Editing ...And Justice for All (album) (section)

==Recording==
''...And Justice for All'' was recorded from January to May 1988 at [[Extasy Records#Extasy Recording Studios|One on One Recording Studios]] in Los Angeles. Metallica produced the album with [[Flemming Rasmussen]].<ref name="booklet"/> He had been initially unavailable for the planned start on January 1, 1988, and the band hired [[Mike Clink]], who had caught their attention for producing the debut [[Guns N' Roses]] album ''[[Appetite for Destruction]]'' (1987). Plans deteriorated, and Rasmussen became available three weeks after drummer [[Lars Ulrich]] had first called him. Rasmussen listened to Clink's rough mixes for the album on his February 14 flight to Los Angeles, and upon his arrival, Clink was fired. Hetfield explained that recording with Clink had been problematic, and Rasmussen was a last-minute replacement.<ref name=sos>{{cite journal|last=Buskin|first=Richard|url=http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/may11/articles/classic-tracks-0511.htm|title=Metallica 'One': Classic Tracks|journal=[[Sound on Sound]]|date=May 2011|access-date=January 18, 2013|oclc=61313197|archive-date=May 29, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160529153720/http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/may11/articles/classic-tracks-0511.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Clink is credited with engineering drums on "The Shortest Straw" and "Harvester of Sorrow". Awaiting Rasmussen's arrival, the band had recorded two cover songs—"Breadfan" and "The Prince"—to "fine‑tune the sound while they got into the studio vibe".<ref name=sos /> Both were released as B-sides for singles from the album and were later included on the 1998 cover album ''[[Garage Inc.|Garage Inc]]''.<ref>{{cite web|last=Erlewine|first=Stephen Thomas|title=Metallica: Garage, Inc.|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/garage-inc-mw0000051667|work=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=September 1, 2014|archive-date=July 27, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140727182606/http://www.allmusic.com/album/garage-inc-mw0000051667|url-status=live}}</ref>

Rasmussen's first task was to adjust and arrange the guitar sound, with which the band was dissatisfied. A guide track for the tempos and a [[click track]] for Ulrich's drumming were used. The band played in a live room, recording the instruments separately. Each song used three reels: one for drums, a second for bass and guitars, and a third for other parts. Hetfield wrote lyrics during the recording sessions; these were occasionally unfinished as recording began, and Rasmussen said that Hetfield "wasn't really interested in singing" but instead "wanted that hard vibe".<ref name=sos/> Metallica's recording process was new to Newsted, who questioned his impact on the overall sound and the lack of discussion with the rest of the team. He recorded his parts separately, with only the assistant engineer present.<ref name="Newsted">{{cite web|first=Jeff|last=Giles|title=Jason Newsted on Inaudible '...And Justice for All' Bass Tracks: 'Water Under the Bridge'|url=http://ultimateclassicrock.com/jason-newsted-on-inaudible-and-justice-for-all-bass-tracks-water-under-the-bridge/|work=Ultimate Classic Rock|publisher=Townsquare Media|date=May 1, 2013|access-date=June 11, 2013|archive-date=January 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126083958/https://ultimateclassicrock.com/jason-newsted-on-inaudible-and-justice-for-all-bass-tracks-water-under-the-bridge/|url-status=live}}</ref> The experience differed from his previous band, [[Flotsam and Jetsam (band)|Flotsam and Jetsam]], whose style he described as "basically everybody playing the same thing like a sonic wall".<ref name="Newsted"/>

===Mixing===
''...And Justice for All''  is noted for its "dry, sterile" production.<ref name="Allmusic" /> Rasmussen said that was not his intention, as he tried for an ambient sound similar to the previous two albums. He was not present during the album's mixing, for which [[Steve Thompson (musician)|Steve Thompson]] and Michael Barbiero had been hired beforehand. Rasmussen assumed that, in his absence from the mixing process, Thompson and Barbiero used only the [[close-mic placement|close microphones]] on the mix and none of the room microphones, causing the "clicking", thin drum sound.<ref name="sos" /> The bass guitar is nearly inaudible, while the guitars sound "strangled mechanistic".<ref name="500 Albums" /> He saw the "synthetic" percussion as another reason for the compressed sound.<ref>{{cite book |last=Popoff |first=Martin |title=The Top 500 Heavy Metal Songs of All Time |publisher=ECW Press |year=2002 |isbn=978-1-55022-530-3 |page=183}}</ref><ref>https://metalinjection.net/news/bummer-alert/metallicas-and-justice-for-all-engineer-says-band-wont-remix-album-for-reissue</ref>

