Metallica

…And Justice for All

First released1988

Metallica recorded "…And Justice for All" at One on One Recording Studios in Los Angeles from February to August 1988, with producer Flemming Rasmussen returning from their previous album. The album featured the band's new bassist Jason Newsted, following Cliff Burton's death in 1986, and showcased a more complex, progressive songwriting style compared to their earlier work. Engineer John Cuniberti assisted with the production, while the band employed intricate layering and orchestral arrangements, particularly notable in the use of multiple guitar tracks and synthesizers. A distinctive technical characteristic of the final mix was the almost inaudible bass guitar, a mixing choice that has been widely discussed and sometimes criticized in retrospective analysis. The album marked a significant point in thrash metal's evolution, arriving during the genre's commercial expansion in the late 1980s.