Album
…And Justice for All
…And Justice for All is Metallica's fourth studio album and the first to feature bassist Jason Newsted, who joined after Cliff Burton's death in 1986. Burton still received a co-writing credit on "To Live Is to Die". Recorded with producer Flemming Rasmussen over four months in early 1988 in Los Angeles, it came out in September 1988.
The songs are fast and intricate, with few conventional verse-chorus shapes, and the lyrics take on injustice, corruption, censorship and war. "One", the band's first music video, got heavy airplay, while "Harvester of Sorrow" reached the UK top 20. The album reached number six on the Billboard 200 and went eight-times platinum in the US. The dry mix and barely audible bass drew criticism, yet the album's depth won praise, and later reviews place it among the band's best work.
…And Justice for All on Riffology
riffology.co →
…And Justice for All: tracklist, credits and charts
9 tracks · 1:05:10Tracklist
- Disc 1
- 1BlackenedHetfield, Newsted, Ulrich6:40
- 2…And Justice for AllHammett, Hetfield, Ulrich9:44
- 3Eye of the BeholderHammett, Hetfield, Ulrich6:25
- 4OneJames Hetfield and Lars Ulrich7:24
- Disc 2
- 1The Shortest StrawJames Hetfield and Lars Ulrich6:35
- 2Harvester of SorrowJames Hetfield and Lars Ulrich5:42
- 3The Frayed Ends of SanityHammett, Hetfield, Ulrich7:40
- 4To Live Is to DieBurton, Hetfield, Ulrich9:48
- 5Dyers EveHammett, Hetfield, Ulrich5:12
- Produced by
- Metallica, Flemming Rasmussen, James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich
- Recorded at
- One on One (Los Angeles), 17 Hertz Studio
- Recorded
- 30 January – 23 May 1988
- Mixed by
- Michael Barbiero, Steve Thompson
- Mixed at
- Bearsville Studios
- Engineered by
- Flemming Rasmussen, Toby Wright, Mike Clink
- Label
- Vertigo
- Length
- 1:05:10
Line-up
- Kirk Hammett · guitar
- James Hetfield · guitar, lead vocals
- Jason Newsted · bass guitar
- Lars Ulrich · drums (drum set)
Singles
- “Harvester of Sorrow” · 28 August 1988
- “Eye of the Beholder” · 30 October 1988
- “One” · 10 January 1989
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1988–2021 | 4 |
| US Billboard 200 · 1988–2021 | 6 |
| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) · 1988–2021 | 1 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums · 1988–2021 | 1 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) · 1988–2021 | 3 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) · 1988–2021 | 5 |
| Polish Albums · 1988–2021 | 7 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) · 1988–2021 | 7 |
| Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) · 1988–2021 | 8 |
| Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) · 1988–2021 | 8 |
All 24 charts
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) · 1988–2021 | 9 |
| Portuguese Albums (AFP) · 1988–2021 | 9 |
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) · 1988–2021 | 12 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1988–2021 | 13 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1988–2021 | 16 |
| Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ) · 1988–2021 | 22 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) · 1988–2021 | 25 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) · 1988–2021 | 36 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) · 1988–2021 | 40 |
| Irish Albums (IRMA) · 1988–2021 | 48 |
| Italian Albums (FIMI) · 1988–2021 | 56 |
| Mexican Albums (Top 100 Mexico) · 1988–2021 | 92 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 1988–2021 | 119 |
| French Albums (SNEP) · 1988–2021 | 130 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Argentina · 1991 | Platinum |
| Australia · 2024 | 3× Platinum |
| Canada | 3× Platinum |
| Denmark · 2025 | Gold |
| Finland | Platinum |
| Germany · 2019 | 2× Platinum |
| Italy · 2024 | Gold |
| New Zealand | Gold |
| Norway · 1994 | Gold |
| Poland · 2021 | Platinum |
| Switzerland · 2003 | Platinum |
| United Kingdom · 2024 | Platinum |
| United States | 8× Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
92.3
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
15k
ListenBrainz listeners
440k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
55k
Deezer fans (all editions)
← Creeping Death / Jump in the Fire (1987)1985-03-15: Kabuki Theater, San Francisco, CA, USA (1990) →
Also released on 7 September
Every year →
More from Metallica
Full discography →
Kill ’Em All
1983
Ride the Lightning
1984
Master of Puppets
1986
The $5.98 E.P.: Garage Days Re‐Revisited
1987
Creeping Death / Jump in the Fire
1987
1985-03-15: Kabuki Theater, San Francisco, CA, USA
1990
Metallica The Good the Bad & the Live: The 6½ Year Anniversary 12″ Collection 1990
The Good the Bad & the Live: The 6½ Year Anniversary 12″ Collection
1990
Metallica
1991
Live Shit: Binge & Purge
1993
Load
1996
Hero of the Day EP
1996
Reload
1997
Garage Inc.
1998
Cunning Stunts
1998
S&M
1999
St. Anger
2003
The Unnamed Feeling E.P.
2004
Some Kind of Monster
2004
Limited‐Edition Vinyl Box Set
2004
The Videos: 1989–2004
2006
Death Magnetic
2008
Orgullo, pasión, y gloria: Tres noches en La Ciudad de México
2009
Six Feet Down Under, Part II
2010
Melbourne Magnetic - November 18 2010
2010
Live at Grimey's
2010
Lulu
2011
Beyond Magnetic
2011
2011-12-07: The Fillmore, San Francisco, CA, USA
2011
Through the Never (Music From the Motion Picture)
2013
Hardwired… to Self‐Destruct
2016
S&M2
2020
Leftovers From the Black Album Box Set
2023
72 Seasons
2023
The best of 1988
All of 1988 →
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
Iron Maiden · 1988
G N’ R Lies
Guns N’ Roses · 1988
Blow Up Your Video
AC/DC · 1988
So Far, So Good… So What!
