Two years after the death of bassist Cliff Burton, the metal band Metallica, with new bassist Jason Newsted, entered the studio in February of ‘88 to record their fourth album – an album that started a departure from their thrash metal roots, towards a more commercial metal, bridging the gap between “Master of Puppets” and “Metallica” (The Black Album). The result was the heavily political album “…And Justice For All”, praised for its “densely complicated style of metal and its lyricism that covers various topics of injustice.” However, that album was released 37 years ago, so why is there still so much relevance in the lyrical content of the album today?
“…And Justice For All”
The title track of the album follows a structure that is slow in the beginning, with a pickup of speed, an intermission, and a final verse. The track explores the topic of corruption in the government, specifically related to money. The opening lyrics, “Halls of justice painted green, money talking,” convey the notion that money can corrupt the justice system by affording those with more resources a greater chance of success in court, elections, and other positions of power. The lyrics, “Justice is lost, Justice is raped, Justice is gone,” hit close to home for those who have either received a ruling that wasn’t correct, or those who are against monetary corruption in politics.
People all over the US right now can resonate with the song because of some of the things that have happened during the presidency of Donald Trump. Just recently, US Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr. indicated that prenatal use of Tylenol is associated with increased risk of autism in babies. This claim comes from mixed findings and debates about acetaminophen use during pregnancy. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), just a few days later, started promoting the use of the obscure drug Leucovorin. The drug is produced by several companies, but most notably by iHerb, which Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) administrator Mehmut Oz owns between 5 and 25 million dollars in stake.
Overall, we see money in politics more than ever; nobody is really hiding the fact that it’s there, which just goes to show that the subject of this track still resonates brightly today.
“Eye of the Beholder” and “The Shortest Straw”
Tracks 3 and 5 are grouped together because, in a way, they complement each other on the album. The two are scornful compositions about civil liberties and the consequences of speaking out against controversial issues, emphasizing the blacklisting that can follow carrying out these rights. Both songs have one clear message: People will tell you what is and isn’t acceptable to say, so you can either stay silent or suffer the consequences of having a different perspective.
There is a lot of ground to cover in this case, but some of the more recently famous examples are Trump’s banning of the Associated Press (AP) from the White House in February and Charlie Kirk’s assassination in September. Trump banned AP from the White House after they refused to adopt the ‘Gulf of America’ name, and what followed was a First Amendment-related court case discussing viewpoint discrimination.
Charlie Kirk rose to prominence for his debates and his promotion of conservative values and was shot in September at Utah Valley University, located 3 hours away from CMU. Both of these examples show that anybody who speaks on challenging topics puts a target on their own back.
“One”
One is the undisputed peak track on the album; the widely popular track showcases the versatility of Metallica’s writing, and its lyrical content consists of a favorite topic in the thrash metal genre…war!
The song follows the story of “Johnny Got His Gun,” an anti-war novel by Dalton Trumbo, about a World War I soldier who gets injured by a shell, resulting in the loss of his arms, legs, face, and ears. He is kept alive by the military, and develops a desire to die. All the while, James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett’s guitar playing gets heavier and heavier, while Lars Ulrich’s drumming imitates a machine gun’s gunfire commonly heard in war.
In terms of the US today, we don’t really have much war that we as citizens are involved in, and it certainly isn’t a big issue for those who have never served. But, for those who have served, “One” represents the haunting truth that veterans are not taken care of like they should be. It can resonate with the cycle of homelessness that many are experiencing, the scars, as mentioned in the song, and many of the other consequences of war on the common man.
Overall, Metallica accomplished what they set out to do with their fourth album. They created an album that combined their thrash metal roots with the heavy topics of political and social issues that plague the society we are all currently a part of. This was something that had really never been done in thrash, since its main lyrical themes were always typically more death and religion-based. Little did the band know that the issues described in the album would still be prevalent for generations to come.
