Sheavy (original review from ProgArchives.com)

Metallica must have hit the core of the earth with this album, the hole is so big. Wow. Do not touch withh a ten foot stick. The production sounds like they are trying to be some Nu- Metal trash band. There is not even a guitar solo throughout this entire album to even make it seem like the were trying to get out of the hole. They just seem to be wallowing in this pit of horribleness. Nothing from this album is good. the lyrics are poor. The production is just as bad if not worse than Justice. The guitar at least is fast, but not the good thrash that we are used to from this band. Instead we get this horrible Slipknot sound. (Which at least Slipknot's band members are very good at there respective instruments, especially the drummer, Joey Jordison), but here they sound like some new band coming onto the overcrowded Nu-Metal scene.

The only redeeming quality is that the guitar does have the occasional good riff, but it is drowned out by the horribleness surrounding it.

UMUR "St. Anger" is the 8th full-length studio album by US heavy metal/ thrash metal act Metallica. The album was released in June 2003 by Vertigo Records. Bassist Jason Newsted left Metallica shortly before the sessions for the album began. Details about the split are documented in the "Some Kind of Monster (2004)" documentary. The recording sessions for the album began on the 24th of April 2001 but a couple of months into the sessions Metallica had to take a lengthy break from the studio as lead vocalist/ guitarist James Hetfield went into rehab for alcoholism. The break lasted about a year before a sober James Hetfield returned and the sessions started up again. Producer Bob Rock plays the bass on the album as the band opted not to hire a new bassist before after the release of "St. Anger".

The music on the album is the most aggressive the band has released since "...and Justice for All (1988)", so the title of the album suits the music well. Metallica made a deliberate attempt at trying something new on the album. There are for example no guitar solos on the album and influences the NU-Metal/alternative metal end of the metal spectrum are obvious IMO. This is still unmistakably the sound of Metallica though. Something is not right though and overall "St. Anger" is not the most interesting/successful album in the world. For starters the 11 tracks on the album overstay their welcome by a couple of minutes and while the tracks do hold some strong elements (they are few but there) they come off as rather weak in comparison to the songs on earlier releases by the band. A way too long playing time of 75:01 minutes doesn´t do anything to save an already weak release. Why Oh why release a 75 minute long album when you only have quality material (well... almost decent material) for 35 minutes?

The worst thing about "St. Anger" is the production though. It´s messy and noisy. Quite the abomination if you ask me. I don´t think I´ve ever heard a snare drum sound as atrocious as the one of this album. It sounds like Lars Ulrich is beating an oil barrel to death. So while the music has some redeeming qualities there´s nothing positive to say about the sound on the album. It really drags my rating down a lot.

When I listened to "St. Anger" upon it´s release I remember I was greatly disappointed. I was more positive after listening to it again before this review but it is still the weakest album in Metallica´s discography and the last album by the band that I would advice people to listen to. A 1.5 - 2 star rating is warranted.

bonnek St. Anger is everybody's favorite "let's bash-Metallica" album. Well, it's certainly not good and has plenty of reasons to serve as an ideal album to sharpen you vitriol-drenched review writing skills, but Metallica has worse albums so I'll try to support them for a change.

A first reason for the criticism is obvious, the damn sound of the thing. Especially the snare drum is downright ridiculous. But apparently it is the way they wanted it to sound. A second reason is also obvious. All songs are waaaaay too long. Also, half of the songs fail to add anything and make the album wear out, long before it's completed.

That is all true but there are good thing here and well. Most of all this album signals a welcome return of energy and anger into Metallica's sound. Each new album in the 90's had only been topping the previous in lackluster song writing and sloppy performance. St. Anger is a welcome return to aggression and simple & sharp metal riffs. Even if they don't come near to past excellence, it's still an improvement over all the deflated unload disasters.

If Metallica had not only opted for a garage sound, but also for garage song writing and attitude, they could have trimmed down the fat on each of these songs and could have created a very powerful scourging 40 minute album. Well, they didn’t and they even continued to make the exact same mistake on the overhyped Death Magnetic.

adg211288 There is really not much that I can say about Metallica’s St. Anger that someone, somewhere hasn’t already said. This album is literally hated by fans of the band and by metal fans in general. And rightly so, because for the most part, this album is pretty terrible. The trouble is for me is that I owe this damn thing a lot. It was the first metal album I ever owned, my gateway if you will to the real good stuff. Back when this first came out I worshipped this album, so much that it led me to buy some older Metallica albums, the first of which was their debut Kill ‘em All. My feelings for St. Anger started on the downhill from there.

