Damaged Justice was the fourth concert tour by the American heavy metal band

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

. It began on September 11, 1988, and ended on October 8, 1989. The name is believed to be inspired either by the cover of its fourth studio album '' ...And Justice for All'', or by the song "Damage, Inc." from the group's previous album, ''

Master of Puppets ''Master of Puppets'' is the third studio album by the American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Metallica, released on March 3, 1986, by Elektra Records. Recorded in Copenhagen, Denmark, at Sweet Silence Studios with producer Flemming Rasmu ...

''. The single "

One 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

" was released during the tour.

Itinerary

The Damaged Justice tour was Metallica's first full-length world tour with bassist

Jason Newsted Jason Curtis Newsted (born March 4, 1963) is an American musician, best known as the bassist of heavy metal band Metallica from 1986 to 2001. He performed with thrash metal band Flotsam and Jetsam for the first five years of his career before ...

, who replaced

Cliff Burton Clifford Lee Burton (February 10, 1962 – September 27, 1986) was an American musician who served as the bassist for the thrash metal band Metallica from 1982 until his death in 1986. He is renowned for his musicianship and influence. Burton ...

following the latter's death in 1986 as they were in the middle of touring behind ''

''. It began in Europe on September 11, 1988, and Royal Air Force were the supporting act on the tour's first few dates. Metallica then played two

Monsters of Rock Monsters of Rock was a hard rock and heavy metal music festival. It was originally held annually in Castle Donington, England, from 1980 to 1996, taking place every year except 1989 and 1993. It later branched into other locations such as th ...

shows in Spain with

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris (musician), Steve Harris. Although fluid in the early years of the band, the line-up for most ...

Anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Bacillus anthracis'' or ''Bacillus cereus'' biovar ''anthracis''. Infection typically occurs by contact with the skin, inhalation, or intestinal absorption. Symptom onset occurs between one ...

and

Helloween Helloween is a German power metal band founded in 1984 in Hamburg by members of bands Iron Fist, Gentry, Second Hell and Powerfool. The band has at times been called one of the most influential European heavy metal bands of the 1980s. Its first ...

, and played a few headlining shows with Anthrax, before heading to the UK, where Danzig served as the opening act.

Queensrÿche Queensrÿche () is an American progressive metal band. It formed in 1982 in Bellevue, Washington, out of the local band the Mob. The band has released 16 studio albums, one Extended play, EP, and several DVDs, and continues to tour and record ...

replaced Danzig for the remainder of the European leg and also served as the supporting act for the tour's first North American leg. Following this was Metallica's first tour of Australia, which included support by

Mortal Sin A mortal sin (), in Christian theology, is a gravely sinful act which can lead to damnation if a person does not repent of the sin before death. It is alternatively called deadly, grave, and serious; the concept of mortal sin is found in both ...

The Cult The Cult are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Bradford in 1983. Before settling on their current name in January 1984, the band had performed under the name Death Cult, which was an evolution of the name of lead vocalist Ian Astbury ...

were the opening act for the second North American leg of the tour from May 31 to September 1, 1989, and were replaced by

Faith No More Faith No More is an American Rock music, rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1979. Before September 1983, the band performed under the names Sharp Young Men and later Faith No Man. Bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist/rhythm guitarist ...

for remaining tour dates. The Damaged Justice tour concluded with three shows in Brazil in October 1989. The tour marked the first and, to date, only time that

has played in the U.S. state of

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

. On August 7, 1989, the band headlined a special and very drunken gig at Newark's Stone Balloon, with Wrathchild America as the supporting act. Metallica Damaged Justice Tour

Recordings

The Damaged Justice tour was the first time the band had used live recordings of their concerts in single B-Sides and EP's (Those used on the ''Jump in the Fire'' single from 1984 were demos with faked audience noise dubbed over). The concert of February 5, 1989 was recorded and "For Whom the Bell Tolls", "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)", "Seek and Destroy" and "Creeping Death" were used as B-Sides for the "One" single in Europe and Japan, as well as the majority of the concert being re-released as part of Fan Can 4. Both of the August 29 and 30, 1989, shows in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

were also recorded and "Harvester of Sorrow", "One", "Breadfan" and "Last Caress" were used for '' The Good, The Bad and The Live''. The same mix of these shows used here was used on the digital re-masters of the band's first four albums when uploaded to digital retailers, though a different set of songs were used in this case, two from the respective album. In 1993, these concerts were re-mixed and released as video in the

box set A boxed set or (its US name) box set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box, hence 'boxed', and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists ...

'' Live Shit: Binge & Purge''. In 2020, Metallica released a live concert video of the Irvine show.

Tour dates

Personnel

James Hetfield James Alan Hetfield (born August 3, 1963) is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, co-founder, and a primary songwriter of heavy metal band Metallica. He is mainly known for his raspy voice and intricate rhythm playi ...

–

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a guitar technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse (music), pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., d ...

Kirk Hammett Kirk Lee Hammett (born November 18, 1962) is an American musician who has been the lead guitarist of heavy metal band Metallica since 1983. Prior to joining Metallica, he co-formed the thrash metal band Exodus in 1979. In 2023, Hammett, along ...

–

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

* Lars Ulrich –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

–

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

, backing vocals

References

{{Authority control Metallica concert tours 1988 concert tours 1989 concert tours