Metallica--...And Justice For All (1988)
Rating--8.6
Whether you want to hear it or not, this was the beginning of the end. I'm going to bitch at some point during this review, so
it might as well be now. And I paraphrase: "We don't give a damn about commercialism. We'll never make a video. We love
doing what we do, and love our true fans. We are true metal... umm.. but here, MTV-- here's a video for 'One'." Uhhhhhh....OK.
The breakdown: Metallica had built an amazing "underground" following, so when the video for "One" came out (another
version of "Fade to Black" or "Sanitarium"), kiddies thought it would be sooooo cool to follow this tough band around. So 'Justice'
gives the boys their first real taste at major commercial and financial success, and they think, "Hey...I wonder what would happen if
we were to put out a bunch of videos, and stop writing mean-as-shit metal, and just put out sheep fodder??" And you know the rest
of the story....
The bitch session is pretty much over---let's get to the music. And for the most part, good music it is. The drums
on this CD are a bit too stiff and mechanical sounding, and the songs don't breathe and kill like before, but the band itself has never
been tighter in its playing. "Blackened" starts things out in strong fashion, with an excellent mid-riff and slow down section. The
opening chug of "Eye of the Beholder" is excellent, and the title song has a good groove as well.
"Harvester of Sorrow" is total
slow churn, and excellent to the last drop-- and "To Live is to Die" is similar in sound. The album's top highlight is "The Shortest Straw".
I saw an NFL special one time on a group of hard-hitting defensive players, and one of the video clips showed some of the meanest
blows, and "Straw" was the background music for the segment. And that pretty much sums up the song---brutal, tight, and crushing.
And what about "One"? Even with the strong solo and end section, it just doesn't create the same mood as the above mentioned cuts
from earlier albums. It's OK, but nothing great---a fact that the true fans have always known, despite the baaa-ing of the flock.
TRACK LIST: Blackened/...And Justice For All/Eye of the Beholder/One/The Shortest Straw/Harvester of Sorrow/The Frayed
Ends of Sanity/To Live is to Die/Dyers Eve
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