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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Roisin O'Connor

Metallica: Read an exclusive extract from the 30th anniversary reissue of And Justice For All

Paul Natkin

Heavy metal legends Metallica are preparing to issue a definitive re-release of their breakthrough ...And Justice For All, to celebrate its 30th anniversary. 

The expanded and deluxe editions will feature previously unreleased material including demos, video, interviews, live albums and never-before-seen photos. 

It precedes the band's huge UK and Europe tour in 2019, which kicks off on 1 May at Lisbon's Estadio Restelo and takes in a further 24 shows across 20 countries. 

The Independent is publishing an exclusive extract from the ...And Justice For All reissue, which quotes assistant mixing engineer Toby Wright, as he reflects on the making of the album.

There's also a never-before-seen photo which shows the band in 1989 – James Hetfield looks like he just rolled out of bed, or maybe didn't think he needed trousers to go with that Faith No More shirt. 

Metallica (Paul Natkin)

Read the extract, below:

"The Shortest Straw” sticks out in my mind because I think it was the first time that Lars ever sang background vocals. It was quite fun to track him and listen to his interpretation of how it should be. Everybody was really trying very hard to absolutely do their best. There seemed to be a lot of love between James and Lars. It was a lot of fun to be a part of that world for that period of time. Jason was new; it was his first recording with the band. When it was his turn to step up to the plate, he and I would work together.

"Jason came in for a couple of days, Lars and James disappeared, and we laid down all the bass parts. That was a lot of fun because when they came back, they were excited to hear what we’d done. It was really, REALLY good. When Kirk came in and put the final touches with his solos and stuff on it, it was like, “Wow. This is going to be CRAZY good.” We never anticipated where it would go from there, because we were all very focused on getting through the day and making it the best we could make it. We captured some amazing musicians making an amazing ecord, which I think was very groundbreaking the time."

-Toby Wright, Assistant Mixing Engineer of ...And Justice for All 

Tickets for Metallica's WorldWired 2019 UK and Europe tour are on sale now

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