And Justice For All
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| Metallica Band Members and Symbol |
…And Justice For All is essentially a progressive metal and
a thrash metal album. As is typically with a majority of metal albums, violence
and destruction form the milieu; war, social malpractices are the main themes. James Hetfield’s growling vocals, Kirk
Hammett’s pentatonic solos and Lars Ulrich’s stunning work with the drums- this
album is a treat for metal lovers. This is also bassist Jason Newsted’s first
studio album with Metallica following bass virtuoso Cliff Burton’s tragic
death.
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| Cover of this album |
The opening track of the album is ‘Blackened’, a thrash
metal composition featuring lightning fast guitar riffs by Kirk Hammett and
some dark lyrics describing the stark reality of Mother Earth maimed and
scarred due to environmental degradation triggered by humans and the clouds of
an impending apocalypse which hover above us if we do not take steps to control
the damage. The title track ‘…And Justice For All’ is somewhat overdrawn with a
duration of about 10 minutes. Nevertheless, the song is about corruption, how
money can buy justice and how the courts dance to the tunes of the wealthy.
‘Eye of the Beholder’ appeals to the listener to look
through smoke-screens of lies and fabrications and stand up against imposed
limitations on freedom of speech.
The next track is ‘One’, undoubtedly the
piece de resistance of the album. Starting with ambient sounds of helicopters
and cries of soldiers, the song slowly flows into a haunting clean guitar intro
by Kirk Hammett (one of the best song intros I’ve ever heard) followed by a simple
melody crooned by Hetfield. Lyrically, the song describes the predicament of an
injured soldier. After the bridge, get ready to be blown away by Ulrich’s work
with the double bass as he works in tandem with Hammett and Hetfield to create
3 minutes of absolutely stunning music. Hammett’s guitar solo at the end has
garnered wide critical acclaim and is a hit among guitar lovers.
Next up is ‘The Shortest Straw’, a song about modern-day
witch-hunts, innocent people wrongfully implicated and convicted by governments
across the world. ‘Harvester of Sorrow’ is about a man who is on the precipice
of sanity and vents his anger on his family while ‘The Frayed Ends of Sanity’
is a song about an unsuccessful man gravitating towards paranoia and is on the brink of losing
his mind.
‘To Live Is To Die’ is an instrumental which is consistent
with their custom of including an instrumental track in each of their studio
albums. It starts off with chords on an acoustic guitar, faintly reminiscent of
‘Fade to Black’. It is largely structured around riffs that had been composed
by Cliff Burton and not been used. There are some spoken lyrics at the end.
Metallica has dedicated this instrumental to Burton who was a victim of a
tragic bus accident also involving other band members. The album ends with a
bang with ‘Dyer’s Eve’, a song about an agitated man who castigates his parents
for protecting and insulating him in a cocoon of religious beliefs, tucked away
from the cold world outside.
Overall, the album is noteworthy for its complex and technical
guitar solos, intricate passages throughout its songs and a mature choice of
themes which was novel in an otherwise hapless metal scene dominated by bands
ranting and expatiating on sex, drugs, booze and other vices. It also silenced
their critics asking questions about the band’s future after the legendary
Cliff Burton’s untimely demise. So, spare an hour and enjoy this thrash-bang
ride!
MY PICKS: One, Blackened, Dyer’s Eve
And Justice For All - Full Album
(The names of the songs have been linked with their videos on Youtube)
-- Contributed by Niranjan Thakurdesai.
