Kirk hired me to design and build his guitar rack and I worked on this record. We used the MP-1 as well as their programmable eq into a Rane SM26 mixer with an SPX-90 and a Roland FX unit. Either a DEP-5 or SDE-3000? That then went into a Boogie 400 power amp.
If you don't mind me asking... this always gave me huge curiosity... What did create that time based effect, this chorus/flanger-like sound to the guitars? It's unlike anything i ever heard in other bands or records and makes this record instantly recognizable, from the guitars alone
I have been listening to Metallica for 22 years, and i have never seen these pictures of the Justice album recording process at one on one studio's before
ha same here! i thought I had seen everything! when they showed the studio, I said is that One on One?! looks just like it?! and then they mentioned it was One on One!
What hurts even more about the lack of bass is just how brilliant Newsted’s performance was. When you listen to the isolated tracks for this record, the bass is incredible…
Most Metallica fans say MOP is their favorite album, mine is AJFA. I love the riffs, the arrangements, and just the overall vibe of the album. It's ironic because I play bass and well... you know.
I agree 100%! Ajfa just has an edge to it. Epic, technical, dark.... its popular to rag on lars these days but his work on ajfa is so influential and awesome! I also play bass! 🤘
@@leviathansky7188 Absolutely. And if you play the songs in the album there are all these intricacies and all these little things they change the next time around they play a riff, or they add some little details here and there that throws you off. It's a technical masterpiece.
Same here, I actually enjoy a few of their albums more than MOP, I love the blistering rawness of AJFA, but I also love the commercial sound of TBA and Load... then there's the classic RTL, then it's MOP for me.
Yeah, it's funny that DT gets mentioned a lot w/ making of AJFA. Hell, I even remember Kirk name dropping them in an interview talking about the "musical virtuosity" of the time, in regards to AJFA's prog-iness. That alcohol didn't help his memory.
I just assumed they were into Rainbow and Rush, and that's what gave them the taste for longer songs in the 80s. And they probably just wanted to keep advancing like they had been up to that point
@@gabrielbrouwer Precisely how much Vai-influenced material do you hear on AJFA? Please point out the songs and parts that are reminiscent of Vai, because I don't hear it and I've owned that album since the day it debuted. Waited an hour for the mall to open and everything.
I’ve always loved the drum mix on this album. Those tones made metallica stand out. Easily could’ve had Beau Hill mix the drums to sound like Ratt, Warrant etc.
AJFA was my introduction to Metallica. (I was a late bloomer!) It's what got me to start playing guitar. MOP and KEA would become my favorite albums of theirs. Now that I'm older, I realize that AJFA was their best album (imo.)
Not sure if it’s already been commented on but there’s an interview Jason did maybe ten years ago (it’s on YT and worth a watch/listen if you’re a Metallica history buff) where he blamed the lack of bass on AJFA not so much on the egos of James and Lars, but their crazy touring schedule at the time combined with recording and mixing the album. He pointed out that the bass is totally audible on the Garage Days EP which was his first recording with the band and assumed his work on AJFA would sound the same when he recorded his parts. The engineer for that album DID say Lars told him to drop the bass level down to essentially nothing when they were mixing it and Jason himself says in the interview I mentioned above that he was doubling James’ guitar riffs which made them sound muddy. “Blackened” is a Jason riff so at least he’s got that
The bass on Garage Days EP is awesome! Wish we could have heard it on AJFA…I also think that Lars may have had a shitty car stereo with a tape player and he was so used to listening to albums without bass he thought it was how metal music was supposed to sound…some interview where he said he reviewed mixes in his car for AJFA…
@@poornoodle9851 It definitely gives AJFA a unique sound- I prefer the mixes I’ve heard where people have boosted the bass track and messed with the drum sound, but the original is still good. The snare and clicky bass drum still stick out to me for the first couple minutes everytime I listen to it. I kinda wonder if they were trying to bite a little bit of that stripped down recording sound that Slayer had with Rick Rubin for AJFA. Pretty stark change in sound if you listen to Hell Awaits and then put on Angel of Death- maybe Metallica was thinking that in between Master of Puppets and AJFA. They were obviously aware of their peers and what direction that style of music was going
i remember once someone on youtube said "eye of the beer holder" and its stuck with me since. but anyways some odd reason i actually like the album better with no bass. maybe because overall the sound was heavy but flat and when i hear people bass boost it it just sticks out to much and seems odd. or maybe because im so use to the released version i dunno.
A 24 channel recorder just for the drums!! That's why it sounds like that, I'm listening to it right now and I can understand this sonic masterpiece. Your channel rocks, thank you so much!
I hated the lack of base back in the days and switched to megadeth... :-) but after all these years, when i found the "....and justice for Jason" mixes including his phenomenal bassplay, i have to say, that album is quite a banger 🙂
At the end there's a picture of the back cover with what looks like the album divided into "chapters" I - IV I never saw that before and I bought the Justice album on cd back in like '90-'91 ish.
Love the breakdowns you do of these classic albums. I've a new theory of the missing bass in this particular record. Apart from their well known contentious relationship with Jason, James and Lars simply did not like what he was playing for the songs. Hetfield revealed it in their interview with David Fricke of Rolling Stone. He simply was just doubling Hetfield's guitar parts instead of creating bass lines ala Cliff Burton. Hetfield said he would turn his back to hide where his fingers where in the fretboard and try to force Jason to come up with something more original. Obviously, turning down the bass completely was an extreme solution to a problem they didn't know how to solve.
well the band razzed each other all the time, so james may have not been that mad about it. also important to mention here that blackened is JASONS song and the best on the album. James didn't have problem playing that with his parts the same as the bass. also honestly what a crazy thing to say about metal bass which needs to not fight the guitars to keep the mix clean. jason was more technically talented than maybe all of them so i'm sure his approach was solid. he came from a thrashier band than metallica and that gave justice that edge to push the band where they wanted to go. it's just so much more likely that turning the bass down was lars' silly idea for a new sound and probably more to have his drums not fighting the bass. his drums would be upfront, and he sold it to the band as not wanting to replace cliff.
@@SHMUPS Probably, all the above. James certainly could have fought more for Jason's bass mix if he was so inclined but he didn't. There's a story that Lars actually tried to have Management fire Jason around this time period. They said no and told Lars to just get on with it. It has to be stated that Jason was an unknown and was brought in rather quickly to salvage tour dates. He impressed everyone with his knowledge of the entire tour set list but his creativity wasn't tested until this album. Yes, Blackened was his main and only contribution to the record and also the only song that had discernable bass at the beginning. A small victory that even Jason admitted to. Dyer's Eve is my personal fav.
@@SHMUPS I don't think so. Their first album Doomsday For The Deceiver became really popular but not when it was released. Roughly June 86 on Metal Blade. Jason left soon after to join Metallica. The band never toured until 87 opening for Megadeth.
This album made Me realize as a kid how song writing was done, it really is a big puzzle of riffs that go together, I always loved the amount of killer riffs in one song..no pun intended, well maybe so! 🤟
I’m a fan since 85, Justice is my favourite album, the guitar sounds fading in, the tempo and time changes were incredible, however I do believe the album would’ve sounded way bigger and better if you could hear a bass guitar.. Enough said. But they should re release the album with the bass in it, why they don’t… Well we’ll never know, but we do know…
@xwhite2020 Ha ha because you weren't the guy who played all the bass parts for months just to have nothing in the end. It must have been really inspiring.
"I also used an ada preamp and an ada mp1" Ada Mp1 is a preamp And btw the Hetfield didn't use a jcm800 on justice. It was used on the black album along with the mkiv There are some inaccuracies in this video 😅.
Thats fascinating to learn that the SM7's were used so prominently, especially for the vocals. I wonder what drove that decision.......to me, its a strange choice. Maybe its just what the studio had on hand? Because its really more of a broadcast mic, isnt it?
That is its main use but a lot of singers have used it over the years including Michael Jackson on the Thriller album. Tends to suit an aggressive vocal performance so probably the reason Hetfield uses a lot.
the buried bass is 100% down to lars and hetfield burning the candle at both ends while approving the mixes. they were flying from gigs to the studio after every show to approve mixes and make changes. their ears would have been just destroyed and so so tired.
Seems like it was just an offer from phonogram but they signed to Electra instead. I misunderstood what was going on there. Thought phonogram must be a parent label but it isn’t.
I remember being a kid listening to this album and thinking it was the most "in your face" thing I had ever heard, although I wasn't very knowledgeable of music and sound. Later on, listening to other bands I realized that the absence of bass guitar helped for that dry snappy sound, but hey... Pantera did something similar without compromising bass and thunder in the mix 😊
Years ago I remember watching a video of James in the studio laying down some vocals for the EOTB track, had kirk doing some noodling and general takes from the studio for AJFA, I cannot find this footage anywhere, does anyone know about this stuff? I think there was an interview with a bearded Flemming. It was a definite vhs upload, but yea, cannot find it to this day.
The album is perfectly mixed. What a great guitar tone & clean separation of the drum sounds. The sound matches the content of that album and the low base provides a back end treble distortion effect that gives the rythm guitar more crunch. Lightning and Puppets sound so flat in comparison. I always wished I could hear the earlier albums with the Justice treatment.
@@mattlewis6833 got to agree to disagree here, the mix ruins the album for me, this could have been so much better if you could actually hear the bass.