Megadeth · 1988
South of Heaven
Slayer · 1988
Delicate Sound of Thunder
Pink Floyd · 1988
No Rest for the Wicked
Ozzy Osbourne · 1988
Operation: Mindcrime
Queensrÿche · 1988
EP
Guns N’ Roses · 1988
Ultramega OK
Soundgarden · 1988
Power Metal
Pantera · 1988
State of Euphoria
Anthrax · 1988
More on Vertigo
The label →Metallica
Metallica · 1991
Death Magnetic
Metallica · 2008
St. Anger
Metallica · 2003
Load
Metallica · 1996
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath · 1970
S&M
Metallica · 1999
Vol 4
Black Sabbath · 1972
Heaven and Hell
Black Sabbath · 1980
Pyromania
Def Leppard · 1983
Sabotage
Black Sabbath · 1975
Mob Rules
Black Sabbath · 1981
Never Say Die!
Black Sabbath · 1978
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia 1988-09-07; musicbrainz + wikidata 1988-08-25 (13 days apart, likely another territory)
Wikipedia's note: The Recording Industry Association of America lists the release date as August 25, 1988, as does Metallica's official SoundCloud page and the streaming services Spotify and Apple Music. According to Benoît Clerc, the album was released on September 5 in the UK by Phonogram/Vertigo Records and the following day in the US by Elektra/Asylum Records; author Mick Wall lists the date as September 5, and Guitar World lists September 6. Metallica's website lists the date as September 7.
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 25 August 1988 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 7 September 1988 | see Wikipedia note |
| Wikidata | 25 August 1988 | |
| US release | 6 September 1988 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 25 August 1988 | earliest UK or European date |
52 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | DE | Phonogram | 042283606227 | other |
| — | XE | Phonogram | 042283606227 | other |
| — | XE | Phonogram | 042283606227 | other |
| — | US | Elektra | 075596081221 | remaster |
| — | US | Blackened | remaster | |
| 1988 | GB | Vertigo | 042283606210 | other |
| 1988 | US | Elektra | 075596081245 | other |
| 1988 | MX | Vertigo | 042283606227 | other |
| 1988 | XE | Vertigo | 042283606210 | other |
| 1988 | US | Elektra | other | |
| 1988 | AR | Phonogram | 042283606227 | other |
| 1988 | US | Elektra | 075596081221 | other |
| 1988 | US | Columbia House | 075596081221 | other |
| 1988 | AU | Vertigo | 9399083606225 | other |
| 25 August 1988 | XE | Vertigo | 042283606227 | original |
| 6 September 1988 | US | Elektra | 075596081214 | other |
| 8 September 1988 | CA | Elektra | 075596081214 | other |
| 8 September 1988 | FR | Vertigo | 042283606227 | other |
| 14 September 1988 | JP | CBS/Sony | 4988009615653 | other |
| 14 September 1988 | JP | CBS/Sony | 4988009541419 | other |
| 15 September 1988 | CA | Elektra | 075596081221 | other |
| October 1988 | XE | Phonogram | 042283606227 | other |
| 1993 | CZ | Globus International | other | |
| 1994 | AU | Phonogram | 9399083606225 | other |
| 1994 | AU | Phonogram | 9399083606225 | other |
| 1995 | US | Elektra | 075596081221 | other |
| 6 November 2003 | JP | Sony Music Japan International Inc. | 4547366012958 | other |
| 25 July 2006 | CA | Mercury Records | 00602517839434 | other |
| 9 August 2006 | JP | Universal International | 4988005440044 | other |
| 12 September 2008 | JP | Vertigo | 4988005530493 | other |
| 8 October 2008 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 093624986898 | other |
| 22 September 2010 | JP | Vertigo | 4988005628657 | other |
| 2 November 2011 | JP | Universal International | 4988005690678 | other |
| 10 September 2013 | US | Blackened | 856115004507 | other |
| 2016 | US | Blackened | other | |
| 2 February 2018 | XE | Blackened | 602547243157 | other |
| 2 October 2018 | XW | Blackened | 0602508628887 | remaster |
| 2 November 2018 | XW | Blackened | remaster | |
| 2 November 2018 | CA | Blackened | 858978005820 | remaster |
| 2 November 2018 | CA | Blackened | 858978005820 | remaster |
| 2 November 2018 | US | Blackened | 858978005783 | other |
| 2 November 2018 | US | Blackened | 858978005806 | remaster |
| 2 November 2018 | JP | Blackened | 4988031307175 | other |
| 2 November 2018 | GB | Virgin EMI Records | 602567690276 | remaster |
| 2 November 2018 | US | Blackened | 858978005813 | deluxe |
| 2 November 2018 | XE | Blackened | 602567690153 | other |
| 2 November 2018 | XE | Blackened | 602567598770 | other |
| 2 November 2018 | XW | Blackened | 602567690245 | remaster |
| 2 November 2018 | CA | Blackened | 858978005929 | remaster |
| 2 November 2018 | XE | Blackened | 602567690191 | remaster |
| 2 November 2018 | — | UMC | 602567690269 | remaster |
| 27 March 2020 | XW | Blackened | 850007452131 | other |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · native: native 2400x2400
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 2400×2400 | native: native 2400x2400 |
| itunes | 2000×2000 | native |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |