Growing Relevance

Soundtrack: ...And Justice For All by Metallica

Metallica’s progressive thrash metal masterpiece is nearly twenty years old, yet it is eerily relevant to today’s uncomfortable and bloated political climate. The album, as the name sarcastically implies, is about injustice. From the victim of war in “One” to the scathing criticism of the American justice system in the title track, the album talks about the injustices of war, politics, and the fucked up state of the world in general. I find it interesting how much of the album alludes to the current war in Iraq. “Harvester Of Sorrow” is practically a social commentary about suicide bombers.

What is most interesting are the feelings of paranoia that wash throughout the album. 1988 was a volatile year in the United States. There was plenty to be paranoid about. Not only was it an election year, but there was growing turmoil globally with the first stages of the demise of the Soviet Union. Upon becoming the Soviet Premiere in 1985, Gorbachev worked to institute a series of economic reforms that were known as “perestroika”. One of the most dynamic of these reforms was the Law On Cooperatives. This law permitted private ownership of businesses in the services, manufacturing, and foreign-trade sectors. This was a huge thing for the Soviet Union. It was the first time since Lenin’s New Economic Policy that private business had been allowed. Along with Glasnost, led to a winding down of the Cold War. Even so, people were still unsure about the Soviets. After living with fifty years of paranoia it is hard to shake that feeling off.

It was around this period of time that I was starting to become aware as a person, especially politically aware. These events were a big deal to me. I remember my mom breaking down in tears when the Berlin Wall fell in 1989. I have no doubt in my mind Metallica were just as influenced by world events while writing ... And Justice For All. The album still has Metallica’s trademark apocalyptic bent, but it is more focused. The topics are less abstract and much more real. This was also the period of time that music was really starting to have a huge affect on me. In years previous what I knew of music came from my parents’ record collection and the radio. My parents have awesome taste in music so I got lucky there. But as I was starting to become my own individual, I began to move beyond what their seemingly vast collection of vinyl offered. I never really liked the hair bands of the era. Groups like Poison and Warrant were too flashy, too over the top for my taste. But then I discovered Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, and soon afterwards Metallica and Iron Maiden and Megadeath. This was angry, brutal music that reflected my current distress over how things in the world were going. And today I find myself in almost the same place as I was twenty years ago: confused, angry, distressed. There is injustice in the world and I am pissed off about it. I still listen to loud and angry music. Thankfully my choices expanded greatly when I discovered punk as a freshman in high school, and then hardcore during my senior year. Punk was a great discovery because it was so much more snide and cynical than metal. Instead of pure aggression here was something that was smart and angry. And hardcore was even better because it had the aggression of metal combined with the intelligence of punk. And there was slam dancing... now it was OK to flail around like a lunatic!

Back to Metallica, this is by far not only one of my favorite Metallica albums, but one of my favorite metal albums of all time. I think as long as there is corruption and injustice and a reason to be paranoid, this album will be relevant. It is bold and grandiose and even arrogant, just like the society people in the United States are subjected to daily. But most of all, it is angry. It wants change. And it wants change now.