...And Justice for All

...And Justice for All is a work on which METALLICA built a hard, massive world through long song construction, riffs that bend many times over, and a rhythm that holds tension. The songs do not head easily toward resolution, placing the listener within an unstable tension. Welcoming Jason Newsted — who joined after tragedy — as its new bassist, the band pushed to the extreme of technique and construction. As the dramatic construction of “One” and the title track show, the shadow that gazes at war and injustice is deep, not just aggression. Songs like “Blackened,” “Harvester of Sorrow” and “Dyers Eve” house complex construction and ferocity too. A long instrumental-like development like “To Live Is to Die” is striking. The sound image with bass mixed low drew mixed reactions, but its hard, ambitious sound is an overwhelming record that pushed the limits of thrash metal.