One thing I've seen on metalstorm a lot and in the metal-community in general is a slow move towards a more pop-music attitude: namely, that a metal band HAS to play what the fans like ALL the time on EVERY record/cd or they're sell-outs. Metallica has definitely suffered the ire of the metal-community, who wish that they could play Master of Puppets-style music and nothing else.

Along with ReLoad, ...And Justice For All, Ride the Lightning and I Disappear, St. Anger was one of the first Metallica material I was first introduced to. Back then, I hated it because everyone else hated it, but now I have changed my view on this album.

Knowing what went on during the production of this album gives me an even greater respect for the band. Having gone through the shit Metallica did and survived more or less intact is something that not even the greatest bands that are mutually here can speak of.

As for the album itself, it is completely different than 80s or 90s Metallica. Yes, the guitars are tuned down, but so are those of Black Label Society and yet no one hates them. Yes, there are no solos, but black metal guitarists don't play solos either and yet no one hates them. Yes, you can hear the snare pounding out the fury of this angry album, but, honestly, where would all the rage and strength of this album be if the snare sounded like a wet noodle hitting a paper bag?

If Metallica REALLY played Master of Puppets-style music throughout their entire career, the band would have broken up because Lars Ulrich's ego (the same one which led the charge against Napster) would have forced his way or the "high way" had the others insisted on guitar solos and having the drums keep the time of the songs. Yes, St. Anger will never be anything like the old albums, but a REAL fan is fanatically loyal, and from what I've read, none of the reviewers are REAL fans of Metallica, they're just fans of popular metal like master of puppets.

Im not into Metallica at all.

But St. Anger is damn awesome! Its not better than most of their other works, but fitted better according to my tastes, and its one of my favorite albums from these dudes.

St. Anger FTW bitches!!

As for this album i can say that the shiiiiitttttttttest song is Invisible kid. Very stupid thing and guitars are fuck.
And Purify don't save this album.

This album is wretched. The guitars are tuned way too low, the bass is non-existent, the vocals are frequently out of key, and the snare drum sounds like a trash can. How anyone can like this album is beyond me.

I predict very nice and long discussions here...

People can think whatever they want. I think it's the most underrated album of all time. Love how aggressive it is and think it's damn catchy at the same time.

Written by Warman on 22.12.2009 at 01:58

People can think whatever they want. I think it's the most underrated album of all time. Love how aggressive it is and think it's damn catchy at the same time.

Well I would not rate it 9, for me it's a good album, aggressive and catchy as you said, IMO, it's the drums that fuck it up.

Someone burned it for me when it first came out... think I had it about an hour... and it disappeared...

Can't get myself to listen to much Metallica anymore, usually And Justice, Black album or sometimes Death Mag, the rest are collecting dust, sorry fans...

Written by +{Jonas}+ on 22.12.2009 at 04:55

Written by Warman on 22.12.2009 at 01:58

People can think whatever they want. I think it's the most underrated album of all time. Love how aggressive it is and think it's damn catchy at the same time.

Well I would not rate it 9, for me it's a good album, aggressive and catchy as you said, IMO, it's the drums that fuck it up.

+1 to both of you

For starters, "St. Anger" was a sell out album. Anyone who has seen "Some Kind Of Monster", will know Lars and Bob Rock especially, wanted the album to follow the current trends of popular metal at that time. Kirk was visibly displeased at the idea of there not being any solos allowed on the album. So, whether the album was a "sell out" is beyond debate. However, I do not think the album is as terrible as most metal fans make it out to be. Aside from the no solos rule, the production is abysmal. Especially on the drums, which actually make my ears hurt if I listen to the album for too long!

Another problem is, because of the style employed on the album, most of the songs don't translate well by being so long. A couple of songs at least, could have benefitted from being shorter. Not least "Invisible Kid", which becomes very monotonous as it stays more or less the same throughout it's 8 plus minutes,

The album is hugely flawed, no doubt about that. But hidden within the chaotic mire of this album, there is some goodness to be found. Some of the riffs are actually very good, and that is another gripe with the album. It could clearly have been a lot better than what it was, as many of the riffs isolated on their own, are actually excellent! "Frantic" is production aside, an awesome song, and the fact it is shorter than all the other songs, shows what Metallica should have done for most of the rest of the album. It doesn't outstay it's welcome because of it's length, it's got great riffs, is brutal, and to the point. With better production and a killer solo, Id class this as an all time classic Metallica song! "Sweet Amber" is awesome too, it's main riff sounding like something off "Load" on speed! Other songs like "Some Kind Of Monster" and the title track also have plenty of great riffage on them too. It's just a shame that the production is so awful.

To sum up, I feel "St. Anger" was a missed opportunity. The production sucks, purposely imposing a "no solos" rule was lame, and some of the songs were too long, and/or poorly arranged. However, I still find quite a bit to like about it, and I don't think it's anywhere near as bad as some make out. It is probably Metallica's worst album, but I still find much to enjoy, even if it means sitting through the atrocious production! hehe

Written by Warman on 22.12.2009 at 01:58

People can think whatever they want. I think it's the most underrated album of all time. Love how aggressive it is and think it's damn catchy at the same time.

I agree completely!
The agression in all the songs makes this album so much better than you might think after a first listen.

Written by Angelic Storm on 22.12.2009 at 12:32

For starters, "St. Anger" was a sell out album. Anyone who has seen "Some Kind Of Monster", will know Lars and Bob Rock especially, wanted the album to follow the current trends of popular metal at that time. Kirk was visibly displeased at the idea of there not being any solos allowed on the album. So, whether the album was a "sell out" is beyond debate. However, I do not think the album is as terrible as most metal fans make it out to be. Aside from the no solos rule, the production is abysmal. Especially on the drums, which actually make my ears hurt if I listen to the album for too long!

