Album of the week: ... And Justice For All by Metallica

Winter is coming... from the opening notes of the new album from these guitar maestros you get the Game of Thrones sense of foreboding - the white walkers are among us.

The opening track, Blackened, has the Metallica signature of a hard rock cafe blaster, with siren guitars and storm drain drums. The theme which continues throughout the album is the need to protect our environment and save the planet.

The title track ...And Justice For All delves into the greed of the world and our untruthful society. It has the softer rock intro before it explodes into the rock rasp and heavy metal scream of defiance against injustice.

Rock fans will love this album as it is pure adrenalin on legs. Dyers Eve explores relationships especially between children and parents and loss of innocence. The guitars peel back layers of sound like an onion, while The Frayed Ends of Sanity delves deep into the psyche and the horrors of depression.

The mainly instrumental To Live Is To Die is a showcase of excellence and technical ability, a guitar fan's dream. Out of nowhere come the strains and strands of a necromancer's wizardry whipping through the track.

Harvester of Sorrow has a haunting, black-hole of rock message about the misuse of power, with some soaring blues guitar.

The Shortest Straw has an anti-racist feel and One is a strong, powerful and beautiful anti-war song that rages against the vain glory of war. The guitars battle with the drums in a dance of death falling into the sad horrors of the soldier returning home, a shell of their former selves.

As in Game of Thrones epic drama this album delves into doom and gloom but there is the underlying feeling of hope, that all is not lost and we can rise again to find justice for all 8/10 - Flicky Harrison

  • The original was released on August 25 1988. This new version is the deluxed box set of …And Justice for All which includes the album remastered on 180-gram double LP and CD, three live LPs, picture disc, eleven CDs + four DVDs featuring unreleased content, MP3 download card of all audio, tour laminate, set of four patches, Pushead print, lyric folder and sheets, and a 120-page hardcover book with never-before-seen photos + stories. Available in the Probity Merch UK/EU Metallica Shop