... And Justice For All (Hetfield/Ulrich/Hammett)
Album:
... And Justice For All
The inspiration:
The song writing for "... And Justice For All" has been probably inspired by a
1976 Al Pacino film with the same name. The movie is about a lawyer who is sick of a justice
system in which innocent people get killed or convicted unjustly and murderers and rapists
are allowed to walk unconcerned on the streets.
The subject matter:
It is about corrupt justice in which the money becomes more important than the truth.
Metallica about "... And Justice For All"
Kirk Hammett: I worked out an opening lick for the solo but it wasn't really
happening, so I plugged in the wah-wah pedal - which I always do when all else fails. As
soon as I plugged in, we were done. A lot of people give me shit about how I hide behind
the wah pedal, but something about it brings out a lot of aggression. It just tailors
the sound to match the mood and emotion I'm trying to convey. It's purely an aesthetic
thing and not a crutch or anything like that. The fiff where I utilize the open string
hammer-ons developed from a Gary Moore lick that I'd been studying. I figured it would
sound really good combined with the heavy E-chord progression.
James Hetfield: That song is pretty long, like all the songs on that album.
We wanted to write shorter material, but it never happened. We were into packing songs
with riffs. The whole riff is very percussive; it goes right along with the drums. The
singing on that song is a lot lower than usual. (source: GuitarWorld issue of '91)
