Mixture Posture: 30 Years of Justice

30 Years of Justice

Metallica launch And Justice for All Video Series
For the record, yes, I could have embedded the playlist at the bottom of this page, but that would have robbed me the opportunity to spout on and on (and on!) about each track on the And Justice for All album.

Track 2 - Week 1 - The title track has the most insane tom-tom pattern that starts at the 1:09 part. Lars is ON FIRE!

Track 7 - Week 2 - The Frayed Ends of Sanity is the type of tune that encompasses every thing I adore about Metallica. The drums, the guitar, the lyrics, the attitude, the execution - it's all there. That said, for some reason, Metallica has never seemed to embrace this tune for its greatness. Sure, they typically play a snippet of it at the end of their final tune - usually "Enter Sandman" - which is great. I would put it in the main part of the setlist. I might consider removing (gasp!) "Nothing Else Matters" as a encore tune and end the concert with "Spit Out the Bone," then "Frayed Ends of Sanity" and then "Enter Sandman." If "Nothing Else Matters" needs to be included elsewhere in the set - I have a feeling it does - I would insert it wherever "Fade to Black" sits.

Track 8 - Week 3 - In 2018, I classify this tune as "great filler" on a "great album" that paid tribute to a great band member and a great friend. It's similar to the way "Murder One" on "Hardwired to Self-Destruct" pays tribute to their friend Lemmy (Motorhead). So, sure, I get it. I can't say I ever put this track on repeat, though I really do like Lars Ulrich's drumming.

Track 9 - Week 4 - My advice to aspiring drummers. Create a playlist with this tune - and only this tune - with a duration of 45 minutes. Why 45 minutes? "Back in the day" I had a 90 minute cassette tape - 45 minutes on each side - and that's what I use as a reference even to this day. Anyways, after the playlist is created, either play actual drums along to this tune or air drums (as long as you are honestly keeping up with the tempo. Do that each day - 45 minutes of this tune - for 5 days in a row. I guarantee you that if you are keeping up to it, after 5 days, you will find it easier to keep up to the tempo, which is insanely fast.

Track 1 - Week 5 - There's something to be said for the way Metallica changed their looks over the years. I enjoy seeing Jason Newsted playing this song because it is one of the few songs he was given songwriting credit on during his time in Metallica.

Bonus videos:

from year 1999
Pretty much any video from this era is going to make me smile. For this video, I would say I love the way Kirk smiles and the way Lars stands up during the part where it is just the bass drum and the rhythm guitar.

This is the above tune as played in 2017 at the concert I attended with Alex, my son!

Track 4 - Week 6 - Great tune. I vividly recall where I was the first time I saw the original video. I was in James Goodrich's basement, watching an episode of Headbanger's Ball on MTV.

Track 5 - Week 7 - I do not think this version matches the recorded version on the album. There's something different in the song structure. Not 100% sure if I'm right.

Track 6 - Week 8 - This song was an early favorite of mine on the album when it came out, then I grew tired of it, then I rediscovered it. Now, I think it's a great example of Lars Ulrich nailing the perfect tempo.

Track 3 - Week 9 - I remember seeing an issue of Modern Drummer magazine with a drum transcription of this tune. I remember being fascinated by two things Lars Ulrich does. First, in the opening pattern, he's playing the snare on the 3 in 4/4 time, which, when I learned that, I found it a unique idea as I had not heard a drummer play the snare on 3 - it was always on 2 and 4 in 4/4 time. Second, the song goes into a bar of 5/4 time during the instrumental section. When I saw the transcription, I realized that he wasn't just playing the snare on 3 4 1 (as I had originally thought he was doing). Instead, there is an actual 5th beat in the measure, which is really cool now that I know what is happening.