Another problem is, because of the style employed on the album, most of the songs don't translate well by being so long. A couple of songs at least, could have benefitted from being shorter. Not least "Invisible Kid", which becomes very monotonous as it stays more or less the same throughout it's 8 plus minutes,

The album is hugely flawed, no doubt about that. But hidden within the chaotic mire of this album, there is some goodness to be found. Some of the riffs are actually very good, and that is another gripe with the album. It could clearly have been a lot better than what it was, as many of the riffs isolated on their own, are actually excellent! "Frantic" is production aside, an awesome song, and the fact it is shorter than all the other songs, shows what Metallica should have done for most of the rest of the album. It doesn't outstay it's welcome because of it's length, it's got great riffs, is brutal, and to the point. With better production and a killer solo, Id class this as an all time classic Metallica song! "Sweet Amber" is awesome too, it's main riff sounding like something off "Load" on speed! Other songs like "Some Kind Of Monster" and the title track also have plenty of great riffage on them too. It's just a shame that the production is so awful.

To sum up, I feel "St. Anger" was a missed opportunity. The production sucks, purposely imposing a "no solos" rule was lame, and some of the songs were too long, and poorly arranged. However, I still find quite a bit to like about it, and I don't think it's anywhere near as bad as some make out. It is probably Metallica's worst album, but I still find much to enjoy, even if it means sitting through the atrocious production! hehe

Angelic, you should post this as a review Pretty good

For a true metal fan this is a worst metal album ever!

Written by anticitizen-one on 23.12.2009 at 18:33
For a true metal fan this is a worst metal album ever!

Nope. Why?

100% crap, one of the worst metal albums ever made.

Only 2 listenable songs on the whole album the rest of the songs make me want to kill kill kill kill kill KILL myself.

Written by +{Jonas}+ on 22.12.2009 at 04:55

Written by Warman on 22.12.2009 at 01:58

People can think whatever they want. I think it's the most underrated album of all time. Love how aggressive it is and think it's damn catchy at the same time.

Well I would not rate it 9, for me it's a good album, aggressive and catchy as you said, IMO, it's the drums that fuck it up.

I dont have problem with drums in this album, my problem is the Monkey. cant like him, I CANT.

Written by Guest on 26.12.2009 at 07:14


I dont have problem with drums in this album, my problem is the Monkey. cant like him, I CANT.

Trujillo didn't play a single note on this album.

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 26.12.2009 at 13:08

Written by Guest on 26.12.2009 at 07:14


I dont have problem with drums in this album, my problem is the Monkey. cant like him, I CANT.

Trujillo didn't play a single note on this album.

I know, but he palyed the video DVD. hehe, and about Bob I can say it was metallica's biggest problem and fault to choose him. ture He produced Black Album, but is it enough for 13 years? I dont say metallica did bad albums with him but they could do better things a little heavier at least. (Im talkin about load and reload). He wanted to make a Bon Jovie with metallica. shit!

So you have a problem with the album just because Trujillo played on the bonus DVD?

What's wrong with Trujillo and why do some people insult him? Just because of his stage moves? - that's really lame and wrong. I think the St Anger album was done just for contractual reasons, it was promised to the world since 2001. The Some kind of Monster movie shows it. But with Newsted quitting and James being in and out, rehabing, fighting with the forever annoying Lars, things were just bad. At that time the boys' inspiration was just dry. I cringed when i saw them trying ideas in the studio. And Lars' skills got worse. Kirk would be a good boy and just listen to what everybody else was telling him to do. Really sad. The writing process and the production were rushed. There were some good ideas but they needed to be worked, developped. the album sounds like a garage demo, that's unacceptable. It sounds like unfinished work.

The only song i like from this album is The Unnamed Feeling.

It's a bad album. just bad and nothing else.

What the heck is with people slating Rob? He didnt even play on St. Anger, it was Bob Rock! Geez...

Written by Uirapuru on 23.12.2009 at 16:54
Angelic, you should post this as a review Pretty good

What? Nah, its not that good!

But thanks anyways.

That album is pure utter crap! I am an inconditionnal Metallica fan, and this album made me wanna throw up.
1. The production sucks big time: the guitar sound is awful and the drum sounds like rabid monkeys randomly hitting stones and thrash cans with wood pieces
2. There's no songwriting at all on this album: no solos (has someone ever thought of Metallica without Hammet?), no bridges, just random ideas of riffs all rushed together without any logic direction..
3. James Hetfield's voice sounds like a deaf person singing his ass off in a shower: no power, no tone, nothing.
4. Only two songs are listenable, and by no means this means that they are actually good songs, they are just a little less bad than the others: these are "Frantic" and "St. Anger".
5. This is the WORST metal album I EVER listened to in my whole metal life (this means almost 20 years, when I listened to Master Of Puppets, ...And Justice For All, Metallica and Iron Maiden and Slayer classics when I was 7 years old.
This album is a bad joke, and it only deserves a 1/10

The frantic tic tic tic toc part is one of the most ridiculous moments in the whole metal history...

Nothing extraordinary to say about this one. I agree with the average score.

I would have given it negative numbers if it were possible ... i didn't even buy it and couldn't stand it hehe

Well this is a terrible album worst album Metallica has ever released having said that, at least it's not hip hop/rap crap that is the only consilation, The Unnamed feeling is the only half decent song on this album do not buy it!

It wasnt the worst album ever.
Some songs were pretty fuck.

Had two good songs:
Unnamed Feeling and Sweet Amber

Totaly Deplorable.a dark point in Metallica's file.but still its not the worst album ever or somthing like that.