10 Greatest Metallica Riffs EVER

Metallica were still in a place of grief when they went in to complete And Justice For All. After losing their foundational bass player Cliff Burton, this whole record feels like the band coming to terms with his loss while putting his replacement Jason Newsted through the emotional ringer. Despite the turmoil it took to get there, no other song cut down to the bone quite like One.

The tune is already one of the group's darkest from a lyrical perspective, as it follows a man who has lost over half of the his body in war wounds and can't so much as speak his pain. Though the actual pain of this man is brought out in the melody, everything comes down to that almighty war gallop in the back half of the song.

Before the proper riff even comes in, it feels like a thunderstorm is coming when Lars switches to his manic double bass drum hits to get things started.

From there, Hetfield flies off the hinges with one of the most immediate riffs in metal music, almost as if he's trying to mimic the sound of gunfire that's still taking place in our protagonist's head. The song also goes to a whole new peak when Hammett starts to solo, providing just the right amount of finesse and bluesy licks to glide over Hetfield's rhythmic anchor.

While many will whine about the lack of bass on Justice, there's no need to complain when you have a riff that has this much presence.