...And Justice for All

[Felix Neumann]

...but I think it took the Black album to really set a standard in regards to modern metal production.

Oh yeah without question, the black album is in a different leage. I´m sure, AJFA also influenced the Death Metal scene a lot with that dry and tight sound.

I think when it comes to landmark influential records like this, nostalgia starts to play a very big factor in peoples' perception of what it is down the track.

Hmmmm the nostalgia feeling... it´s hard to subtract Consider 1988 it still sounds very clear, punchy & powerful for my ears! I don´t know how much nostalgia feelings affect my perception.

 

[ratsapprentice]

I'm sure Metallica were a very influential band to the history of metal, but I think it took the Black album to really set a standard in regards to modern metal production.

I think If you go back and listen to Ride The Lightning's contemporaries, you'll probably change you mind

 

[MarcusGHedwig]

Eh, I wouldn't say so, since Ermz specifically said modern metal production, which RtL and its ilk were anything but (whereas the Black album really set the standard for super-separated, clean, technically proficient metal mixes IMO)

 

[Toxic_Lord]

kill em all is better.

 

[Mago]

My faves are the first 3 songs (oh god how I dig em) & [...] Dyer´s Eve.

This for me!

I was pretty pissed when I realized at one of the last festival I was that I missed dyer's eve. I've allready heared the other songs live, but I missed dyers eve...since it started to piss like mad right before they started and it would have been my 4th time in 2 years or so I decided to head back to the tent and listen to it with a beer and stay dry.
Glad I was allready drunk when dyer's eve hit it.
But after all Im quite glad it went that way: Lars fucked it up SO BADLY, so at least it didn get butchered for me. Cause Justice wasnt that bad when I saw it live.

@ Ermz: You've got a point about the nostalgia thingy, but still it sounds better then other albums of the same era. And I allready heared worst demo productions from nowadays then that album too
But hearing it with i.e. the sound of "formation of damnation" wouldnt drive me mad tbh

 

[Felix Neumann]

Lars fucked it up SO BADLY, so at least it didn get butchered for me.

Aaaaargh!!

kill em all is better.

Good, man!

 

[Boneman]

Bought it on release when I was 9 years old in a country town of North Queensland, AUS.

Ran home to shove the cassette into the tape player, and my life changed.

When youre a kid you dont notice theres no bass, you just turn that tone knob all the way to the left and the volume all the way to the right.

Amazing album.

 

[Mago]

Aaaaargh!!

well what did you expect?

The best part of the story is:
My GF was once again a lot truer then me: she staid in the wavebraker for the WHOLE GIG
Needless to say, as soon as 'tallica stopped playing the rain stopped too and she came back to the tent looking as if she just jumped into a swimming pool.

 

[Felix Neumann]

Bought it on release when I was 9 years old in a country town of North Queensland, AUS.

Ran home to shove the cassette into the tape player, and my life changed.

When youre a kid you dont notice theres no bass, you just turn that tone knob all the way to the left and the volume all the way to the right.

Amazing album.

Oh I hear you, man Had similar experience 1991 though not with ajfa, with "The Unforgiven". I visited a friend of mine (couple of years older than me) he put on the Black Album Vinyl. As I heared the song, my life completely changed. My faith was sealed kind of haha.

 

[Felix Neumann]

well what did you expect?

The best part of the story is:
My GF was once again a lot truer then me: she staid in the wavebraker for the WHOLE GIG
Needless to say, as soon as 'tallica stopped playing the rain stopped too and she came back to the tent looking as if she just jumped into a swimming pool.

Haha we should rename the thread in Tallica storys, anecdotal & stuff Great, man! I could tell some storys, too. As LOAD came out, I was sooooooooooooooooooooooo pissed!!!!!! Today i´m fine with, but back then I hated them for this.

 

[Ermz]

Haha, they sound like cool experiences. I was 1 year old when AJFA came out, so can't relate to anything of that nature. For most of my life I was positive that I hated music, until I realized that it's because i was only ever exposed to popular music on the radio. I remember hearing Stabbing Westward's music in a few licensed clips in the late 90s, after Darkest Days was released, and that immediately changed me. For the first time I heard music I actually liked!

 

[Harry Hughes]

Sorry, I absolutely CANNOT stand guitar tones with a massive amount of core mids scooped out from them. Same goes for Cowboys from Hell, just super scooped and fizzy sounding bullshit that's absolutely grating on the ears.
I can never get my head around the idea that anyone thought that sounded good and heavy. It just sounds thin and leaves a huge gaping hole in the mix.
Even if everything else in the mix sounded good (which it doesn't really) the guitar aspect alone totally ruins it for me.
I'd rather a guitar tone with too much mids (KSE's "End of Heartache", Katatonia's "The Great Cold Distance" for e.g) that slightly clouds up the mix than one that's too scooped any day of the week.


