse or repent. Marking the
beginning of an era with new bassist Jason Newsted in tow, Justice had
to make a name for itself.
Kicking off with the perfectly crafted
Blackened you know that this album is not to be crossed, still a track
that is frequently played live and still very much a fan favourite.
Justice, the song is an epic, verging on progressive metal takes you
through a full on metal journey, lyrics very political, lengthy guitar
solos, a band really showcasing their talent. Eye of the Beholder
follows this up with style although not perhaps the strongest track on
the album a belter, regardless. A song quite honestly that found its
home cut down in length on the Justice Medley played on the Black Album
tour.
One is probably the track that stands
out from the album the most and I’d imagine many peoples favourite
track. The video made for the song helped consolidate that position even
more. Featuring footage from the film Johnny Got His Gun. Essentially a
song about war, inspiring vocals, a perfectly moulded song, with the
right amount of quiet parts, heavy as fuck parts, the infamous double
kick section and of course Kirks amazing solo.
Shortest Straw up next, one of my
favourites off the album, a great thrash track, would be nice to see
this song put in the set list now, that would be great to hear.
Harvester of Sorrow a real stomper of a song, still a part of the
setlist and still a favourite, all intact with evil vocals from Jaymz
and strong chorus sing-a-long. Frayed Ends of Sanity another one of the
more forgotten tracks of the album, but a classic nonetheless, really
technical playing from all quarters growing into a really frantic mid
section before rocking out till the end like a real treat.
To Live is to Die is a lengthy piece
that has many uses of light and shade, a progressive beginning to a
beautiful mid section before picking itself back up for the heavy end,
with a spoken word part using some of Cliff Burton’s poetry this truly
is a great track, Lars’ drumming as tight as a gnats arse,
consolidated with great guitar work. Which of course takes us to the
album closer, the mighty Dyers Eve, only just seen the light of day in
2004’s set lists. A true thrash metal frenzy, lyrics covering the
topic of a child trying to survive in a world where strict parents
reign, we may see some direct parallels between Jaymz childhood here,
where Christian Science was the belief of his parents, something
Hetfield had great difficulty coming to terms with.
Overall Justice is an incredible album,
further defining their stance in the world of metal. Its only fault it
could be argued is the production. Rather thin, largely ignoring the
bass frequencies. It is an issue that the band has had with the album
since its release in ‘88. Jason always claimed that the album didn’t
feel too good for him because of this reason. Although he claimed that
he was as much responsible for this as were the rest of the band. The
next thing that people took issue with was the complicated arrangements
and time changes that were thrown in all through the album, however,
this seems to be what makes this album so unique and special. Justice is
yet another Metallica album that stood the test of time and yet another
Metallica album that showed the world what they were capable of. A
classic album.
Olly Smith (what a gem!)
2004
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