Metallica - And Justice for All

Metallica - And Justice for All,This is probably Metallica's most sophisticated album, exploring the theme of justice and perversions thereof with a vengeance. "One" is one of their best songs ever, building from a slow, edgy beginning into effortless overdrive.Metallica's fourth album was their first without original bassist Cliff Burton and with his replacement, Jason Newstead.Metallica returned with a vengeance on AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. All the anger and sadness they held in on the death of bassist Cliff Burton was unleashed on the record buying public.

"One" is one of Metallica's best songs ever! It begins as a power ballad, but it subtly and greatly gains momentum, volume, and speed, and around four and a half minutes in (during the bridge after the third chorus), The tale of a soldier who has stepped on a land mine and now is an armless, legless, and blind vegetable. You can almost hear the desperation, the pain and the fury of being hooked up to a life support machine in Hetfield's vocal performance. The track goes from heavy ballad to out- and-out thrash with a deft flick of the wrist. Kirk's searing lead break and Ulrich's machine gun drumming compliment the tune perfectly.the thunderous double bass drumming and almost machine gun riffs make the song heavy.

The abrupt change of pace in the track's middle only goes to prove what an impressive drummer Lars Ulrich can be. Kirk Hammet's lead solo incredibly shows an improvement since the `Master of Puppets' album. An intelligent update of the `Ride the Lightning' leadoff track, `Fight Fire With Fire'.Unfortunately for new boy bassist Jason Newsted, the house producer Fleming Rasmussen buries his contributions way into the mix, so it sometimes sounds like he's absent.

However This album is considered by many fans to be this band's best. Like Metallica's first three and fifth albums, "...And Justice for All" is a classic from beginning to end, and it's worth buying just for the singles ("Blackened," "Harvester of Sorrow," the title track, "Frayed Ends of Sanity," and, especially, one of Metallica's best songs ever--"One.")