June 5, 2003 - St. Anger

Two days after my last release and a long four and a half years since "Garage, Inc.", Metallica released their ninth album (their last album doesn't count as an official studio album, but it's the eighth for me, making this the ninth) "St. Anger" on June 5, 2003. This is the only album by Metallica to not have an official bassist as Jason Newsted left the band before the recordings started. All the bass on this album is done by longtime producer Bob Rock. Part of the reason for the long gap between albums was James Hetfield actually checked himself into rehab for alcoholism for nearly a year. Along with all these other changes comes a stark shift in style for Metallica as there is a much more raw production sound, metallic drums by Lars Ulrich, and amazingly no guitar solos. Not one solo on the whole album! What does Kirk Hammett do?! Let's see how all these changes affect the legends in Metallica!

The album kicks off with one of it's four singles "Frantic" and right away we hear Lars' metallic snare drum sound and it's so piercing and noticeable, and every snare hit on the whole album has that sound! Yikes! Rock's bass is actually pretty cool and Hammett's guitar sounds pretty heavy, but very unusual for Metallica. This goes for a lot of this album, but if you didn't know this was Metallica, it sounds pretty solid! But when you know this used to be the thrash metal legends it's in very stark contrast. Hetfield's vocals sound pretty solid at times, and at others we get "My lifestyle determines my death style" and the annoying "frantic-tick-tick-tick-tock" in the chorus. The last minute is decently heavy with some cool guitar by Hammett, but overall it's definitely not what you'd expect from these metal icons. Up next is the lead single and title track "St. Anger" and once again the low and very raw-sounding guitars sound pretty cool actually, but it's just so unexpected and un-Metallica. When Lars enters with more ear-splitting drums things sound interesting, but not necessarily amazing, and a little jarring, I hate that snare so much! When Hetfield starts to sing the slow verse the music dramatically shifts to match his slow mood with some much lighter guitars. Hetfield's lead vocals are okay, but he also adds some backing vocals that I think take away from things ("flush out" those vocals James!) This song is pretty repetitive and probably could've used a nice guitar solo! Not my favourite Metallica song by any means! Track 3 was also a single and the name of a documentary about the making of this album and it's called "Some Kind Of Monster". I think this is easily the best song on this album and it's pretty progressive at eight and a half minutes with a few different parts to it. It starts off with Hetfield playing the main riff quietly on rhythm guitar before everyone else nicely slams in for a louder version and this might be the only time where that metallic snare actually doesn't sound too bad! Hammett plays some distorted but pretty simple lead guitar overtop and my head is actually banging along to this pretty cool riff. They switch to a new riff that is upbeat, heavy and pretty cool for the verse and Hetfield also sounds pretty good and this I can get behind! It's different for sure, but still very cool and interesting! The chorus is slow but heavy and pretty dirty and Ulrich's drums are pretty nuts as they make their way back to another verse. After a couple cool rounds we shift to yet another new part pretty smoothly and Hetfield leads a fast new verse with Hammett playing some cool new guitar as well. They somehow bring it smoothly back to the chorus and then end things with a furious finish and this was eight and a half minutes of pretty cool metal! I liked this one for sure, but it's by far the best one remember. The next track is "Dirty Window" and the metallic snare is so in your face and jarring, why does it have to be on every song Lars? Why?! It's driven by a pretty simple guitar riff and the awesomeness from last song has quickly faded back to this strange aura of raw, almost cheesy metal. Hetfield's fast verse is okay but the chorus sounds pretty cheesy with all the judicial lyrics and Hetfield shouting weirdly overtop some jagged, heavy music. It might be the epitomal fall from grace song. It's not awful, but it is by Metallica's standards. Track 5 is "Invisible Kid" and that stupid snare is ever present and annoyingly ringing in your ear in the background of an otherwise pretty heavy and solid riff. Hetfield sings a decent verse overtop and things are nice and upbeat, but the chorus has James singing in a much lighter style and things fall a little flat and pretty repetitive. He tries to spice things up a bit but it sounds like he's trying too hard at the end of the chorus. After another long round they shift to a new riff that seems to be building toward something, but remember there's no solos! This song desperately could've used one as it's a very anticlimactic build-up to eventually just return to the main riff. Eight and a half minutes is also way too long, just not a very well-designed song. Up next is "My World" and it's got a decent guitar riff driving things along, but that fucking snare is getting really old Lars! I find it just takes away from the epicness of things, especially since