1988Released
5:43

Did You Know?

Interesting facts and trivia about Harvester of Sorrow (Remastered). By Songfacts®.

Common consensus indicates that the song tells the story of a drunken and drugged man who torments his family before cracking and murdering them. Other interpretations include abortion and slavery, although the latter is a bit of a stretch. By all accounts, the "harvester" is a metaphor for something - be it a figure or an object - that serves as a source of pain, misery, and anguish.

"Harvester Of Sorrow," written by Metallica frontman James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, is a track on ...And Justice For All, a transitional album for the band. It's their first with bass player Jason Newsted, who took over after Cliff Burton was killed in a 1986 tour bus accident. "The whole Justice album was an exercise in grief and an exercise in defiance and power and sadness, and ultimately, triumph," Steffan Chirazi, editor of Metallica's magazine So What!, said on the Songfacts Podcast. "It was a an extremely potent, powerful, confusing album in many ways, emotionally. They were paralyzed with grief in many ways but they knew instinctively that they had to go on. Cliff wouldn't have had it any other way."

Song Analysis

Key, BPM (tempo) and time signature of Harvester of Sorrow (Remastered).
EKey
MinorMode
4/4Time Signature
93BPM

Album

The album Harvester of Sorrow (Remastered) is released on.

Released By

The record label that has released Harvester of Sorrow (Remastered).
Blackened Recordings
1988 Blackened Recordings
1988 Blackened Recordings

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