Honestly i think the absence of Cliff and his style of playing is what they missed and hearing any other style on the recording was unfamiliar and foreign. Plus Cliff didn't play everything James did note for note. He play a harmonizing riff that complimented the guitars. Something Jason didn't do and thats the reason they turned his bass down so much. He was playing everything that the guitars were doing making it sound overdriven and muddy.
Its so sad how their music changed over the decades. The Black album was great but after that what they started playing wasn't even metal! Their 80s thrash style hit the hearts and ears of so many fans it just gave you a great feeling.
Black album was the worst album by far...if you can seriously say that what they did after the black album isn't metal, you don't know metal...at all! LOL...
Everything until Justice for All was great. the black album and everything else suck. I remember waiting for them to play The Black album on the radio and when I heard I was so disappointed. I thought what happened to James's voice😂
@ShadowReubenKee he happened to not be in the studio on the day that the final mixing was done and when he heard it the next time he was in the studio it was too late to do anything about it so he wasn't happy.
They were definitely in their own world for production. The album was groundbreaking even though they were wrong about the bass production. The drum sound was fine. Lars just didn’t need to mess with the bass. It could have all fit. Thankfully time has changed him from being such a prick. Good thing they got Bob Rock for the next record. Says a little something about the Guns guys in the studio as well. Mike Clink seemed to be okay with the Guns boys, as erratic as they were. Metallica seemed to really stump him. Clink is great behind the board but maybe they needed a Rock kind of attitude to break them down and listen because the Black album production is brilliant. Too bad Justice didn’t get that treatment.
I couldn't care less what anyone, including 'experts', say- the mix on AJFA is perfect. The guitars are so crunchy, harsh and heavy that bass isn't needed. And Lars double bass fills in the bottom end just fine. Listening to remixes w/ upped bass makes the sound too warm and full, completely changing the feel of the album. It's meant to sound sterile, dry and desolate, just like the lyrics imply. There's a reason why the Justice tone is the most used for Metallica "what ifs" on youtube. It's the greatest guitar tone of all-time.
@@viannarts It was meant to sound like it's lacking? Heck, the sounds is matched with St. Anger, and the only thing that sounds bad with that album is Lars' snare drum. The bass on that album is significantly better.
love the detail. it's clear lars' influence on the band's sound was toxic, and it was only by luck that they still at least got the black album recorded before they unraveled musically. bob rock's loving hands and tons of money gave them the safety net to get it done. james throwing his hands up when lars said kill the bass says it all. he didn't want to deal with the drama of fighting lars, he let him lead. but lars is just a business man at the core.
For a while I thought the low mixed bass was a stab at Jason, becuase he wasn't Cliff, but then I figured that Metallica has always been centrain of what they wanted. So this wasn't anything negative towards Jason, it's just the sound they wanted.
Production is perfect - Hetfield and Ulrich knew exactly what they were doing. The dry sound was transformative and forward thinking. Everyone copied this - Pantera, RATM, DOWNSET, Helmet etc. its perfect.
@@williamgatesenson Lars, like U2 are great salesmen, they are protecting their brand by slightly disowning some earlier work. It's what legacy artists do to appear more down to earth. If they were so unhappy with it they would have released an alternative mix on the remaster anniversary album
@@williamgatesenson "no bass and typewriter drums." 🤣 This is the perfect way to describe this album. Unfortunately, the drum sound inspired metal drumming for the worst.
That threw me out too. I've been playing Guitar for well over 30 years and cannot say I have encountered a H chord! H = Natural B, or B minor chord in German. Or so I am lead to believe.
They were originally from the ‘Rock band’ game, can’t remember exactly where this lot came from but you can find them around. Theyre a strange file type (MOGG) and you need the free program ‘Audacity’ to convert them.
lars and hetfield were exhausted and deaf as posts when they were approving and making changes to the mix. they were playing a stadium tour, flying to the studio after every show to mix and partying ay too hard. these guys never wore ear protection back in the day. so, tired ears, blasted hearing, constant state of hangover, no sleep. of course the record sounds.....interesting. people forget how buried cliff was on ride and puppets....sure, you could hear him in places, but take ktulu for example.....all of cliff's fills are buried in the murky mix-that song is basically a long bass solo, and you would never know.
@@cbr9914 "all of cliff's fills are buried in the murky mix-" Not true. Listening to Kill 'em All, Ride the Lighting, and Master of Puppet without bass is unlistenable.
This guy's facts are way off! 1.) Metallica was signed with Elektra Records in the 80s and 90s, briefly with MegaForce. 2.) Dream Theatre wasn't around in 1987-88 when Justice was made so they wouldn't be a factor at all and that band is a different genre of metal music.
A lot is always says about the mix on this album, especially the lack of bass. Back in the day the quality of most people's listening devices was no where near the standard it is today. It's almost like this album was mixed to be listened to on poor quality systems or personal tape players
Kirk hired me to design and build his guitar rack and I worked on this record. We used the MP-1 as well as their programmable eq into a Rane SM26 mixer with an SPX-90 and a Roland FX unit. Either a DEP-5 or SDE-3000? That then went into a Boogie 400 power amp.