Personally I don’t think that this is as bad as its often made out to be, but it’s definitely far from good as well. It doesn’t really hit any mediocre areas even, falling below average. I don’t really see St. Anger as the worst album by Metallica though, for me that title actually belongs to ReLoad, an album which I bought, played a couple times and hasn’t left its case in about five years except to get put on my computer, and even then I rarely listen to it. St. Anger is pretty much in the same boat, however I must admit that there is the odd moment on here that I like. The title track for example, I actually think that’s a pretty good song and Frantic has its moments as well, as does Sweet Amber, which used to be my favourite song from it in the days when I didn’t know any better.

Everything else on here however now just looks to me like a collection of pure garbage. Some of the tracks strike me these days as so awful that I can’t even think about them without cringing let alone dare myself to listen to them. Tracks such as My World and Shoot me Again are so downright useless that there isn’t really anything that can be said about them apart from that. They make me quite lost for words in all the wrong ways.

But I think the biggest problem that I have with it is that although I can tell that it is metal, I really have no idea just what type of metal it is supposed to be. It doesn’t come across as a thrash metal album like their early albums, or even a traditional heavy metal album like the Black Album, or even in that Alternative phase they had with Load and ReLoad, and that’s because the album sounds too much like a mess to really become anything identifiable. How this is the work of a band that produced thrash greats such as Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets and ...and Justice for All is beyond me. This isn’t the worst album I’ve ever heard but it really comes close to it.

poslednijat_colobar The worst album I've ever heard

Wow... I must admit to Metallica their ability to create something abnormally disgusting. And I admit it every single time, when I listen to St. Anger (they are not much: 2 times when it was released and 1 now because of writing a review). It's noise, it,s not music. There's not any logic and songwriting here. It's just experimental noise here. Probably it's an achievement, too. It's an achievement, because it's very difficult to create so awful piece of art. There are a lot of comic moments on St. Anger. Wow... It's extraterrestrial. There aren't fresh or whatever ideas. The most important thing I can say about this album is: St. Anger is a common noun of noise, incompetence, foolishness and misunderstanding (of nature). 0,5000000000(0) star under MMA rating system (the complete minimum)!!!

The Angry Scotsman Here it is the album. The album that everyone hates. Old school fans hate it because it was released after 1988, and new school fans hate it because it sounds so different. Hell, everyone hates it because it sounds so terrible. I have heard, on more than one occasion, that this is one of the worst albums ever made. That being said, I think this is an alright album. Certainly not great, but not the god awful pile of trash most say it is. All you need to is listen, and not let the masses opinion sway you.

OK, I will start with the bad. This album sounds like a train wreck at times. Almost every song is too long, most could be cut in half. The lyrics are almost laughably bad, almost...I can't laugh though. Some gems are, "My lifestyle, determines my deathstyle", "I'm madly in anger with you", and of course "KILL KILL! KILL KILL KILL! KILL!". Usually lyrics I can just completely tune out, but when they are that bad, it just can't be done.

Common criticism of this album is "the drums sound like crap!" and "there are no solos!". Well, the drum sound is personal preference. I kind of like the sound of that snare drum. However, Lars' drumming, while usually mediocre, sometimes does not even follow the basic rule of drumming. Keeping a beat. The worst is in Some Kind of Monster, where there are long periods of him just playing woefully off beat. As for the lack of solos, that is what they wanted. It helps to give it a garage feel. Though it is certainly a down point.

Now the good! This album is a return to their old days. This album is heavy. It has a lot of thrash on it. A heavy, muddy, album with some thrash. There are some great riffs. There are also some very experimental and unique parts, for Metallica. Different is not bad, and the contrast with the rest of the album is pretty good.

This album starts out fairly well. Frantic, St. Anger, and Some Kind of Monster are all good songs. And they actually have a bit of progressiveness to them! Although St. Anger and Some Kind of Monster are too long. Invisible Kid is another good song. Again, heavy and I actually really like James' vocals in the quieter sections.

Sweet Amber begins, well sweet. Then goes into the heavy. A cool sounding song. Purify is not bad, and Invisible Kid is also not bad, but again way too long. Dirty Window is a good song, love his vocals in the mellow parts.

So, what do I have to say about this album. Under rated! It is not their best, by a long shot. However, all the flak it takes is undeserving. It is a thrashy, heavy, dirty feeling album. What's the problem? If you are not into a grungy, "garage" feel then I guess you won't like it. However, I do. It has a great feel to it. Besides, this is the end of their "sellout" days. There generic, hard rock albums were tossed out the window in favor of metal again. Maybe it is not focused, but hey...it's a start.

