Sonic Curveball : CHECK LIST****<i> Great Balls of Fire</i> ***<i> Good Vibrations</i> **<i> Maybe Baby</i> *<i> Running on Empty </i>

*** METALLICA. “. . . And Justice for All.� Elektra. There’s probably no truth to the rumor that Metallica considered calling this album “Bang the Head Slowly,� but that title would be representative of many songs on this sprawling, hour-plus, two-record opus.

Now, the Bay Area quartet hasn’t completely forsaken the kind of speed-metal that stirred things up on the recent “Monsters of Rock� tour: The opening and closing selections, “Blackened� and “Dyers Eve� generate the familiar noggin-rattling intensity, as do portions of other pieces.

But Metallica has broadened its musical attack--broadened everything for that matter. Both the title track and “To Live Is to Die� clock in at just under 10 minutes, and the latter is probably the biggest sonic curveball Metallica hurls here. It serves primarily as an instrumental showcase, like a metal suite, framed by almost classical acoustic-guitar passages, with just four lines of lyrics solemnly recited along the way.

Metallica’s approach to writing lyrics has also grown considerably, especially compared with the early days, when the band trafficked in sweeping militaristic images and self-conscious observations about thrash metal.

Significantly, as the group has expanded its lyrical scope, it’s also become more focused. For example, on “One,� Metallica is still concerned with war, but zeroes in on an individual victim, using a relatively pretty song to paint a none-too-pretty picture of a guy so ravaged by a land mine he’s barely alive--and wishes he weren’t. This and other songs, like “Dyers Eve,� a bitter blast at the perils of parental over-protection, hardly constitute typical metal fare. But then this is hardly a typical metal band, and “Justice� not only places Metallica at the head of the class, but in a separate category for special achievers.