...And Justice for All



...And Justice for All is the fourth studio album by the American Thrash Metal band Metallica. It was released on August 25, 1988 through Elektra Records. It is the first Metallica studio album to feature bassist Jason Newsted because of the death of the band's bassist Cliff Burton in 1986. Newsted has previously participated on the cover album The $5.98 E.P.: Garage Days Re-Revisited EP which is his first work with Metallica. The album was certified 8x platinum by the RIAA on June 9, 2003.

The album's dark lyrical material features a conceptual uniformity around notions of political and legal injustice, as seen through the prism of war, censored speech, and nuclear brinkmanship. This is musically accompanied by what may be the most complex song structures in Metallica's discography. The arrangements are particularly complicated for a Thrash Metal album, being likened to Progressive Metal in their complexity. The album is also noted for its nearly-inaudible bass guitar (Newsted was quoted as saying "The Justice album wasn't something that really felt good for me, because you really can't hear the bass") and dry, sterile production, and therefore has been called a "slightly flawed masterpiece and the pinnacle of Metallica's progressive years" by Allmusic.com.

The front cover depicts the statue of Lady Justice (also known by fans as Doris) cracked, bound by ropes, her breasts exposed, and both of her scales filled with dollars. The words "...And Justice for All" are written in graffiti to the right. The cover was made by Stephen Gorman after a concept by James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich. It was also the first Metallica album not to feature an instrumental track (although "To Live Is to Die" is mostly instrumental, with the lyrics consisting only of a short spoken word section).

Original Track Listing:

 * 1) Blackend - 6:41
 * 2) ...And Justice for All - 9:46
 * 3) Eye of the Beholder - 6:29
 * 4) One - 7:24
 * 5) The Shortest Straw - 6:35
 * 6) Harvester of Sorrow - 5:45
 * 7) The Frayed Ends of Sanity - 7:41
 * 8) To Live Is to Die - 9:49
 * 9) Dyers Eve - 5:13

Songs on Other Versions of the Album:

 * The Prince - 4:26 (Track 10 on the Japanese Version)

Metallica:

 * James Hetfield - Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar
 * Kirk Hammett - Lead Guitar
 * Jason Newsted - Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals
 * Lars Ulrich - Drums