In a radical step away from Metallica’s previous three albums, Justice… sounded cold, clinical and sinister, with Hatfield’s huge rhythm guitar parts dominating the sound. Justice had its flaws, but you can hear its influence on a dozen different metal bands that followed. “Sometimes when I hear it, I sit there and roll my eyes – and other times, I think, Jesus, this was the blueprint for a whole new generation of music.” “I have different relationships with …And Justice For All,” mused Lars Ulrich in 2005. Just as they’d perfected a raw version of thrash metal in 1983, before dropping it like a hot potato in favour of a new, sophisticated direction Metallica had grown tired of the endless prog-metal noodling of Justice… almost as soon as it was recorded – and went on to something completely different. However – in typical fashion – Hetfield and co were already looking for a new direction when Justice… hit the shelves. This wasn’t a thrash metal record, but it wasn’t strictly a heavy metal record either – it was, we realised later, one of the first examples of progressive metal. Justice… was a revelation: the length of the songs on the album, the complexity of the arrangements and the sheer riff count per tune made jaws drop. Snapped up by headbangers worldwide, the record was hotly anticipated thanks to its phenomenal predecessor, Master Of Puppets. Metallica at the Robert F Kennedy Memorial Stadium, Washington DC in 1988 (Image credit: Tony Mottram/Getty)ġ988 was also the year when the band released their fourth album, …And Justice For All.
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