I agree with Ermz, it wasn't until the Black album that the band had put out something with a fairly ground breaking production that sounded decent, but honestly even then I don't think the Black album sounds that special anyway, not good enough sounding that I can see why people still use it as a production reference for modern metal, but I digress.
Don't take this as a Metallica hate rant btw, because Ride The Lightning is my second favorite thrash album of all time from that 1980-1990 era when thrash was at it's peak.

 

[Mago]

Haha we should rename the thread in Tallica storys, anecdotal & stuff Great, man! I could tell some storys, too. As LOAD came out, I was sooooooooooooooooooooooo pissed!!!!!! Today i´m fine with, but back then I hated them for this.

haha yeah

Sadly for me, the first metallica album I heared was Load, so I thought it was kinda cool...still do btw!
First metallica thing I bought myself was the "I disapear" single I think.
Then saw a live concert they did when st.anger was out on MTV.
Thought "yeah that st. anger stuff is sick!" until they played "blackened".
Went to the store, bought justice, never looked back
But I remembe that I was surprised of how different hetfield sounded...and that the sound wasn't "fat" haha

 

[Virgil.]

I was never a Metallica fan, so I'll only comment from a production POV.

It's a bit of a bizarre one. As said, really super dry, boomy, yet at the same time kind of indistinct sounding. By today's standards it would barely be considered a demo production IMO, but it has a decent vibe for the music, and given the way that metal of the era was generally being done, it's almost a miracle that anything is audible and punchy, so it does the job!

I think when it comes to landmark influential records like this, nostalgia starts to play a very big factor in peoples' perception of what it is down the track. I'm sure Metallica were a very influential band to the history of metal, but I think it took the Black album to really set a standard in regards to modern metal production.

+1

 

[sprack]

I lost interest after MoP. And Justice just sounded like one 60min version of Battery to me. Kill Em All broke my mind when I first heard it at 9 though.

 

[Rhys Llewellyn]

Justice had some great songs, but I'm sorry, if you listen to it at a half decent volume and you hear that "woofing" sound from the palm mutes, no one can tell me that it sounds nice. It was badly produced on that front and was clearly unintentional. It doesn't detract from the song writing though.

Since we're sharing anecdotes... Metallica was my life as a teenager. I just managed to recall every song in order on every album up until the 5th song on Load, I think Until It Sleeps was 4th, drawn a blank as to what comes next... I still know all the lyrics and can play pretty much every song BUT I hate Metallica now. I have no respect for them and the last time I saw them live, I was just bored and unimpressed.

I remember getting my second copy of the Black Album on cassette 'cos I had a funky cassette player which used to automatically "reverse" Side B without you having to take the cassette out. Unfortunately it took the whole of the Black Album with it too first time round! I remember getting a fresh new copy, I must've been 12 or 13, before a flight to Greece and having a mini Sony portable TV too which picked up porn in Greece! Score! These kids with their internet don't know how lucky they are!

 

[ratsapprentice]

Eh, I wouldn't say so, since Ermz specifically said modern metal production, which RtL and its ilk were anything but (whereas the Black album really set the standard for super-separated, clean, technically proficient metal mixes IMO)

I know, if you listen to RTL, it obviously had a big impact on the direction that metal production would take.
I think you'll be hard pressed to find a more separated and clean metal production from the first half of the 80's.

 

[Perishh]

Definitely re-name this thread to 'How Metallica Changed Your Life.' Before hearing any Metallica songs I just assumed Metallica were a shitty truckie band (as in James Hetfield was some bogan truckie looking dude). Then I saw a video clip of The Unforgiven from the binge and purge DVD and I couldn't believe such melodies were coming out of such an angry handle-bar moustache looking dude. I've never looked back.

Justice is probably the most re-listenable album of Metallica's. When I first heard it I had no view on the production just how beastly the songwriting was. ...And Justice For All the song is still one of my all time favourite songs!

 

[~BURNY~]

I was 12 or 13 when it came out. I clearly remember hating the sound then but didn't stop me from listening to it continuously. It would have sounded 100x better with more Jason in the mix.
I still think RTL and MOP sound great even by today's standards but AJFA is pure sonic poop.

 

[LeSedna]

I'm too young to have lived any metallica old days.

I just remember I started guitar learning system of a down songs, and thought they were cool (they are, actually, at that time it was still their good days with their 2 or 3 first albums), until I discovered the existence of songs like Fade To Black which just dropped me in their albums.

I personnally like AJFA sound if you crank the bass a little. You may find the guitar tone not perfect to today's standard, but I like its sort of smoothness. What bothers me more is the kick, it's awesome on One, but there's something missing in it. Also, now I find lar's playing sometimes a bit irritating. He had a cool style but some of his rolls and transitions just feel weird and not of great taste.