LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-AUGUST 25, 2019-THIRTY ONE YEARS AGO METALLICA GRACED US WITH ..And Justice for All
THIS ALBUM IS SIGNIFICANT IN THE BAND’S HISTORY AS IT MARKED THE FIRST METALLICA ALBUM TO FEATURE BASSIST JASON NEWSTED, AND THE LAST ALBUM TO FEATURE A WRITING CREDIT BY BASSIST CLIFF BURTON.
THE ALBUM HAS ALSO COME UNDER CRITICISM FOR EXTREMELY LOW LEVELS OF BASS.
IN AN INTERVIEW WITH “SO WHAT!” A METALLICA FAN MAGAZINE, JAMES HETFIELD ADDRESSED THE CRITICISM AND POINTED OUT IT WASN’T A SHOT AT NEWSTEDT:
“I will say, it was not all about, ‘Fuck him. Let’s turn him down.’ That’s for sure. We wanted the best-sounding record we could make. That was our goal. We were burnt. We were frigging fried. Going back and forth [between touring and mixing the album]. Playing a gig. No earplugs, no nothing. You go back into the studio, your hearing is shot. If your ears can’t hear any high end anymore, you’re gonna turn it up. So we’re turning the high end up more and more and more and all of a sudden, low end’s gone. So I know that played a bigger part than any hazing or any ill feelings towards Jason, for sure. We were fried. We were burnt.”
IRREGARDLESS ON WHERE YOU STAND ON THE MIX, THE ALBUM FEATURES ONE OF THE GREATEST ROCK SONGS…EVER
