Harvester of Sorrow

When you immerse yourself in *Harvester of Sorrow*, you encounter a raw story, that of a man marked by abuse in his childhood, who falls into alcohol and drugs, venting his rage against his own family. The lyrics suggest a final breakdown of his sanity, culminating in a tragic act. Musically, the piece was released as the first single from the album *...And Justice for All* in 1988, and its live debut occurred before the official release of the record, during that year’s Monsters of Rock tour. It was also the first single featuring bassist Jason Newsted, following the death of Cliff Burton.

The *Harvester of Sorrow* single included two additional tracks, both covers: "Breadfan", originally by Budgie, and "The Prince", by Diamond Head. Interestingly, there was a detail in the mastering of "Breadfan": at the end, a distorted voice can be heard saying "Mommy, where's Fluffy?", which was actually the intended introduction for "The Prince". This error, far from being corrected, was kept even when the songs appeared on the compilation *Garage Inc.* in 1998. The music for this song, like the rest of the album, was composed by James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich, with Hetfield also serving as lyricist. The recording took place in 1988 at One on One Studios in Los Angeles, under the production of Flemming Rasmussen, James Hetfield, and Lars Ulrich.