Amazing! Thank you for the insight 🙏
Wow incredible. Do you have any stories from that time?
If you don't mind me asking... this always gave me huge curiosity... What did create that time based effect, this chorus/flanger-like sound to the guitars? It's unlike anything i ever heard in other bands or records and makes this record instantly recognizable, from the guitars alone
@@megahurtz30 Probably eventide harmonizer. A few cents sharp on one channel, flat on the other.
@@chasebeavers thanks for that tip
I think the opening of this album is the best part of it. that guitar army aria is terrifying and beautiful.
It sounds like an approaching war machine which is how good they were in 1988.
This whole album was a complete masterpiece. Every song and riff was laid out perfect.
@@paulbali9998 they heard the best prog metal bands and were like...."hold my beer"
I have been listening to Metallica for 22 years, and i have never seen these pictures of the Justice album recording process at one on one studio's before
Dude I have been listening since 90, and I too haven't seen most of this. Unreal
ha same here! i thought I had seen everything! when they showed the studio, I said is that One on One?! looks just like it?! and then they mentioned it was One on One!
I wish they had footage of this album being recorded like they did with the black album
@@demonicon1 same I enjoy this album more than the black album
@@aegisreflector1239absolutely!
Ditto!
Me too because I want to know who played the drums on it.
Same! This was peak Metallica. By the time the Black album came along, they had lost something and never got it back.
What hurts even more about the lack of bass is just how brilliant Newsted’s performance was. When you listen to the isolated tracks for this record, the bass is incredible…
Most Metallica fans say MOP is their favorite album, mine is AJFA. I love the riffs, the arrangements, and just the overall vibe of the album. It's ironic because I play bass and well... you know.
Same here
I agree 100%! Ajfa just has an edge to it. Epic, technical, dark.... its popular to rag on lars these days but his work on ajfa is so influential and awesome! I also play bass! 🤘
@@leviathansky7188 Absolutely. And if you play the songs in the album there are all these intricacies and all these little things they change the next time around they play a riff, or they add some little details here and there that throws you off. It's a technical masterpiece.
Same here, I actually enjoy a few of their albums more than MOP, I love the blistering rawness of AJFA, but I also love the commercial sound of TBA and Load... then there's the classic RTL, then it's MOP for me.
Any true fan call them Puppets and Justice. :P
Dream Theater’s 1st album was released in 1989 and Metallica’s record label was Elektra.
Yeah, it's funny that DT gets mentioned a lot w/ making of AJFA. Hell, I even remember Kirk name dropping them in an interview talking about the "musical virtuosity" of the time, in regards to AJFA's prog-iness. That alcohol didn't help his memory.
My favorite album and my very first concert.
I don’t know why people automatically put the black album above this one. IMO this one is better. Yeah the lack of bass is weird but it works.
Not me. The Black Album was the beginning of the end of my fandom of Metallica.
This album sounds 1000% better with Jason's bass, especially Harvester of Sorrow.
@@cronejawford978 That is Really , Really Sad my friend.
Their best album by far. 😊😊
Haven't seen a singular human put the Black Album above Ride Master or Justice so idk what you're talking about.
I always say my favorite metallica album is master of puppets but i gotta say this actually may be my favorite album honestly.
My favourite 'tallica record.
Their best album: masterpiece from start to finish
especially listening to and justice for jason, absolute monster
0% chance that Vai or Dream Theater were influential. First Dream Theater album was mid-89, when AJFA was pretty much written and tracked.
AFJA was released in August 1988.
I just assumed they were into Rainbow and Rush, and that's what gave them the taste for longer songs in the 80s. And they probably just wanted to keep advancing like they had been up to that point
How is there 0% that Vai was influential? If they weren’t already aware of Vai while he was in Alcatrazz they definitely did hear them in DLR’s band.
@@gabrielbrouwer Precisely how much Vai-influenced material do you hear on AJFA? Please point out the songs and parts that are reminiscent of Vai, because I don't hear it and I've owned that album since the day it debuted. Waited an hour for the mall to open and everything.
@@jamesmeeker6933 I’m not saying there’s obvious influence album. I’m saying you saying that there’s 0% chance of any influence is crap.
These videos are great. Really interesting. Well done!
Thank you! 😃
I’ve always loved the drum mix on this album. Those tones made metallica stand out. Easily could’ve had Beau Hill mix the drums to sound like Ratt, Warrant etc.
AJFA was my introduction to Metallica. (I was a late bloomer!) It's what got me to start playing guitar. MOP and KEA would become my favorite albums of theirs. Now that I'm older, I realize that AJFA was their best album (imo.)
Great vids, thank you.
Thank you!
