“Dyers Eve” by Metallica

In the summer of 1988 Metallica released ...And Justice for All and changed the landscape of the American music industry forever. Not only was it the first underground Metal album to achieve chart success (reaching as high as #6), but it was also an album that both anti-establishment hardcore punks and extreme metal fans respected. It was aggressive and complex, with symphonic arrangements and dystopian themes that chipped away at Billboard’s pop music facade.

“Dyers Eve” is the final song on the album and a painful aide-mémoire of lead vocalist James Hetfield’s difficult childhood and relationship with his parents. It’s an intense number, both lyrically and musically, one that drummer Lars Ulrich still finds too difficult to play perfectly live.
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Time hasn’t been kind to this record and many feel (including members of Metallica) that Jason Newsted’s basslines were lost in the mix (which is true) and that the production lacks polish. I disagree, and feel that it is because of these production “errors” that ...And Justice for All stands out as a sonic achievement, and maybe the greatest Metal album ever created. Even better than Jethro Tull’s Crest of a Knave… :)