Yes, friends, it’s been 25 years since Metallica’s …And Justice for All album, released on August 25, 1988, and I still feel it’s the heaviest album in the band’s catalog. It was the first album without bassist Cliff Burton, the first album with Jason Newsted, and the first album from which a Metallica music video would come from. Justice is also one of Metallica’s most bottom-heavy works, despite the lack of bass guitar.
I still remember the first time I heard …And Justice for All, and let me tell you, it pretty much changed my life forever. See, prior to hearing this album I was pretty much a hard rock/classic rock type of guy, but hearing this opened the door to a whole new world of experiences to be had. A friend of mine had lent his double vinyl to me, which I promptly dubbed to cassette (am I dating myself yet?). From that point forward, Metallica’s …And Justice for All was a pretty consistent companion on my way to school.
Let us know below where you were the first time you heard …And Justice for All, if you were around to experience it the first time.
There are so many good tracks on this album outside of “One,” which was amazing back in the day and still amazing now — just a little overdone. For me, however, I was really drawn to “Blackened,” “Harvester of Sorrow,” “Shortest Straw,” and, last but not least, “Dyers Eve.” In many ways, I wish Metallica had stuck to the road they were on with this album — I wonder what that shit would have sounded like if they’d skipped the self-titled Black album.
In the video clip at Loudwire, Newsted talks about …And Justice for All and the age of the album — and about the remix with bass some kid gave to him. It’s pretty cool to hear “the outsider” reminisce about the era.
Rock Hard \m/