I only noticed the lack of bass after reading about it online recently; I was oblivious all these years and I think that means Lars’ mix worked fine!
Their best album I feel
This album is one of the best album ever!🖤
It's the best. Then master of puppets
@@jakefriesenjake
It's the other way around.
Not sure if it’s already been commented on but there’s an interview Jason did maybe ten years ago (it’s on YT and worth a watch/listen if you’re a Metallica history buff) where he blamed the lack of bass on AJFA not so much on the egos of James and Lars, but their crazy touring schedule at the time combined with recording and mixing the album. He pointed out that the bass is totally audible on the Garage Days EP which was his first recording with the band and assumed his work on AJFA would sound the same when he recorded his parts.
The engineer for that album DID say Lars told him to drop the bass level down to essentially nothing when they were mixing it and Jason himself says in the interview I mentioned above that he was doubling James’ guitar riffs which made them sound muddy. “Blackened” is a Jason riff so at least he’s got that
The bass on Garage Days EP is awesome! Wish we could have heard it on AJFA…I also think that Lars may have had a shitty car stereo with a tape player and he was so used to listening to albums without bass he thought it was how metal music was supposed to sound…some interview where he said he reviewed mixes in his car for AJFA…
@@poornoodle9851 It definitely gives AJFA a unique sound- I prefer the mixes I’ve heard where people have boosted the bass track and messed with the drum sound, but the original is still good. The snare and clicky bass drum still stick out to me for the first couple minutes everytime I listen to it.
I kinda wonder if they were trying to bite a little bit of that stripped down recording sound that Slayer had with Rick Rubin for AJFA. Pretty stark change in sound if you listen to Hell Awaits and then put on Angel of Death- maybe Metallica was thinking that in between Master of Puppets and AJFA. They were obviously aware of their peers and what direction that style of music was going
@@wretched-dog5428Interesting theory they were listening to their peers and being inspired.
Jason's a class-act. And he's also right; upping his bass kills the albums apocalyptic vibe.
@@poornoodle9851 You can hear the bass on the AJFA rough cut.
I think James used his Gibson "More Beer" on Justice not the ESPs. He used them on the Damaged Justice tour from '88-'89.
Great info! 🤘🏻🤘🏻
i remember once someone on youtube said "eye of the beer holder" and its stuck with me since. but anyways some odd reason i actually like the album better with no bass. maybe because overall the sound was heavy but flat and when i hear people bass boost it it just sticks out to much and seems odd. or maybe because im so use to the released version i dunno.
A 24 channel recorder just for the drums!! That's why it sounds like that, I'm listening to it right now and I can understand this sonic masterpiece.
Your channel rocks, thank you so much!
Thank you!
Thank you!
Absolutely gold
Metallica at its peak. Angriest. Heaviest. Most technical. Most brutal. It had absolutely everything and there is nothing like it.
I listen to final mixes again on fresh ears. The missing sounds are more easily found.
I hated the lack of base back in the days and switched to megadeth... :-) but after all these years, when i found the "....and justice for Jason" mixes including his phenomenal bassplay, i have to say, that album is quite a banger 🙂
More good stuff! Keep 'em coming, brother! Cheers.
Thank you 🙏 Loads more to come 😃
I would have loved to see footage of Lars laying out the drum parts for this album aswell as Jason laying out the bass lines for the album.
this is great
Thank you!
shame we cannot get a version of the ix how the engineers intended it to sound.
At the end there's a picture of the back cover with what looks like the album divided into "chapters" I - IV
I never saw that before and I bought the Justice album on cd back in like '90-'91 ish.
It makes more sense with the double vinyl, as that was still more popular than CDs at the time.
Love the breakdowns you do of these classic albums. I've a new theory of the missing bass in this particular record. Apart from their well known contentious relationship with Jason, James and Lars simply did not like what he was playing for the songs. Hetfield revealed it in their interview with David Fricke of Rolling Stone. He simply was just doubling Hetfield's guitar parts instead of creating bass lines ala Cliff Burton. Hetfield said he would turn his back to hide where his fingers where in the fretboard and try to force Jason to come up with something more original. Obviously, turning down the bass completely was an extreme solution to a problem they didn't know how to solve.
Thank you. It does seem to stem from that but like you say, it’s a very extreme way of dealing with it.
well the band razzed each other all the time, so james may have not been that mad about it. also important to mention here that blackened is JASONS song and the best on the album. James didn't have problem playing that with his parts the same as the bass. also honestly what a crazy thing to say about metal bass which needs to not fight the guitars to keep the mix clean. jason was more technically talented than maybe all of them so i'm sure his approach was solid. he came from a thrashier band than metallica and that gave justice that edge to push the band where they wanted to go.
it's just so much more likely that turning the bass down was lars' silly idea for a new sound and probably more to have his drums not fighting the bass. his drums would be upfront, and he sold it to the band as not wanting to replace cliff.
