Rating: 
Summary: HAMMETT: THE #1 PERFORMANCE IN THE HISTORY OF THE AXE
Review: If "...And Justice for All" isn't Metallica's masterpiece, it's definately lead guitarist Kirk Hammett's. Hammett explodes on this album. His performance is jaw-dropping; simply unreal, perhaps the most amazing product of a six-string in the instrument's history. He is the most talented axe-man alive today.
Rating:
Summary: Best album ever made
Review: The first four Metallica albums make them by far the best band ever. 'Master of puppets' and '...And justice for all' are simply brilliant. Any band could only wish they ever wrote one song that's as good as Metallica's. When you want to hear what real music sounds like, listen to 'And justice for all'. They say it sounds like it was recorded in a restroom, but that never bothered me. It's only a shame that after the 'Black album' they could not hold on to the extremely high level of the early days.
Rating:
Summary: The great eulogy...
Review: This album is probably the most introspective album Metallica ever put out, at least in the eyes and ears of this listener. The late great Cliff Burton was given his just tribute with this signal that Metallica were going to continue his legacy through their own. This album has it all, death, pain, and despair, all in a search to pay justice to Cliff and all who admired both him and the band. This is their warcry against death, and what a cry it is. It crushes the skull. There are still traces of Burton's classical influence here, most of which would all but disappear in the next album."Blackened"- the opening track is one of the best album openers my ears have bled to in a long time. It's aggressive and dark, immediately drawing you into the band's lament at their fallen comrade. "And Justice for All"- now THIS is a great song. Sure it's long, but it is never dull. It shows the band in all their classical metal glory, consistently changing and always heavy! "Eye of the Beholder"- may all see the truth, for this is probably my second favorite song on this album. Listen to it, and if you don't see why...well, then you're as deaf, dumb, and blind as the forgotten soldier in the next track. "One"- who doesn't like this song? It is an epic testament to the evils of war, the ultimate symbol of our own inadequecies as people and our stupidity as a species...the fallen, forgotten soldier. The video took clips from the 1971 film "Johnny Got His Gun," which coincidentally mirrored the lyrics, though contrary to popular belief, Hetfield and Ulrich did not write this song about that movie...they hadn't even seen it at the time. Whatever, it is still probably their best known song. "The Shortest Straw"- just a great song. What else is there to say? "Harvester of Sorrow"- oh yeah! This song just cries out the sorrow the band had to be feeling with that dirge funeral march beat and heavy pounding guitar. Brilliant. "Frayed Ends of Sanity"- the use of the Wizard of Oz chant in the beginning made me laugh, but it certainly does add to the overall insanity. This could probably be best summed up lyrically as this album's "Sanitarium," only this one has a lightning fast rhythm and frantic solos that just scream with power throughout, instead of "Sanitarium"'s buildup. "To Live is to Die"- R.I.P. Cliff Burton. "Dyers Eve"- again, there is not much to say about this song other than it is a great closer and just another good song. I am somewhat disappointed with the production on this album, the bass being drowned out, but leep in mind people, it is not shitty production. It was done that way deliberately on the part of Hetfield and Ulrich because keep in mind they were still bitter and sorrowed over the loss of Cliff, and they took out their rage not only in the music but on the new guy...Newstead. Imagine the shit he went through from the other three during this period, and of course they're going to undermine him in any way they can without killing the music. Cut the album a break on that note, I'm tired of hearing about it. Anyway, this is certainly one of the best heavy metal albums of all time, and a great eulogy to the lost hero. If only the band could have continued in this direction instead of going down the tubes afterward. As good as the Black album was, it lacks the power and glory of this album. Hear the despair, enjoy the sorrow, buy this album.
Rating:
Summary: Great album (and not the last)
Review: This album, the last of the, and I quote, "old Metallica" albums, is truely amazing. It's not as good as "Ride the Lightning" or "Master of Puppets", but it more than shows off the brilliant musicianship that is Metallica. "One" stands out as one of the best songs of all time, although Pantera's "Cemetery Gates" is a close contender. "To Live is to Die" is great, even better than "The Call of Ktulu", although it is technically not an instrumental, because there are some words. Therefore, "Ktulu" stands as best instrumental ever. One thing you notice on this album is that it's a little more grim and foreboding than past albums, and that of course is because of the tragic death of bassist Cliff Burton. Very sad. Anyway, this album is great, so check it out. Oh, and contrary to what many may say, this is not the last good Metallica album. The Black album is awesome, and "Load" and "Reload", while different, are still more than worth getting. Hail Metallica, old and new!
Rating:
Summary: Clean and HEAVY!
Review: I have been listening to Metallica for many years now. I actually started with their "Black" album and worked my way forward before working my way back to their older titles like "and Justice for All" and "Master Of Puppets". Now I own every metallica release and I have never heard an album as clean cut for such heavy hard music. James' vocals are clear and totally understandable unlike alot of other metal bands with extremely loud mucic, which seems to drown out the vocals. So here you get an even mix of the music and voice and can actually understand the song lyrics. Despite the length of each of the songs, they all have a unique speed and rythym change somewhere in the song and almost seems like a new song within the song. I love every song on this title but am most impressed by "Blackened" and "Harvester Of Sorrow". "Blackened" just for its unbelievable speed without becoming a sloppy sounding song, and "Harvester Of Sorrow" for just plain HEAVY! Guitar solo's by Kirk are fantastic and I don't think Lars' drums have ever been so full of bass on the kick drum and so loud and clean and full of snap on the snare drum. I get pumped every time I listen to this album and will sometimes go for days just listening to this CD over and over, never tiring of it. If I didn't already own this one, I'd definately be buying it now!