At the instruction of Hetfield and Ulrich, Newsted's bass guitar was made almost inaudible.<ref name="sos" /><ref name="Sound Mixer: Ulrich to Blame for 'And Justice For All' Bass">{{cite web |last=Zadrozny |first=Anya |date=March 24, 2015 |title=Sound Mixer on Metallica's '...And Justice For All' Blames Lars Ulrich for Thin Bass Sound |url=http://loudwire.com/sound-mixer-metallica-and-justice-for-all-blames-lars-ulrich-thin-bass-sound/ |access-date=April 25, 2015 |work=[[Loudwire]] |archive-date=April 26, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150426062147/http://loudwire.com/sound-mixer-metallica-and-justice-for-all-blames-lars-ulrich-thin-bass-sound/ |url-status=live }}</ref> According to Rasmussen: "After Lars and James heard their initial mixes the first thing they said was, 'Take the bass down so you can just hear it, and then once you've done that, take it down a further three [[decibel|dB]]s.' I have no idea why they wanted that, but it was totally out of my hands."<ref name="sos" /> In 2009, Hetfield said that the bass was obscured as the basslines often doubled his rhythm guitar, making the instruments indiscernible, and because the low frequencies were competing with his "[[Smiley face curve|scooped]]" guitar sound.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Bienstock |first=Richard |date=December 2008 |title=Metallica: Talkin' Thrash |url=http://www.guitarworld.com/metallica-talkin-thrash?page=0,6 |url-status=dead |journal=[[Guitar World]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012091204/http://www.guitarworld.com/metallica-talkin-thrash?page=0,6 |archive-date=October 12, 2013 |access-date=June 14, 2013}}</ref>

Newsted was not satisfied with the final mix and was unhappy that the bass was inaudible.<ref name="sos" /> Thompson was also unhappy, and blamed Ulrich for the decision; he tried to quit the project, but was blocked by management.<ref name="Sound Mixer: Ulrich to Blame for 'And Justice For All' Bass" /> Rasmussen said in 2018: "I'm probably one of the only people in the world, including Jason and Toby Wright, the assistant engineer, who ''heard'' the bass tracks on ''And Justice for All'', and they are fucking brilliant."<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Grow |first=Kory |date=17 March 2016 |title=Metallica's 'And Justice for All': What Happened to the Bass? |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/metallica-producer-jason-newsteds-justice-bass-was-f-king-brilliant-234318/ |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |access-date=September 18, 2019 |archive-date=December 19, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191219003727/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/metallica-producer-jason-newsteds-justice-bass-was-f-king-brilliant-234318/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2019, Hetfield and Ulrich said they had mixed the bass low not to belittle Newsted, but because their hearing was "shot" following heavy touring and so they "basically kept turning everything else up until the bass disappeared".<ref>{{Cite web |title=James Hetfield Explains Why Metallica's ...And Justice For All Has No Bass |url=https://www.kerrang.com/the-news/james-hetfield-explains-why-metallicas-and-justice-for-all-has-no-bass/ |access-date=2019-09-18 |website=Kerrang! |archive-date=August 19, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190819131439/https://www.kerrang.com/the-news/james-hetfield-explains-why-metallicas-and-justice-for-all-has-no-bass/ |url-status=live }}</ref> They decided not to adjust the mix for the remastered 2018 reissue, saying: "These records are a product of a certain time in life; they're snapshots of history and they're part of our story ''... And Justice for All'' could use a little more low end and ''[[St. Anger]]'' could use a little less tin snare drum, but those things are what make those records part of our history."<ref>{{Cite web |first=Christopher |last=Scapelliti |date=February 21, 2017 |title=James Hetfield Tells Why He's Against Fixing the Bass on '...And Justice for All' |url=https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/james-hetfield-tells-why-hes-against-fixing-bass-and-justice-all |access-date=2019-09-18 |website=guitarworld |language=en |archive-date=March 2, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200302033534/https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/james-hetfield-tells-why-hes-against-fixing-bass-and-justice-all |url-status=live }}</ref>