Retro Spins: Metallica - ...And Justice For All

 

It seems odd to bring in a new bass player, and then turn down their part for their debut on your 1988 album. However, that's exactly what James Hetfield opted to do to new member, Jason Newstead when ...And Justice For All was released.

Hetfield would later state the reason for the decision was because Newsted tended to double his rhythm guitar parts, so it was hard to tell where his (Hetfield's) guitar started and his (Newsted's) bass left off. Also, the tone on Justice was very scooped – all lows and highs, with very little midrange. Hearing the bass restored in raw cuts off the deluxe version seems to split the fan base, with some saying the decision was right, and others stating the bass should have been included. I suppose that ultimately comes down to each listener.

For those of you familiar with the tragic story, Newsted joining the band was of necessity following the death of original bassist Cliff Burton in 1986. From a retrospective aspect, it would be interesting to know just what Metallica would sound like today had this tragedy not occurred.

...And Justice For All transports me back to a simpler time in life. One where my introduction and subsequent over saturation of it comes from a brother who frequently plays the cassette over his stereo. One where it was followed, typically, by some form of Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, or Def Leppard, all of which filled my younger ears, and ultimately helped craft my tastes for good music.

Though I sat through all one hour and six minutes of the album for today's Retro Spin, the truth of the matter is that I didn't necessarily have to. I know it front to back. It hits that nostalgic sweet spot deep in my soul, and reminds me of how much the 80's rocked, in every sense of the word.

While there are several footnotes in the album which make it a noteworthy entry in the Metallica discography, I would say the most recognizable would be the song One. Though none of the tracks were necessarily played on radios, most likely due to their non commercial sound and length, One benefited from steady rotation on MTV. It's video, at the time, was edgy, and dark. A tone that helped pave the way for the band's mainstream success.

I won't call ...And Justice For All a perfect album. Though it's solid, one particular track stands out as my absolute least favorite, and that would be, The Frayed End Of Sanity. On the opposite spectrum, if I had to choose my favorite, frankly, you wouldn't find it on the album. Instead, it would be the B side to One, The Prince. However, if you tied my hands, and told me I had to choose one from the album, I would probably pick, Dyer's Eve. However, this would be closely followed by To Live Is To Die, One, or Blackened - Depending on my mood for the day.

Unfortunately, Metallica took a sharp left for their follow up, and subsequent future albums, and that was where I quickly lost interest. I suppose with the commercial success of ...And Justice For All that they needed to find a foothold in the world of commercial music, and I don't blame them for that. It just wasn't for me. To me, hearing Metallica on the radio made as much sense as hearing Marilyn Manson.

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THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
April 19, 1980

 

THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
April 19, 1986

Retro Spins: Metallica - Master Of Puppets

 

When I first heard Metallica, it was by way of a friend who introduced to me, and also gave me, Kill 'Em All on CD when we were in high school. Granted, this was the 90's, and that album had been out for quite some time at this point. Firing it up, I quickly discovered the band that would usurp Guns 'N Roses as my favorite metal group, a decision which has since been reversed, and a whole new era of metal was born to me.

Things ramped up considerably with my first listening to Master Of Puppets, an album at the time I considered to be perfect from front to back. Tracks like Battery, Welcome Home (Sanitarium), Orion, and of course, the album titled track stood out among the best. However, I also enjoyed what would become the obscure fillers, I.E. all the rest.

As things often happen, I grew older, grew out of metal, and really started to dislike Metallica. Like many, this was shortly after the introduction of their black album. Mind you, I don't hate them for what others say was, "selling out". Instead, for me, I moved on because they just got overplayed from there. Metallica was everywhere, and over saturation of their "hits" dulled my desire to want to listen to them.

Don't get me wrong, I still "like" the band, despite not being a fan of their 90's and beyond era. They're one of the few who I've even gone and seen a live show of. But, overall, I've just moved on from their music.

Even in retrospect, for today's Retro Spin, I simply couldn't get into it. Ultimately, I didn't even want to hear it.