@@SHMUPS Probably, all the above. James certainly could have fought more for Jason's bass mix if he was so inclined but he didn't. There's a story that Lars actually tried to have Management fire Jason around this time period. They said no and told Lars to just get on with it. It has to be stated that Jason was an unknown and was brought in rather quickly to salvage tour dates. He impressed everyone with his knowledge of the entire tour set list but his creativity wasn't tested until this album. Yes, Blackened was his main and only contribution to the record and also the only song that had discernable bass at the beginning. A small victory that even Jason admitted to. Dyer's Eve is my personal fav.
@@redghettosun i thought floatsam was pretty known before he joined.
@@SHMUPS I don't think so. Their first album Doomsday For The Deceiver became really popular but not when it was released. Roughly June 86 on Metal Blade. Jason left soon after to join Metallica. The band never toured until 87 opening for Megadeth.
Love it, it's their real peak, not Puppets, however great it is.
This album made
Me realize as a kid how song writing was done, it really is a big puzzle of riffs that go together, I always loved the amount of killer riffs in one song..no pun intended, well maybe so! 🤟
TONE FOR DAYS WITH MY ADA'S!!!!
I’m a fan since 85, Justice is my favourite album, the guitar sounds fading in, the tempo and time changes were incredible, however I do believe the album would’ve sounded way bigger and better if you could hear a bass guitar.. Enough said. But they should re release the album with the bass in it, why they don’t… Well we’ll never know, but we do know…
@@ned1621 agreed
This is my favorite metallica album but I still feel like taking the bass out was disgusting.
Yup same here.
Show how petty James and Lars are.
Ha ha, you guys get outraged as a hobby. The album is a masterpiece and you whine like pathetic little children.
@xwhite2020 Ha ha because you weren't the guy who played all the bass parts for months just to have nothing in the end.
It must have been really inspiring.
The bass would be made it sound much better. It's so hollow without it.
"I also used an ada preamp and an ada mp1"
Ada Mp1 is a preamp
And btw the Hetfield didn't use a jcm800 on justice.
It was used on the black album along with the mkiv
There are some inaccuracies in this video 😅.
They used the preamp section of the Mesa Mark IIC+
Thats fascinating to learn that the SM7's were used so prominently, especially for the vocals. I wonder what drove that decision.......to me, its a strange choice. Maybe its just what the studio had on hand? Because its really more of a broadcast mic, isnt it?
That is its main use but a lot of singers have used it over the years including Michael Jackson on the Thriller album. Tends to suit an aggressive vocal performance so probably the reason Hetfield uses a lot.
@@mixingmasteringonline probably because it's a dynamic? High quality dynamic..... Can take a beating though.....makes sense......
This entire album was recorded at “Prairie Sun” in Cotati, CA
@cohenjoseph1763 no it wasn't. It was recorded at One on one studios in North Hollywood.
Amazing! "Close To The Edge" by Yes would make my year :)
the buried bass is 100% down to lars and hetfield burning the candle at both ends while approving the mixes. they were flying from gigs to the studio after every show to approve mixes and make changes. their ears would have been just destroyed and so so tired.
Poor Jason, I wonder how he felt when he heard the final mix like why the fuck am I even here lol
Great info! Thanks man!
Thank you!
Another great video!
Thank you! 😃
What was the bit about their label switch? Never heard of them being on those labels??
Seems like it was just an offer from phonogram but they signed to Electra instead. I misunderstood what was going on there. Thought phonogram must be a parent label but it isn’t.
It's unofficial, but Justice For Jason is on my Phone today. I blast it once a week, along with the original version of course.
Thanks Lars! 🖕
Great videos. Only wish they were longer! 😉
Thank you! 🙏
I remember being a kid listening to this album and thinking it was the most "in your face" thing I had ever heard, although I wasn't very knowledgeable of music and sound. Later on, listening to other bands I realized that the absence of bass guitar helped for that dry snappy sound, but hey... Pantera did something similar without compromising bass and thunder in the mix 😊
Years ago I remember watching a video of James in the studio laying down some vocals for the EOTB track, had kirk doing some noodling and general takes from the studio for AJFA, I cannot find this footage anywhere, does anyone know about this stuff? I think there was an interview with a bearded Flemming. It was a definite vhs upload, but yea, cannot find it to this day.
Be good to find that again.
@@mixingmasteringonline For sure, I even went on the forums to see if people had, others had seen it but couldnt find it either.
The album is perfectly mixed. What a great guitar tone & clean separation of the drum sounds. The sound matches the content of that album and the low base provides a back end treble distortion effect that gives the rythm guitar more crunch. Lightning and Puppets sound so flat in comparison. I always wished I could hear the earlier albums with the Justice treatment.
@@mattlewis6833 got to agree to disagree here, the mix ruins the album for me, this could have been so much better if you could actually hear the bass.