A decent album, with an old school, heavy feel. The vocals are bad, (but real) most of the songs are way too long, and some are just bad sounding. However, a lot are good sounding, and even a bit progressive! There is a lot of bad with this album, but if you honestly listen, you will find some great riffing (though difficult to hear) and some pretty unique songwriting (though sometimes undone by the extended song lengths). I say you should listen to this album with an OPEN MIND!

Three Stars

Conor Fynes 'St. Anger' - Metallica (2/10)

Retarded cabbage patch kid music; nothing sums it up better. I'm glad this record is on the internet for me to review though, so I can warn anyone of potentially spending their money on this massacre to change their mind. QUICKLY.

In context, Metallica was in a bad position. The members hated each other, and were on the brink of breaking up. This 'antimatter chemistry' translated into a noisy mess, as can be seen in each of the awful tracks.

Admittedly, I wasn't even able to get through all the songs. I'm reviewing this album and haven't even listened to all of it! Put simply, I don't need to. The reason I couldn't get through it is because it's just too damn useless. It's like listening to a baby whine for hours on end while it gets it's pupils pierced by hot needles... Maybe worse.

I can't say I've ever been a huge Metallica fan, but at the very least (in past works) they've proven that they can make some damned good music. However, in this case, I'd rather listen to some Elementary school pop-rock band. At least there would be something there that could resemble music.

In terms of the actual music throughout the course of the album, it's very one-tracked. It all sounds the same. And while a 70 minute album generally sounds appealing, I might have even been tempted to give these retarded cabbage patch kids a 2 star rating if this was an 'experimental' EP, trying out a different sound than what they're used to. But no, this is a full fledged album. A full fledged, 11 song album without any highlights, without any sense of melody, or rhythm, or evocation of emotion.

The album does have some good parts, or 'highlights' if you will; the first three songs are at least listenable. 'St. Anger' is a memorable title track, and 'Frantic' gives a real jolt of energy which is good, even if that energy is brought forward through disgracefully bad production and performance.

If you like metal or prog, you're honestly better off getting a Rihanna album. At least you won't feel betrayed or dissapointed afterwards.

AtomicCrimsonRush tick tick tick tick tick tick tock? Metallica go BOOM!

St Clanger, I'm madly in anger with you...

The best thing about this album is the documentary behind it, Some Kind of Monster.

The band went through immense turmoil during the making of this album. Hetfield left the band for rehab and to clear the cobwebs in his head. With lyrics about his lifestyle and his 'deathstyle', the content of 'St Anger' is bitter, morbid and twisted, and there is no heart in it. Hetfield sounds like he has vocal diarrhea, a word incidentally, from the Greek word meaning 'flowing through'. The only thing flowing on this monstrosity is the cash from the fans who unfortunately were suckered into buying this beer coaster.

OK, so who the heck is responsible? Metallica are not even close to peak performance and the album would be their worst as a result. Most band members played solo parts and the whole thing was edited together hastily in time for its release date. It feels as though the members of the band did not care about the album and that's a rarity for Metallica. Bassist Robert Trujillo jumped on board the Metallica Machine but did not play for his debut; Bob Rock did all the bass parts on this and is as good as he needs to be to make the thing hang together. The band themselves are now trying to ignore this album. Live performances at most play three of the tracks but I dare say they will eventually hope this album becomes a distant memory, though "the memory remains"...

Unfortunately this album stinks of a poor attitude. The guitar work is tiresome and there is nothing innovative or new in Hammet's guitar riffs. There are no lead breaks just a bunch of noisy garage band riffs. This album sounds like a debut for the latest grunge garage act. Ulrich does not have a chance to shine on drums either, his drums sound like they were played in the toilet, actually they were I think. And the lyrics were written on toilet paper so that the music industry could wipe their bums on them. Ulrich is the best thing on this, in fact on the doco he is the one who was most worried about this release. He is excellent on the doco as a mouthpiece for how the band was falling apart. I also loved Megadeth's intervention to help out in places.

The album cover looks like a slogan for an anti Apartheid rally. And don't get me started on those lyrics: actually they are too good to pass up... "Frantic tick tick tick tick tick tick tock, Frantic tick tick tick tick tick tick tock, Treading water full of worry, This frantic tick tick talk goes hurry... my lifestyle determines my deathstyle" or "This is the face that you hide from, This is the mask that comes undone, Ominous, I am in us, Ominous, I am in us..." No compromise, My heart won't pump the other way, Wake the sleeping giant, Wake the beast, Wake the sleeping dog, No, let him sleep..." or "Tear it down, Strip my layers off, My turpentine, Old paint, old looks, Cover up the past, White heat, white light, Super whity, bones, Bones of you and i, Pure if i ... Can't you help me?" and finally "Who's in charge of my head today, Dancin' devils in angels way, It's my time now, Look out motherf***ers here I come, Gonna make my head my home..." These make their other album's lyrics sound like Wordsworth or Keats.

