Metallica: 10 Hardest James Hetfield Riffs You Can't Play
2. And Justice For All
For as straight-ahead metal as Metallica were throughout the 80's, you couldn't say that they didn't experiment during those years. Coming just at the end of their glorious decade, And Justice For All is probably the furthest the band went into more progressive territory. Though the title track may not seem like the hardest thing in the world at first, it's a completely different animal once you sit down with your instrument.
The start of the song actually feels fairly manageable with its delicate guitar flutters, but the amount of changes you have to go through in the arrangement is up there with the hardest calculus homework you did back in grad school. There seems to be an endless amount of sections that it would feel like it needed to be charted out to be played probably. And that's because it is...
On the recording notes, there were multiple sheets of paper laid out detailing the amount of switchups in the track that each band member used to keep track of themselves. Even after the band's tour for the album, James made it a point to not play the song live again due to its multiple changes. When the Riff Lord himself is saying the song is too hard, you can probably take him at his word and not even make an attempt.