@@Md75897 I agree with you, the mix is painfull at best. Screatching thin brights, clicky kick drum, and NO bass of any kind. It sounded great live!
Their best album.
Harvester is a masterpiece
@@matthewperry2767 Enter Sandman follows the same template as Harvestor of Sorrow.
@@russkate88no
Honestly i think the absence of Cliff and his style of playing is what they missed and hearing any other style on the recording was unfamiliar and foreign. Plus Cliff didn't play everything James did note for note. He play a harmonizing riff that complimented the guitars. Something Jason didn't do and thats the reason they turned his bass down so much. He was playing everything that the guitars were doing making it sound overdriven and muddy.
Never heard of Hm before seen on so-called sheet music @1:52 . From looking it up it seems its B flat in German. Geeeeez!!
That had me puzzled too ! What key is "Hm" LOL!
B minor
...And Justice for All is a good album ⚖️ The songs are long but it nakes the album that more epic.
Its so sad how their music changed over the decades. The Black album was great but after that what they started playing wasn't even metal! Their 80s thrash style hit the hearts and ears of so many fans it just gave you a great feeling.
Black album was the worst album by far...if you can seriously say that what they did after the black album isn't metal, you don't know metal...at all! LOL...
Everything until Justice for All was great. the black album and everything else suck. I remember waiting for them to play The Black album on the radio and when I heard I was so disappointed. I thought what happened to James's voice😂
I wonder what Flemming thought of the finished product, and especially the bass!
@ShadowReubenKee he happened to not be in the studio on the day that the final mixing was done and when he heard it the next time he was in the studio it was too late to do anything about it so he wasn't happy.
Very good
Thank you!
Funny the album played in the background has bass you can actually hear.
@Albee213 it's not bass. Just the low end from the guitars.
Got as far as the comment about Steve via and dream theatre inspiring metallicas song structures 😂
Came directly from Kirk in this video, ruclips.net/video/vMc24819DXk/видео.htmlsi=lK0tujcPKOWsJ4vt
Rip 🪦 Cliff Burton 1962-1986
Great album as it is. F-k all those who complain about lack of bass.
They were definitely in their own world for production. The album was groundbreaking even though they were wrong about the bass production. The drum sound was fine. Lars just didn’t need to mess with the bass. It could have all fit. Thankfully time has changed him from being such a prick. Good thing they got Bob Rock for the next record.
Says a little something about the Guns guys in the studio as well. Mike Clink seemed to be okay with the Guns boys, as erratic as they were. Metallica seemed to really stump him. Clink is great behind the board but maybe they needed a Rock kind of attitude to break them down and listen because the Black album production is brilliant. Too bad Justice didn’t get that treatment.
Whats James's 4 favorite words?
TURN IT DOWN JASON!!!
I couldn't care less what anyone, including 'experts', say- the mix on AJFA is perfect. The guitars are so crunchy, harsh and heavy that bass isn't needed. And Lars double bass fills in the bottom end just fine. Listening to remixes w/ upped bass makes the sound too warm and full, completely changing the feel of the album. It's meant to sound sterile, dry and desolate, just like the lyrics imply. There's a reason why the Justice tone is the most used for Metallica "what ifs" on youtube. It's the greatest guitar tone of all-time.
Guitar tone, sure. Everything else is lacking.
AJFA is my favourite metal album and I agree 100% with everything you said, that was how it was meant to sound.
@@viannarts It was meant to sound like it's lacking? Heck, the sounds is matched with St. Anger, and the only thing that sounds bad with that album is Lars' snare drum. The bass on that album is significantly better.
love the detail. it's clear lars' influence on the band's sound was toxic, and it was only by luck that they still at least got the black album recorded before they unraveled musically. bob rock's loving hands and tons of money gave them the safety net to get it done.
james throwing his hands up when lars said kill the bass says it all. he didn't want to deal with the drama of fighting lars, he let him lead. but lars is just a business man at the core.
Wrong. The Mesa Boogies and the Roland JC were already used for Master of Puppets.
Mesa Mark IIC+ tone
Is there any FOOTAGE of them in the actual studio?
Not that I know of.
⚡️Awesome stuff, Id like you to do a video like this for "Lightning" and "Puppets" also⚡️
I’ll definitely be looking into it, the black album as well.
AJFA was the most anticipated album of my life. Being a bass player, my disappointment cut deep.
This album is the exact opposite of Big Bottom by Spinal Tap
😂
to the makers of the video: please tell me which Dream Theatre and Steve Vai you mean in 1987-1988?
It was Kirk that referenced them as an influence in this interview. ruclips.net/video/vMc24819DXk/видео.htmlsi=bzPdVDDyaxWLNKF1
AFJA had been the reason why i stopped listen to Metallica. Thanks for this, it made me discover a lot of great other bands !!!