It was a little disappointing that this happened, because as someone who is nostalgic, I really was hoping this would be a fun trip down memory lane. You know, spark some great memories from my past.

I don't want to be too harsh on the album, because I would be lying if I said I didn't like it. It was in constant rotation throughout my teen years, and looking back on that, I know that it entertained me for numerous albums. Through the now tinted eyes of a once teenage boy, the album was, at the time, very important to me.

Master Of Puppets will forever be an album I have in my collection, but I think more so now as a completion piece to my ever growing CD bevy. I don't know that I'll ever look back on it again with the same fondness I once had.

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Retro Spins: Metallica - The $9.98 CD: Garage Days Re-Revisited

September 27, 1986 was a hard day for Metallica, their friends, families and fans. It was the day bassist Cliff Burton was tragically killed in a bus accident. With the internet non-existent, fans who weren't in the right place at the right time sat in wait, wondering if Metallica would ever be back.

The answer came in August of 1987 with the release of the EP, Garage Days Re-Revisited, or if you want to get technical, The $5.98 EP: Garage Days Re-Revisited (cassette) or The $9.98 CD: Garage Days Re-Revisited (CD). With new bassist, Jason Newsted in place, Metallica was ready to rock once more. The album consists of covers from the 70's and 80's of new wave, heavy metal and punk tracks.

I see the album as a "trial run" for Jason Newsted, which personally speaking, definitely worked out. For as much as I dug the bass riffs Burton produced, Newsted seemed to be the personality Metallica was missing. It didn't hurt that he was a ball of pure energy either.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. These days, I don't really get into Metallica as much as I used to. However, when I hear a solid album such as this one, it reminds me why I used to like them so much. This is just pure metal jamming, despite being covers. Thunderous drums, ripping shreds on guitars, killer bass lines and solid lyrics.

Last Caress is still one of my all time favorites from the band. Hearing it again after all these years was a really nice treat. Truth be told, it honestly made me want to go back and hear some more older Metallica stuff. Maybe I'll do just that.

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Retro Spins: Metallica - Kill 'Em All

Metallica
Kill 'Em All
1983

As someone who didn't start listening to Metallica until the early 1990's when I was introduced to it in my long hair, leather jacket days I was listening to Kill 'Em All, Ride the Lighting, Master of Puppets, Garage Days Re-Revisited and ...And Justice For All pretty much daily. Metallica was big for me. They were practically the soundtrack of my life while everyone else was listening to Nirvana and Pearl Jam.

Then I got the black album and from there things seemed to get progressively worse for the band. At least as far as I was concerned.

Gone were the slick guitar licks, the pounding drums and deep lyrics. Instead I was getting shoveled ballads and radio friendly hits which could only spell one thing for the band. Sell outs. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure Metallica is very happy with the success they've gained over the course of their careers and I'm sure the money which came with it doesn't hurt. However, as someone who was so deeply into the band I have to ask. What about me? What about us? You know, all the loyal fans who took you from garage days and biker bars to stadiums?

Yeah, I'm a little butt hurt by it. So much to the point that I rarely bother listening to the group anymore, having given up with 1997's ReLoad. Oddly enough, it was Queen which replaced Metallica, and to date remains my all time favorite band.

Still, I have my memories of high school and how big a part of that Metallica was. I remember pumping out Kill 'Em All through my hand me down Sony speakers from my dad's old Hi-Fi system - Which inevitably blew out with how loud I played them.

My all time favorite track from the album wasn't actually one included in the original release, but rather the 1988 re-release, which was the version I had. I'm talking about the song Am I Evil?, which featured an all time amazing guitar solo from Kirk Hammett.

For those of you who don't know, Hammett is actually one of us. He has a passion for toys, comic books and horror movies - And can afford quite a bit of all of them I would imagine.

Though it was never my overall favorite Metallica album, that's actually Ride the Lightning, I loved the majority of the tracks on Kill 'Em All; Hit the Lights, The Four Horsemen, Motorbreath, Whiplash and of course the Cliff Burton monster, (Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth. There were many days my whole family heard this album along with me.

