... AND JUSTICE FOR ALL

While most say that "Master of Puppets" is Metllica's Magnus Opus, I'd say it is "...And Justice for All". My favorite Metallica album, while MoP is their most progressive, AJFA is their most technical. There is less diversity, and even acoustic guitar, then is heard on MoP and the album is alot thrashier and unrelenting. However, it is Metallica's most complex work, and features some great musicianship, songwriting, and technicality. This is in the intricate guitar work, the drumming is again only merely solid. One final note, the sound quality of this album is odd. Not bad, just odd. The guitar and drums sound kind of strange and its well noted that the bass can not be heard. It's not a big deal to me though, the quality is not bad, the music is great and I almost like the very very tight sound of the album.

Every song is good, and there is no really weak one...so I will touch of some highlights.

Blackened is a good way to start the album, relentless and thrashy. The middle is quite melodic and complex with some great guitar work!

And Justice for All is a good song, and actually has some decent drumming from Lars! A bit on the long side, can be difficult, (especially for a straight up metal head) but for us prog minded listeners its no issue.

Eye of the Beholder has a great groove to it. Really cool feeling. It does, however, get a bit sluggish over the second half.

Just like their prior two albums, the fourth song on AJFA is a ballad type song. The famous "One" deserves its fame, great song. Though as mentioned, it has the feel of Fade to Black and Sanitarium before it.

Dyer's Eve is a great way to end the album, the way it started. Thrashy! It's a pretty thrashy song that is quite unrelenting and you will hear what may be Lars' most intense drumming.

Great album, a must for any metal head/prog metal fan/prog fan who can take metal. More technical then progressive in my opinion there is some top echelon guitar work in "...And Justice for All". The quality is a bit odd, and the overall feel and progression of the album is not too different from their last 2. Not for the standard prog fan, however as mentioned above those that like metal or have large pallets should pick up this album. Metallica's best work.

Four Stars