For a while I thought the low mixed bass was a stab at Jason, becuase he wasn't Cliff, but then I figured that Metallica has always been centrain of what they wanted. So this wasn't anything negative towards Jason, it's just the sound they wanted.
They weren't thinking clearly, as they regretted the decision years, or months later.
Sometimes the speed makes me discusting, that fast and good! Makes me more angry playing guitar! A good sign...... ♨️🎸♨️
I preferred the fan made 'And Justice For Jason' version where you could actually hear the bass
🤣🤣😂😂😂
Myself included. Can't even listen to the original anymore.
Its just insane to think about. That danish elf fucked it up. As soon as the bass was raised i heard a dynamic and richness the album always lacked.
Why is there a H on the sheet music for One?
I think it’s a German thing. They use H instead of B.
Yep, we use H in Finland, as well.
@@mixingmasteringonline thanks!
Production is perfect - Hetfield and Ulrich knew exactly what they were doing. The dry sound was transformative and forward thinking. Everyone copied this - Pantera, RATM, DOWNSET, Helmet etc. its perfect.
no bass and typewriter drums. perfect...? nah, i don't think so
even Lars was scratching his head years later wondering why there was no bass
@@williamgatesenson Lars, like U2 are great salesmen, they are protecting their brand by slightly disowning some earlier work. It's what legacy artists do to appear more down to earth. If they were so unhappy with it they would have released an alternative mix on the remaster anniversary album
@@williamgatesenson nearly every album is no bass and typewriter drums nowadays
@@williamgatesenson "no bass and typewriter drums." 🤣 This is the perfect way to describe this album. Unfortunately, the drum sound inspired metal drumming for the worst.
@@scottblack9213 And that's terrible. Explains why so much of today's metal sucks.
This album is a classic. But......I can't point to one thing that sounds good.
1:50 what fucking chord is H minor?
😂 “tis the devils chord”
That threw me out too.
I've been playing Guitar for well over 30 years and cannot say I have encountered a H chord!
H = Natural B, or B minor chord in German. Or so I am lead to believe.
We're always learning guys. I hope to learn it in my lifetime...
Hetfield minor🤣🤣🤣
B natural, in German.
H = B natural
B = B flat.
How did you acquire the album stems?
They were originally from the ‘Rock band’ game, can’t remember exactly where this lot came from but you can find them around. Theyre a strange file type (MOGG) and you need the free program ‘Audacity’ to convert them.
@@mixingmasteringonline My man, thank you!
CLIFF LIVES 🤘
The bass being more present in the mix would be made it sound so much better. It's so hollow without it. Lars was being Lars.
The album sounds great, the whole bass complaint is blown out of proportion
lars and hetfield were exhausted and deaf as posts when they were approving and making changes to the mix. they were playing a stadium tour, flying to the studio after every show to mix and partying ay too hard. these guys never wore ear protection back in the day. so, tired ears, blasted hearing, constant state of hangover, no sleep. of course the record sounds.....interesting. people forget how buried cliff was on ride and puppets....sure, you could hear him in places, but take ktulu for example.....all of cliff's fills are buried in the murky mix-that song is basically a long bass solo, and you would never know.
@@aegisreflector1239 agreed
@@cbr9914 "all of cliff's fills are buried in the murky mix-" Not true. Listening to Kill 'em All, Ride the Lighting, and Master of Puppet without bass is unlistenable.
If they recorded this properly and not mute the bass it could have been as great as master of puppets and way better than the black album
Here's the lemonade from lemons. The lack of bass actually reduces the ear fatigue, thereby we can listen to this album even more.
but you have to turn it louder to make it full sounding so your ears are doing more work. metal bass freqs aren't as fatiguing as mids and highs
It's terrible mix makes it hard to listen to in the first place. The bass makes it easier, but some of the song length makes it a challenge.
This album would've been SO MUCH better with bass. Shame on them for leaving it out. It's unforgivable. You all know that I'm right.
Awesome!
Cheers Jenson!
I doubt the mix would have sounded the same if Cliff was still there.
The "scratchy film" effect applied to this whole video is so cheesy 😄
Thanks for the feedback.
1:46 ... H chord?
It’s a German ‘B’
2:02 Marlon Brando and Bryan Adams
😂
This guy's facts are way off!
1.) Metallica was signed with Elektra Records in the 80s and 90s, briefly with MegaForce.
2.) Dream Theatre wasn't around in 1987-88 when Justice was made so they wouldn't be a factor at all and that band is a different genre of metal music.
*Some assembly required. Bass not included.
A lot is always says about the mix on this album, especially the lack of bass.
Back in the day the quality of most people's listening devices was no where near the standard it is today.
It's almost like this album was mixed to be listened to on poor quality systems or personal tape players
if you want to get on the top... you have to give one life... thats a fact...