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Metallica (McFarlane Toys)

Metallica
McFarlane Toys
2001

Fun fact - Dave Mustaine of Megadeath was the original lead guitarist of Metallica from 1981 to 1983, but was fired for drug and alcohol issues as well as his aggressive conflicts with other band members that lead to their original bassist, Ron McGovney quitting the band in 1982, but that's okay, because McGovney went on to do...Well, not a whole lot, actually.

In the late 80's/early 90's, Metallica was quickly becoming one of the most popular bands in the metal genre.  Their first album Kill 'Em All showed that the band had potential, and with it came several hits.  With Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets, the band showed that they had come into their own, showcasing a style of music dedicated to long riffs, deep lyrics, and sometimes haunting melodies.

Sadly it was after Master of Puppets that Metallica was dealt a crippling blow.  During the band's European leg of the tour, bassist Cliff Burton was thrown from the bus during an accident.  The bus then rolled, landing on and killing him.  Lead guitarist Kirk Hammett felt the blow at the time the most as the very bunk that Burton was sleeping in was his.  Though the band suspected that the bus driver was drunk, all charges were cleared.

James Hetfield*Kirk Hammett

After recouping and regrouping from their loss, Metallica sought out a new bassist.  Jason Newsted, who was described as a crazy, energetic young man, joined the group, and shortly after the EP Garage Days Re-Visited, the band released ...And Justice For All.  With its hit "One," which also featured a very disturbing video that MTV loved to play, the band only grew in popularity.

The bands untitled follow up album, which became known as "The Black Album" helped the band to truly find success, but at the same time also dealt another blow with the loss of some of their original fans.  While the album featured numerous commercial hits, fans of the earlier Metallica albums felt that the band had sold out, becoming too commercial in the process.  A humorous quote from Hetfield in an interview to the question of, "Has the band sold out," was, "We sell out every time we have a tour."  He was of course referring to the tickets/seats for each concert.

Jason Newstead*Lars Ulrich

As the end of the 1990's approached, Metallica pressed forward with the albums Load and Reload.  Both albums were once again criticized by long term fans as being too commercial, and despite their commercial success failed to find the air time and hits that "The Black Album" had.  Reload would also be the last studio album featuring Jason Newstead.

Though the band stayed very active over the next few years, and even released the live album S&M, they wouldn't return to the studio for their next album until 2003's St. Anger.  Due to Newstead quitting the band prior to production, and then being put on hold once again while Hetfield went into rehab, the album almost never saw the light of day, and also almost brought upon the break up of the band.  The album features a very raw, heavy metal style, but disappoints in regard that it has no guitar solos.  Upon release of the album Metallica hired Ozzy Osbourne bassist Robert Trujillo.  This would also be the final album that Metallica would release under the Elektra logo.

Fun fact - Jason Newsted briefly toured with Ozzy Osbourne when Trujillo quit and joined Metallica.

Boxed Set

With the album, Death Magnetic, Metallica returned to their roots with thrash metal, long, technical guitar solos and more complex musical compositions.  The album quickly became Metallica's fifth number one Billboard album - The first band to have five number one albums on Billboard no less.

Their latest album, Lulu (2011) featured Lou Reed in his final studio recordings before his death.  The album was a conceptual work based on the original plays of the same name written by German playwrite Frank Wedekind.  The album features very few sung lyrics, and instead focuses on spoken words by Reed with occasional backing words by Hetfield.  All of this is overlaid on original music composed by Metallica.  The album received mostly negative reviews.  Many claim the album has done irreparable damage to the band that they will never recover from.

James Hetfield announced in an October 2013 interview that the band was currently sifting through material to compile a tenth studio album, so while Lulu may have hit rock bottom, Metallica isn't ready to be counted as down and out.  The only question now is, "Can they come back from it?"

Join us next time when we take a look at The Nanny!

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