Rating: 
Summary: A Must Have Metal Classic!
Review: If you are looking for an all around outstanding album, you just found it in ...And Justice for All! This 5th release from Metallica has them crossing over into major Progressive territory, Cliff Burton R.I.P., would have been proud! This album offers so much in the way of metal, AWESOME, MEMORABLE guitar-riffs from Hetfield and Kirk, the drumming is phenomenal and had a MAJOR influence on the way I play today,< Yep, you guessed it I'm a drummer.> The funny part about this album is the bass is pretty much nonexistent but makes no impact on the greatness of this album what-so-ever! Your not thinking bass when you hear this album, TRUST ME, your to busy banging your head against the wall listening to "Eye Of The Beholder" or singing to their classic "One". 1988 was a good year for me and this album made it BETTER! This album should definetly be playing in your CD <or tape> player tomorrow. Buy it. It's a must have for any true metal-head.
Rating: 
Summary: decent
Review: this album is pretty good and is heavy, but my complaint is some of the songs are to long and drag.
Rating:
Summary: Metallica's Apex
Review: This is Metallica at the height of their powers. This is absolutely their best album and arguably the best metal album ever. There is no filler here. The songs are a very sophisticated and intelligent but are also very raw. Some have complained of the production quality but I think it enhances the listening experience. The flatness of the sound, due lack of bass, enhances a sense of starkness and immediacy. Unfortunately, this album has been Metallica's apex. I think Metallica abandoned some of that sophistication and rawness for a more commercially appealing sound.
Rating:
Summary: sickest metal record of all-time
Review: maybe a lot of you weren't around when this thing came out but it brings back memories of junior high with every metalhead wearing "and justice for all" t-shirts like it was their religion. it was a record a ton of metalheads identified with yet at the same time had personal effects on probably millions of metal geeks while they were trying to copy pushead drawings in their room thinking how much their parents/school sucked. the production is perfect for a thrash metal record. its just very dark and isolated and captures a real "black" feeling when listening to it. sure, everyone complains about the lack of bass guitar in the mix but seriously - the guitar production/tracking is unrivaled to ANY record to date except maybe Pantera's "vulgar display of power" in the thrash genre... every track whops your speakers. every melodic breakdown is like some epic war song with layers upon layers. the lyrics were metallica's best ever and held some soul to them. in total, youll never see a record like this again in many aspects. in musicianship, in production and holding such timelessness for such an aggressive record. dont kid yourself, all of metallica's stuff predating this is all awesome in its own individual way as they matured the sound. this just happens to be the pinnacle of the art - capturing a time when metallica was technically beautiful and well thought out.
Rating:
Summary: This could be Metallica's best work... if it had some bass.
Review: This could almost be as good as "Master of Puppets", but there is barely any bass. BLACKENED-Best opening track on any Metallica cd, and one of the best Metallica songs. It is about the end of the world and it has some great lyrics. Lars Ulrich shows that can be a great drummer. I can just imagine how much more great this could be with more bass. A+ ...And Justice for all-Another great song. It is a little long, and sometimes it may seem to drag on. It is still a great track with awesome riffs and great lyrics. A Eye of the Beholder-Great lyrics, especially in the chorus. It has some more great riffs in it. Overall it is not good as the first two tracks, but it is still really good. B+ One-I really really like this song. I feel like it is overrated, though. If people call this the greatest Metallica song, they obviously don't own "Master of Puppets" or "Ride the Lightning".
This is probably Metallica's 20th best song. It is still great.