The whole background on this album is compelling viewing and the documentary is one of the best 'warts and all' fly- on-the-wall docos in history. However, the album is appalling in both production and content. None of the songs stand out as highlights.

A real waste from some of the most talented metal virtuosos in history... so I dub thee Unforgiven.

Pekka The most slaughtered metal album of all time? Very possibly. Anyone who's seen the Some Kind of Monster documentary knows that Metallica were going through a world of difficulties in the early 2000s starting with the Napster backlash, the departure of Jason Newsted, rehab stint of James Hetfield and a general bad air between Hetfield and Lars Ulrich. Out of these feelings is born St. Anger. Depending on the viewpoint the band is either completely lost at sea or proudly aiming for new ventures once again.

The first thing you can't avoid noticing when listening to this album is the sound. Unpolished, uncompromising, unproduced if you will. After the lushly produced Bob Rock era albums this comes as quite a shock as the producer hasn't changed. The bass is yet again barely audible, guitars are raw and the snare... A lot had been said about the snare drum and I am one of the rare people who actually really like the sharp, piercing, ringing sound of it. All in all the sound is very much in accord with the music which, to quote James Hetfield, is like a movie entirely made up of violence scenes.

70 minutes of violence can get pretty boring, and that's the biggest problem of the album. For the first time ever Metallica left a bunch of songs unreleased, but in my opinion they weren't strict enough. For this kind of full on attack music 40 or 50 minutes is a recommended maximum, after that it might well get tiring. But what holds this album better together is the placement of the tracks, with three of my favourites being the last three songs. After a solid start with the pummeling singles Frantic and St. Anger, despite the goofy bass drum hit overdubs of the latter, the quality of the tracks takes a slight downhill with Some Kind of Monster, Dirty Window and all the way to My World and Shoot Me Again, which are the tracks I would like to cut from the album. After that things turn brighter again. Sweet Amber is somewhat resembling of the earlier thrash Metallica and after that we get what is the only calmer track of the bunch, The Unnamed Feeling. Slightly aliceinchainsish vocal harmonies spice this chrushingly slow piece of metal, one of the post-80s Metallica highlights, as are the following tracks Purify and All Within My Hands. Both feature rather unusual traits for the band, the former in its rhythm approach and the latter in its clean picked guitars in midst of aggression.

Another thing that usually gets a lot of flak apart from the drum sounds is the fact that the album contains no solos. I'm very ok with that, having the obligatory solo in every single song after the second chorus is just as boring as having no solos at all, and as Kirk Hammett isn't necessarily at the top of my favourite guitarists list, it's no big loss.

Lots of good riffing and genuine drive and aggression. Pity that it doesn't always translate into enjoyable music. Nevertheless a good underrated album with its highs and lows.

Metalbaswee Metallica's St.Anger... It's a hated album by most Metallica fans, just because it's different. And i disagree with all those people, it's a great album! Not as great as The Black Album or ...And Justice For All, but it still does a pretty good job. It's a record to headbang to, it's heavy in its own way. It's aggressive in a good way, Hetfield really lets his anger out here. Recording quality is fine, except for the drums, they really sound like some pots. But maybe that's just me having a different taste again. Guitars and bass are very clear and crispy on the album, and Hetfield voice is good, although not as good as it used to be! 3.5/5

(Written for MetalMusicArchives.com by Bas Weijenberg)

Valarius Going against the popular opinion here, I have to say I really like 'St. Anger'.

Everyone knows of this album and what makes it so bad. The atrocious production, the blasphemous drums, the rather cheesy lyrics, the lack of guitar solos, Hetfields rather strained voice... the list goes on and on. But for all its faults and wrongdoings, the music itself on this album is still pretty fantastic.

I was sixteen when this album came out and was at the time a huge Metallica fanatic. When it was released I was not bothered at all by 'minor technical faults' such as production, and so I was left to enjoy nothing but headbanging madness.

Of course, as I grew older I now appreciate music production more, but that doesn't take away from the fact that I love the tunes on this album.

And whilst we're all familiar with 'Frantic', 'Some Kind of Monster' and 'The Unnamed Feeling', this record has some unknown gems such as 'Sweet Amber' 'All Within My Hands' and 'Shoot Me Again' which don't seem to get any recognition at all.

In truth, there is no point me trying to sell this album on anyone, as by now I figure everyone has made up their mind about it. But I'm happy with it. Sure, it has its problems, but it's different and unique and I enjoy it all the same. And the extra DVD of the band playing the album in the studio make this a nice little package.