Well, it seemed inevitable didn't it? Once Metallica gained control of all their master recordings, they began reissuing all of their albums, with the last one being a Master of Puppets reissue. So naturally, the next on the list was …And Justice for All.
Fans don't have to wait much longer for that reissue, as the band just began teasing its release:
#comingsoon pic.twitter.com/KolLpE0Gl8
— Metallica (@Metallica) August 31, 2018
The band began working on the reissue almost a year ago, and while longtime fans hope for a remix of the album that features a more noticeable bass sound, but all signs point to that not happening.
Last year, Steve Thompson, one of the mixers on the album noted the band was not interested in a remix:
"I just contributed to the anniversary album of …And Justice [For All]. I just sent them a bunch of pictures and some outtakes, but they have no desire to re-mix the record. They want to keep it the way it is.
They might remaster it or something like that, but there is only so much mastering you can do. And I'll tell you the truth, I don't even know if those original multitracks could be saved. Because there are like 5 million edits in them from Lars' drums alone. So if you have the box and open it up there probably be about 50 million pieces of tape all over the place."
But, all hope is not lost as the producer of the album, Flemming Rasmussen, has said an alternate mix might appear on the finished album:
"A remaster cut is coming out now. I'm actually in the process of sending stuff to Metallica and writing an essay about how it was recorded and what we did. The last year was the 'Master of Puppets' re-issue, and 'Justice' is gonna come out this November I guess. Same thing – vinyls, loads of CDs, rough mixes, all the demos and the works and big book and everything.
"I'm guessing that the main version, like the remaster thing, is gonna sound more or less as it did. But there might be alternative versions on there.
"I know for sure that nobody's asking me to remix it or anything and I'm pretty sure nobody asked Steve Thompson and Michael Barbiero to do that either. I think they're gonna go with the remastering thing; whether they're gonna stick more bass in there – I have no idea. But let's see when it comes out.
"It was all recorded on two-inch tape. And I edited it so much that I'm pretty sure they're all gonna fall apart if you start playing them now. You'd probably need to re-tape them together again. Whether or not somebody transferred that to digital, I have no idea. And the question is, when did they do that and what does that sound like. Because once you change the format, you're fucked.
"But we'll see. Probably in November it's gonna be out. So we're working on that right now."