Hammett is playing some cool guitar. Hetfield's verse is not his best one as the effects and his voice are just strange and abnormal. The chorus is better but still not Hetfield's best, but when they fire off before the second verse the music sounds heavy and pretty cool for a bit there! After the next round they shift to a nice headbanging new riff and Hetfield nicely alternates between almost whispering and shouting. This whole part is actually not too bad and it takes us most of the way to the end of the song! The verse is definitely not my favourite, but otherwise this song was pretty solid, for this style at least (still nowhere close to '80s Metallica). Track 7 is called "Shoot Me Again" and we hear an interesting guitar riff to kick us off before things shift into a typical main riff for this album with some decent low and heavy guitars, Bob Rock playing some solid bass in the background if you can pick it out, and Ulrich's drums sounding decent, if only not for that Infernal snare! It's otherwise solid! Hetfield holds some long notes in a lighter voice overtop a main riff that is actually a little groovy! Rock's bass sounds super low in the chorus, but Hetfield's chorus I find comically bad, he sounds ridiculous singing "shoot me again I ain't dead yet-AH!" The heavier end to the chorus is better and not bad at all, but that main part is just such a release that is not warranted. There's some good duitar at times, but most of this seven-plus minute song is a perfect example of why this is not your A-grade Metallica of old. The next track is "Sweet Amber" and after a slow opening Hammett kicks into a fast-paced and pretty cool main guitar riff. The rest of the band nicely falls behind to reinforce this loud and decently catchy main riff (that fucking snare drum though!) Hetfield sings a decent verse overtop, but in the chorus it sounds like he's trying too hard again and emphasizing things too much. It's an interesting heavy, stop-and-start riff in the chorus though! After another round it seems like we're building again and Hetfield sings a short new verse, then we get a heavy new part that is alright, but why not a Hammett guitar solo? Why do they hate them now?! It's a decent song, but it could've been so much more! Track 9 is another single titled "The Unnamed Feeling" and it's still got a typical, low rhythm section, but Hetfield plays a lighter guitar riff overtop that clashes a little bit. Eventually they settle into a pretty distorted main riff with some interesting guitars by Hammett and Hetfield sings a decent lighter verse overtop. The chorus is much quieter but it's decently smooth with Hetfield singing in a nice low voice, then they loudly slam back into the next round. After this round we get a much heavier version of the chorus which sounds solid, then Hetfield leads a new verse and he sounds like he's giving it all in this part with a solid verse. Aside of course from that infernal snare drum, this was actually a pretty good song for a single and one that stands out a bit from most of the songs on this album. Up next is "Purify" and it falls perfectly into the album's formula with some low, dirty bass, some low and heavy guitars (they're not bad by any means, but it's that same new-age tone to it), and a loud, ringing metallic snare to keep you on edge. Hetfield yells a verse that fits the rhythm pretty well, but I find he sounds like he's trying too hard again here. The same goes for the chorus as James is shouting things out loudly, but his weird emphasis on things takes away from an otherwise decently heavy chorus. This pretty much sums up this whole song until the last 30 seconds or so when they finally switch things up with a new riff to close things out. It's okay, but seems a little out of place just thrown at the end of this song. The final song on the album is the near nine minute "All Within My Hands" and they jump right into a typical, but decently epic main riff to start us off. After a minute the first verse finally starts and Rock plays some interesting bass in the background while Hetfield sings a pretty epic verse overtop, he sounds natural here, and in my opinion much better. He's yelling more in the chorus, but still sounds pretty good and the guitars are very typical-sounding for this album, but there is a bit of groove to things which is definitely good. After another long round they shift to a new riff and verse and things sound pretty solid still, but it's just begging for a rip-roaring solo that never comes! James yelling "kill" over and over in the final minite is the definition of trying too hard; he sounds ridiculous! Just stop! What a sad way to finish off this very strange album.

That is the end of "St. Anger" and I thought it was not a very great album, especially by Metallica. Yes there was some good music on this album, and if you pretend it's not Metallica, it would be an interesting style of raw, heavy metal. But these are the thrash metal gods, with no guitar solos?! It's just so fucking terrible compared to their best stuff and the fact that I actually have to think about whether it's better than "Reload" is not a good thing at all! It's close, but I amazingly think "Reload" was better, so this new album will take the new bottom rung. What were Metallica thinking? Can they ever recover?