Metallica's latest contribution to their ...And Justice for All 30th anniversary celebration is a fascinating rough demo of "The Shortest Straw." The unpolished work-in-progress instrumental version of the thrash classic encourages listeners to really engage with each part of the song and get a feel for what it sounded like inside the band's garage practice studio. Lars Ulrich's drums tone is a bit rough and some of the guitar licks are still incomplete, giving a truly live and intimate feeling to the song. Captured in December 1987, the composition would be polished over the ensuing months (compare it to the final studio version below) in time for the album's release the following August. The demo will be included on Metallica's forthcoming massive ...And Justice for All 30th anniversary box set, due November 2nd.
Hear Metallica's Raw, Writing-in-Progress Demo for "The Shortest Straw" From 1987
Unpolished track gives glimpse into evolution of classic '...And Justice for All' cut
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