...And Justice For All Remastered

Any true Metallica fan can tell you that there's definitely something missing from this album, and that is, the bass guitar! Articles, YouTube videos, etc. have their various conspiracy theories and reasonings for this, from the innocuous to the malevolent. But what is clear to most people is that this album, despite its greatness, is definitely mixed so that we the listener can barely make out any bass guitar! Now, I personally don't think it was for nefarious reasons, some likening this to the fact that they had recently lost their bass player, mentor, brother, and musical master Cliff Burton in an unfortunate tour bus accident in Sweden, when apparently the bus slid off the road and turned over, crushing Cliff. The details will unsettle you, as I found out that he was still alive when the crane was trying to get it off of him, but couldn't, resulting in it crushing him to death. The fact that they were all in the bus, and he was the only one who didn't make it, is said to have not only created a lot of grief and guilt, but some suggest that when they got a new bass player, the very talented but wide-eyed Jason Newsted, that perhaps there was a lot of new guy hazing going on, that could have resulted in his parts on the album being minimized. Now, the honest truth is that nobody really knows what really happened. Youtube videos have come out of the person who claims he actually mixed the album, saying that Lars wanted the bass down to the point where it's virtually indistinguishable, and while in disbelief, he did what he was asked. Articles also say that Jason being new to the band, that he played bass in a way that he would follow James's rhythm guitar so perfectly that you can't tell where James's rhythm starts and Jason's bass ends. There's also rumors that because Lars and James were the defacto leaders of the band, that they brought up the drums and guitars to the point where the bass got lost in the mix, no pun intended! Whatever the reason is, to this day Jason holds no ill will, it appears that no blame is laid on anybody. Diehard fans over the years have gone so far as to "correct this mistake," having mixed it themselves and uploading it to YouTube, referring to it as "... And Justice for Jason." In any case, it's all under the bridge, as all is forgiven, as Metallica thinks fondly of Jason and his contribution to the band. But one thing still remains, this album, while still highly regarded as one of their best, most innovative albums to date, with long epic songs, ripping guitars, and a heavy theme, dealing with sociopolitical injustice and political bureaucracy, is still lacking that rounded out studio sound. Some say that's because they wanted it to be stripped down, in a garage band style heaviness and unyielding antisocial manic metal sound. Others just think it might be due to the year it was released, that it, much like their other 80's releases, just needed the tender loving care that modern-day technology can bring back the luster and fullness to older albums in general. Whatever the case, this album sounds amazing! And while it doesn't necessarily or directly serve as justice for Jason and the bass lacking problem, it's richer and more polished sound gives this already beautifully sounding album the treatment it deserves. With 3 discs you get a lot. The first disc being the studio album all gussied up, then on the second disc a lot of B tracks and leftover good stuff, and the third disc, some awesome live concert performances from that tour. At the end of the day, this does sound amazing. I never really consciously realized that there was anything that could fix this album, as it's been a part of my life virtually forever. But now, it really does just feel fuller, richer, with a more cleaned up sound, without taking away its raw crunchy awesomeness. I highly recommend it to anyone who is a Metallica fan. Good stuff!

I know a lot of people don't like this album because of the quiet (or absent all together) bass, but that doesn't make it a terrible album. This is my favorite Metallica album by far, opening with that Blackened riff, going into the complex ten minutes of soaring solos and great riffs that is ...And Justice For All, Eye of The Beholder's lyrics, every part of One in general (especially the iconic solo), The Shortest Straw's riff, the heavy riff and breakdown of Harvester of Sorrow, the drum solo and riff that follows in The Frayed Ends of Sanity, the amazing instrumental known as To Live Is To Die, and ending with my second favorite Metallica song, Dyer's Eve in all of its glory. The album art is really pleasing to look at, and the cd prints are just awesome. Overall, I really enjoyed this remaster and all of the extras that came with it.

It sounds good but the album itself is drier and has less overdubs than the previous albums so it’s hard to hear the improvement in mastering.The bass is still muddled under the guitar..there’s nothing that will fix that except recording all new bass tracks that don’t play along with the guitar lines.If you’re a diehard fan it’s worth it for the extras...if not,buy the single CD

I highly recommend ...And Justice For All Remastered the expanded edition. The remaster sounds great, and the live disc. Listen to the demos but there were no vocals so stopped, will give the demos another listen one of these days. Wish this had AutoRip, when Master of Puppets Remastered Expanded edition came out, it had AutoRip. Hopefully gets added later on. I have the remaster on digital, single disc, and 3 cd edition. Hoping to buy the boxset if I have the extra money.

Metallica's best-ever album, but it has always sounded terrible, as if were recorded in a phone booth. The drums clicked, the bass was non-existent. But this 2018 remastering finally solves all this, and it sounds like a modern recording. The bass could still stand a little more prominence, but overall it sounds GREAT now, and is a pleasure to listen to, unlike before when it just angered me that such a great record had such a poor recording. FIVE SOLID STARS.

Still has the unique bone dry mix w no bass but does sound better. It's very cool to listen to demo/ rough mixes of these songs. The live disc was my least favorite but I enjoyed it too.Very good value for the amount of content.

Broken record here but yeah was hoping they would at least include a bonus disc with bass but that will probably never happen. As a remaster it does sound tighter/punchier than the one on my cars hard drive but it could be just me wanting it to sound that way. It's still my favorite album of theirs and their best overall but without that bass it feels empty still. There are youtube mixes that have audible bass and I salivate at the thought of it being done perfect with the origibal recordings. I bought it because Im a fan and like to buy my music in physical form. I would have bought it without the bonus tracks so its nice that it came with it.

This album really had an impact on me in my teenage years, and it still kicks ass to this day. This is in my top ten all time metal albums, no doubt about it. A very close second to Master of Puppets.