B+ The Shortest Straw-Good Song, but not as good as the first four songs on this cd. It is good and the riffs are good enough. B Harvester of Sorrow-Worst song on the cd. It drags on. It like "The Shortest Straw is still good. It is also the shortest song on the cd. B- Frayed Ends of Sanity-Another great song on this great cd. It has one of the best Metallica intros as they make the song from The Wizard of Oz and create their own version of it. The rest of the song is also great. It has good lyrics and some really great Riffs to go along with it. A- To Live is to Die- Wow. Another great Metallica instrumental. Not as good as "Orion" from "Master of Puppets" but "Orion" is the greatest instrumental of all time. This song is dedicated to Cliff Burton and it has some of his lyrics in it too. A Dyer's Eve-Good way to end the album. The fastest song on the cd, just ahead of "Blackened". It is not as good as the past two songs, but it was a bone-crunching way to end the cd. B+
Rating:
Summary: tinny sound but solid as iron
Review: Following the death of Cliff Burton there was a big question mark surrounding Metallica's future. The band wasted no time recruiting former Flotsam & Jetsam bassist Jason Newsted and churning out the covers EP "Garage Days Re-Revisited", but the issue remained just how much of an impact Burton's influence had on Metallica's material. When "And Justice For All" was finally released in late 1988 it was not only a breath of fresh air but the dawning of a new era as well. "Justice" furthers the sociopolitically charged vision of "Master of Puppets", a bit icier and more distant, but no less potent in either it's intelligent lyrics or the increasingly challenging song structures. "Blackened" is the lead off track, and despite having enough song ideas to fill an entire EP, the melange of riffs works well as a cohesive whole. Metallica weren't the first thrash band to express an environtmental lean, but with lyrics such as "see our Mother [Earth]/put to death/see our Mother die" there weren't many fans who were ready to write them off as born again hippies. The title track and "Eye of the Beholder" continue to heighten the standards for the rest of the album until we at last arrive at what is perhaps Metallica's all-time magnum opus: "One". When Lars announced in pre-release interviews that the song would be about a guy with no appendages, no sense of sight and sound, and no way of communicating with the outside world it reminded of those old jokes. Ie. what do you call a man with no arms and no legs that hangs on the wall? Art. What do you call a man with no arms and no legs swimming in a pool? Bob. Etc etc. Of course the end result turned out to be nothing so exploitative, but instead a tone poem set to the theme of the old Dalton Trumbo flick "Johnny Got His Gun". This is not only one of their more complex songs thematically but it's far from aimless art school wankering, building up to a riveting climax and a powerful denouement. As a postscript, "One" has turned into one of those oft-played tunes that has more than worn out it's welcome amongst many rock fans, similar to other songs like "Stairway to Heaven" (or "Highway to Hell" for that matter). However, that in no way detracts from the objective quality of the song, and it's only the radio programmers we have to blame for ruining all of the above examples through unmitigated repetition. The truth is, "And Justice For All" is equally as compelling as "Master of Puppets" from a songwriting and performance perspective. There is only one reason I can see that it doesn't get the same amount of reverence as its precursor, and that is the infamous production of Fleming Rasmussen. Fleming also produced "Puppets", and this would be his last Metallica production, so he has been given the blame over the years for essentially ruining what should have been a flawless masterpiece. However, with the similarly awful production on "St Anger" I can't help but wonder if the band members didn't push for this sonic experimentation themselves. Here's hoping that one day the masters will be brushed off and remixed (a la the Beatles' recent "Let It Be: Naked") and "And Justice For All" will be recognized for the landmark that it is.
Rating:
Summary: Cliff Burton Would Be Proud
Review: In 1986, after releasing Master of Puppets, Metallica was probably the biggest underground metal band in the world. The fans were pulled in by Ride the Lightning, and they became life long fans with Master of Puppets. But on September 26, 1986 while on tour in Sweden, Metallica's tour bus slipped on a patch of black ice that was on the road, and master bass player Cliff Burton was tragically killed. Within a couple of months Metallica had a new bass player in Jason Newsted. The group went into the studio and ended up releasing a 5 track E.P. of cover songs to get Jason acquainted with the band. But then in 1988 Metallica went back into the studio to begin work on their tribute to Cliff Burton, ...And Justice For All. The album is very progressive, long thrash metal masterpieces that put Metallica atop the world. The only set back to this album is it's cheap production, but it's understandable that they have no bass, considering the state of mourning they were probably in. But production really doesn't matter, this album is incredible, perfect in almost every way. Blackened: A great way to start the album, fast guitars, heavy riffs, great growling from James Hetfield, everything you want in a thrash metal tune. - A ...And Justice For All: THE epic thrash song. Theres no other way to put it, this song is great. A masterpiece in every aspect. - A Eye of the Beholder: This one isn't as good as the previous two, but it can hold it's own with any other band. - B One: Wow, thats about all you can say. This was the first music video Metallica ever made, and it's a great video to compliment a great song. It's about a guy that steps in a landmine and loses all his limbs, kinda creepy. But awesome. - A++++ Shortest Straw: This one is great as well. It has a really heavy intro which is really cool. It's one of my favorites from the album as well. - A Harvester of Sorrow: This one isn't my favorite. A lot of people really like it, and think it's one of the best on the album, but it doesn't do it for me. - C Frayed Ends of Sanity: Awesome, this song starts out with a great riff. In the middle and changes and goes to another great riff, just a great song. - A To Live is to Die: This one was written entirely by Cliff Burton. The band thought it would be cool to have a song on this album that was written by him, it is made up of riffs that he had left lying around. - A Dyers Eve: This is a really angry, and really fast song. It is rumored that drummer Lars Ulrich can't really play it, but I don't know that I believe that, a great song. - A In the end this album is incredible. Most of it is written about political struggles in the world. It's very very angry, and overall a tribute to Cliff Burton (RIP). If you don't already have it, buy it now.
