Metallica – St. Anger

Just a crappy release. There's no defending it. From Reload, to this, to Lulu, to S&M....definitely the darkest period to be a Metallica fan.

JAMES: Where’s Lars? Goddammit, the contract says we need the CD mastered tomorrow!
(Footsteps come hurrying down the hall, and then the studio door slams shut.)
LARS: Sorry I’m late, guys. I got held up at the airport. I had to deal with the press involving all the lawsuits and stuff. So…what’s going on?
JAMES: Goddammit! We haven’t started on our new CD yet and we have to have it finished today! What are we going to do?
BOB ROCK: No time for mixing. I’ve got one single microphone set up in the middle as that’s all that’s available. If your songs aren’t finished yet, you’ll need to improvise to make them long enough.
KIRK: But I can’t make up solos on the fly!
JAMES: Then don’t. We need the CD finished fast.
LARS: Kirk man, we’re Metallica. People are gonna buy our shit no matter what we put on it, so just play.
KIRK: What about you? You left your good snare at the airport. How are you going to get by?
LARS: I’ll just use a trash barrel.
BOB ROCK: Alright, boys. Everything’s set up and ready to go. I won’t be able to check how it sounds ‘cause I’ll be playing bass. We just have to get it right the first time.
JAMES: There won’t be a second time. Just send the tapes in as soon as we’re done.

Yes, it really is that bad. Master of Puppets was Van Gogh. And Justice for All was Michelangelo. St. Anger is just a finger painting.

I could never get into Metallica because of how corny their music was (sorry, I really tried to like it). Lyrically and Musically it's what I hate in metal, and one day I decide to try this album. One of the most hated in all of metal, and they gave me an all time favorite. It's everything I want in metal. Unfiltered anger and honesty. Sure the disconnect is there that they're a bunch of rich guys, but the record sounds so human. The industrial trash can snare is wailing out in rage, the muddy guitars overpower each other trying to get their piece in, and the unmixed vocals crack and run out of breath constantly. It makes me feel. It makes me really feel that anger. Asides from the abysmal 'Invisible Kid', this album is full of amazing riffs. The lack of solos doesn't really bother me, I prefer this groove oriented approach they took, which pleases me as I love bands like Meshuggah, iral Angry, and Strapping Young Lad, where groove dominates all.

An extremely misunderstood album that everyone should try at least once. Clang clang clang.

There was likely a time when developmentally disabled boy-men in Metallica gave Bob Rock the authority to produce their albums, and the returns were mammoth. Here, Lars and James are just masturbating on tape and forcing Rock to record it, untouched. You can't really blame Rock for not wanting to touch it; its got more spooge quality than the the cover of Load. This is unmitigated crap. It should not have been released.

Is there the version of st. Anger with the purple fist on here? Cause my brother has one he found at Walmart about 6 years ago he still has sealed. We ended up finding about 6 of them and sold the rest a long time ago. Just wondering?

I do enjoy this record. I consider it a therapeutic thing though.. if you've lost all hope, or are just extremely pissed, throw this bad boy in your CD or DVD player (I personally prefer the DVD version of the album) and let the bad vibes release themselves. Screaming "KILL" along with Hetfield at the end of "All Within My Hands" should be a nice relief that doesn't involve you going out and re enacting Quake III Arena. Yes the snare is grating, but it's miles better on the DVD. There's still a little clang but it doesn't sound like a pie tin. Good stuff, but you need to be in the right mindset to truly enjoy it, I feel.

I feel for the later years, THIS IS THE PEAK. Death Magnetic was good. But this is them at the peak. They're angry, they're hungry again, they're trying to work through issues. It keep the formula of Dave and James fighting and had good lyrics. It had a lot of repetition and almost a jam band feel to it. It was not the best produced, and had it not been a bit on the over compressed side this would have been a GREAT RAW ALBUM. I feel that what they had on this album they'll never get back. This is the closest you'll get to the last great metallica album. It takes a couple listens and watching the "Some Kind of Monster" doc, but you will finally see it's a GREAT ALBUM.

Love it, love it, love it. Don't listen to the stuck in the mud metal fans who think a snare drum should just sound like A. Its not a perfect album but its heavy as. But it, listen to it and dont listen to the message boards.

I enjoy this album. I believe I am the only one though so I doubt you guys reading this would like it.

Any band that can record an album with a trashcan for an instrument and even think to release it has got a free in my book.