Rating:
Summary: THE BEST
Review: MAKE NO MISTAKE ABOUT IT,AND JUSTICE FOR ALL IS ONE OF THE GREATIST METAL CD`S EVER.THE THING I LIKE BEST ABOUT METALLICA IS THE FACT THAT THEY BREAK ALOT OF THERE SONGS DOWN INTO 2 OR 3 DIFFERENT PARTS,CHANGING RHYTHEMS ALOT.THIS CD DOES IT BETTER THAN ANY OF THERE OTHER CD`S.FROM THE FIRST SONG BLACKENED,IT HITS YOU WITH A VERY HARD EDGE RIGHT AWAY.THE SONG ONE INSPIRED BY THE MOVIE JONHNY`S GOT HIS GUN IS JUST FANTASTIC.THE GREAT THING ABOUT THIS CD IS THERE ARE NO BAD SONG`S.GREAT PLACE TO START FOR NEW FANS.THIS IS A CD YOU WILL PLAY ALOT.
Rating:
Summary: THE BENCHMARK OF ALL THRASH AND PROG METAL
Review: Anger. Rage. Antisocial. Anti-just about everything this album is. Whoever calls Led Zeppelin the greatest metal band of all time is simply brain dead. Zeppelin was NOT a metal band, and when they would get into a progressive groove, they sounded dull and arrogant. Zep was great, but at least Metallica never got sued for ripping off other people's riffs (does Whole Lotta Love ring a bell?) And Justice for All got a little too prog at times, but is never boring, and when you break down the song structures, how they forced all the parts to fit perfectly is just a tiny demonstration of their supreme talent and skill level. In comparision with Puppets, both share the energy level and attitude. Justice however, has more focus in it's content of expressing rage. Hetfield's guitar tone is simply the be all and end all of metal guitar sound. Lars Ulruch's drumming is masterful, and propelled other great metal drumming styles like the great Vinnie Paul. Hammett's lead work while a bit short of his best, is still amazing considering his time frame (hey, you try to put tracks down on an album like this in 8 days, 16 hours a day). For true heartfelt anger with a real sense on real everyday life, there is no album heavier than this, you all know the songs so I wont bother to get into them in detail. One, Blackened, and Dyers Eve are obvious classics, but the title track, and The Frayed Ends of Sanity are golden as well. Actually, all the songs are great, BUT THE PRODUCTION, AAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHH! . It's relly not Newstead's fault the bass can't be heard. The duo of Hetfield and Ulrich (like Waters/Gilmour or Lennon/McArtney)tightly controlled this disc, and Newstead sufferes because of that by being forced to mimic James's rythym parts and drowned out by the guitars and drums. In closing, if you ever got screwed in a court case, fed up with politics, seriously distrust the government, have an issue with anger management, or just love superhumanly intelligent thrash metal,trust me, get this album. Would I lie to all you good people? I think not.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Incredible
Review: This (along with Puppets and the Black Album) are Metallica at their peak. I must admit I hated the CD when I first got it, and liked only One and Blackened. Then I got used to the length of the songs, and now I realize that each song is incredible with very melodic solos (Solos are especially awesome in Dyers Eve, the Frayed ends of sanity and To Live is to Die). Every song is awesome, but my favorites are naturally One, but also Dyers Eve, Blackened, and Eye of the Beholder. And To Live is To Die! That instrumental nearly brought tears to my eyes the first few times I heard it. It's a very epic, yet sad tribute to Cliff. In my opinion, To Live is to Die is the best thing Metallica has ever written. This CD is a MUST buy, although it may take a while to get used to.
Rating:
Summary: Metallica CAN do it without Cliff
Review: There were probably a lot of people that wondered what Metallica would be like without bassist Cliff Burton. I think that AJFA showed that Metallica did indeed survive that terrible loss, and it was possibly this album that engraved their name forever in music history. If you ask people what they think of when they hear the name 'Metallica,' many of them will probably say "Enter Sandman." However, I think that "One" would probably the second thing you would hear the most often. One was the first Metallica song to have a true music video, and it was also performed at the Grammy awards, and won for the best Heavy Metal song of the year. One is the song that made Metallica seem like a more legitimate band, when many people wouldn't accept them because of their rough exterior. Another amazing fact is that despite getting minimal radio or MTV play, AJFA debuted very high on the billboard charts, and to this day has sold over 7 million copies, the second most for a metallica album. Enough about commercial success, onto the songs. Obviously One is one of the albums biggest highlights. It features, in my opinion, one of the greatest guitar solos EVER, not to mention fantastic lyrics. Other highlights on the album include the title track, which is a weighty 9:43 minutes long. The solo on "eye of the beholder" is a memorable moment on the album, as is the simply BEAUTIFUL instrumental "To Live is to Die." It has many changes of pace, and even features violins at one point, and accoustic guitars at both the beginning and end of the song. If there was one track that could probably have been left off I think it would be Harvester of Sorrow. This song just never really caught on with me. Nonetheless, this album is truly fantastic, with great solos, variety, and some very deep politically-motivated lyrics. I really recommend this album.
Rating:
Summary: AWESOME
Review: This is by far the best Metallica album ever made.(maybe by the exception of S&M). There are such awesome songs that shows the awesome talent of the musicians of the band. My favorite song is One, which is written about an awesome book called "johnny got his gun." Read it. To live is to die is my other favorite song. These two are more guitar based than some of the others. The intro guitar part is what first caught me. However all the songs are great to listen to. If you are thinking about buying a metallica album, definitly get this classic. It rocks!
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