Metallica - ...And Justice for All: Just the bass

Metal’s most famous bass-less album now has bass. I’m not talking about the various versions of …And Justice for All‘s songs that have cropped up with “enhanced bass” or “listener-overdubbed bass” or what-have-you. I’m talking about the actual, isolated bass lines that Jason Newsted played.

Thanks to today’s “plastic instruments” video games, they are now audible on YouTube – five of the album’s nine songs, anyway. (The list of Metallica songs made available for video games is here.) It’s quite a revelation to hear these bass lines. I’ve been listening to …And Justice for All for over two decades, and I’ve never heard this aspect of the record. Of course, it brings to mind what the album might have sounded like with audible bass – but then again, people have been playing “What If?” ever since Cliff Burton died. These clips will only add fuel to that fire.

(Note that the bass does not enter until 0:57 in “Blackened”, 0:33 in “…And Justice for All”, and 1:04 in “One”.)

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“Blackened” (Bass Only)

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“…And Justice for All” (Bass Only)

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“One” (Bass Only)

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“The Shortest Straw” (Bass Only)

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“Dyers Eve” (Bass Only)

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Thanks to Studio Multitracks for the inspiration.

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