POP MUSIC REVIEW : Metallica Does Itself Justice With ‘New Metal’ : <i> The shortest straw has been pulled for you . . . Their money tips her scales . . . Soon you’ll please their appetite </i> . . . .

Us versus them--not exactly a new concept in rock music, especially heavy metal. But those three slogans, borne on tour T-shirts sold at Metallica’s concert Wednesday at the Long Beach Arena, represent a fairly sophisticated concept compared to the standard us (the kids) versus them (everybody who doesn’t “understand” us). And they represent thinking that’s miles ahead of the standard metal way of dealing with the conflict (party, dude).

At the Monsters of Rock marathon last July at the Coliseum, Metallica impressively galvanized its “us” as for 10 minutes at the begining of the band’s afternoon set a near-riotous state of anarchy reigned among the 60,000-plus crowd. It’s the kind of moment that really sticks with a metal fan.

But the band also gave notice once and for all at the Coliseum that it will have no truck with the cartoonish, simple-minded bozo-ery generally associated with metal. The level of musical development (with precise instrumental work and tempo and time shifts relating more to King Crimson than, say, AC/DC) and thematic content (the working out of pre-apocalypse anxiety, without much of the nihilism associated with classic punk rock) promised the flowering of something that has come to be termed new metal .

The scene Wednesday was nothing like the one in July--though many chairs were turned over in an initial crush from the fans, and foam seat cushions rained from the upper stands all through the show. But the California-based quartet definitely delivered on its promise, as it did abundantly on its new million-selling double-album set “. . . And Justice for All.”

Over the course of the first half hour of the concert (the first of two sold-out nights in Long Beach), a large statue of Lady Justice was erected piece by piece behind the band on a stage portraying a crumbling Hall of Justice. At the end of the show, in what should have come as no surprise to any on hand, the statue came down again--amid explosive flashes. Not exactly subtle, but then subtlety might have seemed out of place in this setting.

Anyway, it’s risky to over-intellectualize Metallica. After all, the crux of its presentation and appeal is aggression and release. And the band delivers that with more fury than perhaps any other act that has ever built this sizable an audience.

Singer/guitarist James Hetfield served as a good-natured, one-of-the-guys host, without overdoing the party-time mentality you normally get at metal shows. Band-mates Lars Ulrich (drums), Kirk Hammett (lead guitar) and newest member Jason Newsted (bass) followed suit, performing personably, and without stagy flash.

The only thing keeping the show from being truly great rock ‘n’ roll was the lack of any sense of sensuality. And given the number of teens--especially scantily clad girls--test-driving their sexuality at the show, a little encouragement in the direction of sensuality and love would have served a valuable social purpose. (Metallica fans curious about how this kind of fury might incorporate sensuality could check out Sonic Youth’s new album, “Daydream Nation.”)

And this brings up the issue of where Metallica goes from here. Hardly the kind of band that would be content to repeat itself, it still must be cautious of leaving its audience behind if it continues to progress at the rate it has over the last several years. Maybe finding a way to incorporate that sensual element into the music would be one next step. Or maybe--and perhaps more likely--the band can suggest a way that its followers can work to build a new and improved Justice.

Critics and cognoscenti who have latched on to Metallica (the critics’ fave metal band since Spinal Tap) may want to investigate opening act Queensryche’s recent album “Operation Mindcrime”--a fairly well-crafted and intelligent Orwellian concept piece. Unfortunately, the Seattle quintet’s live performance relied too much on cliche metal posturing. Maybe by the time it grows to headlining status, it will have progressed to the point that it can effectively stage the concepts it has developed in its music.