Kirk Hammett Jokes Metallica Can’t Play ‘…And Justice For All’ Live Because ‘There’s No Bass on the Album’
Over the years, Metallica have checked a lot of boxes off the proverbial list, delivering unique shows to their dedicated legions of fans around the globe. The thrashers have played albums in their entirety, an increasingly popular trend as landmark records reach special anniversary years. During a question and answer session in Mexico City (video below), they were asked about performing ...And Justice for All, which was met with a comedic response from guitarist Kirk Hammett.
When positioned with the fact that they've played Kill 'Em All, Ride the Lightning and the 'Black Album' all in their entirety in the past and asked if Justice is on the horizon, Lars Ulrich first responded, "Remember the last answer of there not being enough time to do all the s--t we want to do? That one applies to ...And Justice For All too. It's on a list somewhere, we'll get around to it hopefully..." and was interrupted by James Hetfield who quipped, "It's too hard."
Met with a laugh from his bandmates and the crowd, Hammett took his turn, adding, "What's Rob [Trujillo] going to do? If we play all of ...And Justice for All what's Rob going to do? There's no bass on the album!" Hetfield then looked upward, mouth agape with laughter as the crowd chuckled along. Metallica have notoriously been criticized for the final mix of ...And Justice for All, which seemingly left out Jason Newsted's bass lines.
Trujillo was quick to offer an alternative, suggesting he can dance, but returned to the heart of the question, offering, "We did play —we played 'Frayed Ends of Sanity' last year though. 'Frayed Ends of Sanity' we played that song, so theoretically the whole album has been played, just not in one setting, right?"
With Hardwired...To Self-Destruct less than three weeks from release (Nov. 18), it's hard to imagine Metallica getting ready to tackle one of their most compositionally daunting records, bursting with a myriad of time changes and a barrage of riffs.
The group will also be dishing out the song "Atlas, Rise!" at 3PM ET today, making it the third cut to be released from the new record, joining "Hardwired" and "Moth Into Flame." A teaser clip of the song has also been made available.
Metallica Discuss Playing ...And Justice For All in Its Entirety
See Where Metallica's ...And Justice For All Ranks Among the Top 80 Hard Rock + Metal Albums of the 1980s
10 Greatest Metallica Riffs