Rating:
Summary: Metal at its finest.
Review: Simply put, this album rocks! Just like Master of Puppets, there is not one song I even remotely dislike on this album. People say this album sucks because of its raw production, and I'll admit the production is rather raw, but it's the music that matters, and ...And Justice For All excels in that department. Sure, you may not be able to hear the bass, but the crushing guitar riffs more than make up for it. This album starts off with a pure metal song called Blackened. This song has everything: thought-provoking lyrics about the end of the world (makes you think, doesn't it?), rockin' riffs, and a killer solo. Tied with Damage, inc. from Master of Puppets as my all-time favorite Metallica song. Now, on to the title track. It starts off with a mellow first 40 seconds, but then goes to rock your socks off. Some say this song drags on a little too long (9 minutes and 44 seconds), but those almost 10 minutes will not by any means be wasted by listening to this song. Next, Eye of the Beholder. A very interesting song. It's a very heavy song too, might I add. The lyrics are very poetic in this song. Then comes One. This song has it all. Fans of the softer Metallica music will enjoy listening to the beginning of the song, and hardcore fans can headbang to the last 3 minutes until their heads get sore. A very powerful song. Metallica have won 2 awards for this song. Firstly, they won their first Grammy award for this song. Plus, the solo was voted #7 in a list of the top 100 rock/metal solos. It deserves #1, though. Trust me. Now we move on to a song I find extremely underrated, called The Shortest Straw. When I first listened to this song, it was stuck in my head for a couple weeks. The Shortest Straw is extremely catchy and pretty thrashy. You could headbang to this song all day long! Next up, Harvester of Sorrow. In my mind, this is Metallica's heaviest song. It's like The Thing That Should Not Be part 2. It's very heavy, and it's very dark. On to The Frayed Ends of Sanity, another underrated song. This song starts off with a Wizard of Oz reference, and then goes into Metallica heavy metal mode. Another good headbanging song. Next up, To Live Is To Die, a salute to the late Cliff Burton, who died a few months after Master of Puppets was released. This song could be considered an instrumental, since the only lyrics are only a few lines written by Cliff Burton himself before the bus accident. But still, it's a VERY powerful song. Finally, Dyers Eve. This song is very thrashy and aggressive. It's a perfect song to listen to when your parents give you grief. Just don't let them hear it. This song is like my anthem. I can totally relate to it. Overall, ...And Justice For All is another masterpiece. A must-have for any metalhead.
Rating:
Summary: Metallica's final masterpiece
Review: Metallica made 3 masterpieces back-to-back: Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets and ...And Justice for all.
The rest, with the exception of Kill'em all, is just nothing compared to these three great pieces of Metal.
Specially ...And Justice for all proves that Metallica's era as metal genius was over.
As a testament to what they proved to be, Metallica delivers both fast and heavy tunes with very complex harmonies making it very close to a progressive band with real power metal backing it up.
All lyrics are excellent and the music just blows you away from the brutal speed metal in Blackened to the semi-ballad intro of One. Harvester of Sorrow, ...And Justice for All, Dyer's Eve are all masterpieces on its own.
From a time when Kirk used to play solos (marvelous ones), Lars used to bang drums as fast as a Formula 1 car, Jason started composing and reaping guitar-like notes from his bass and Jaymz used to roar both with throat and axe...
Whatever happened to these guys?
This one along with the other 3 aforementioned albums, are must-have for all metalheads around the world. If you don't have it yet, what are you waiting for?
Rating:
Summary: its sweet
Review: its clearly a fantastic CD. i always hear that the production makes it worse, but it think it rules. kinda like "soft, quiet metal"...but thats just me.
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