NOTE: For purposes of this article, Lu Lu NEVER EXISTED.
“St. Anger is a terrible Metallica album.” “It marks the end of a great metal band.” I’ll admit I drank this St. Anger Kool-Aid. But it wasn’t without reason. I did buy the CD. I did listen to it. I was pissed like everybody else. The drums, the drums, the snare drum sounds like a garbage can. Did they do this on purpose? Why? Where are the guitar solos? After the luxury of time, however, I can look back on the 20 years since St. Anger and appreciate the phenomenal album it really was. St Anger is the least favorite Metallica album but it may be possibly the most important in the band’s career.
By this time, in my personal Metallica lifespan, I was consuming everything the band released. They had recently dropped the first S&M (a live collaboration with the SF Symphony). I had been a contest winner, attending that exclusive show. I have never been to a more powerful musical event than THIS. It was an amazing display of Metallica’s versatility . Needless to say, my Metallica fandom was at an all time high!/
St. Anger confuses
t Anger was released on June 5, 2003 was Metallica’s 8th studio release. Of course, I purchased it, site unseen. I, like many others, was confused with the sound. It sounded amateurish and unfinished. It was an immediate turn off for those of us who longed for the Master Of Puppets era sound
OK, Load and Reload had a few issues also, as far as the die hard Metallica fan was considered. OG Metallica fans are very picky and did NOT want their heroes to slow down one step. Shit, a lot of guys left Metallica fandom when the Black album came out before Load, thinking that the songs were too poppy. The longest song on the Black album was under 7 minutes. That’s short compared to epics like Master and One.
St Anger broke a lot of metal hearts. It’s NOT metal and dammit they still have short hair. So yes, I was sipping on the anti-Metallica Kool-Aid and I happily jumped on Death Magnetic, their next release 5 years later. Thankfully, Lar’s drum sound was back to it’s old self. I put the St Anger album and the “ Some Kind Of Monster” documentary behind me. Rarely going back to listen or view either. Metallica fans usually just skip over the St Anger era but I feel the album and the times are VITAL to the story of Metallica
Some Kind Of Monster
One can’t discuss the album St. Anger without Some Kind Of Monster. The documentary deserves its own exposure as it reveals a band in turmoil and transition. It reveals the fragility of human nature. It reveals the dysfunction that almost killed the band Metallica. The documentary was supposed to be your standard fare: the making of an album, St. Anger, in this case. Instead the cameras caught the fallout of bassist Jason Newsted QUITTING. The remaining members are left dumbfounded at their own dysfunction.
What transpires next is nothing short of devastatingly raw and real. It comes to a head when lead singer James Hetfield faces his demons and leaves to ultimately enter rehab in the middle of recording. Management hires a relationship coach who tries to dissect the dysfunction in the band. Kirk and Lars try to work on material without James. Bob Rock (producer) steps in to play bass.
The long and short of the documentary is that James returned to the band. They started interviewing bass players. The song writing process solidifies and new songs, with some striking Hetfield lyrics, begin to emerge. The band makes the conscious effort to record everything live and raw. The band fires the therapist (saving $30 grand a month!) and the St. Anger album is painstakingly completed.
Now, today, I can listen to St. Anger with new ears. Part of the renewed appreciation is the loss of the fear that my favorite band was changed forever by St. Anger. Subsequent Metallica endeavors have done so much to bring fans back into the fold. And after 20 years, we can forgive the band for any miscalculations that happened on St. Anger. However, new ears (and 20 years), have given us the opportunity to re-listen to St. Anger. Today I can say that St. Anger ROCKS and the songs on it are some of Metallica’s BEST. Here’s a refreshed song by song breakdown:
St. Anger track listing
- Frantic leads the album off and RIGHT AWAY, the listener is confronted with that snare drum sound that Lars was experimenting with. It’s a shock to the system that’s hard to shake. As with most Metallica songs, the listener finds a hook or lyric that inspires. This song has TWO things that stand out. The lyric “My lifestyle determines my death style” and “FRANTIC – TIC TIC- TIC-TIC TOK”
- St. Anger – This title track starts off with a Hetfield riff that holds up against any Metallica riff. As the rest of the band jumps in, the song rises to frenetic pace only to quiet down when the vocals kick in. The soft vocals are very short lived as the song’s intensity rises. In St. Anger, James Hetfield laments his temper. His vocal range goes from a quiet whisper to a full scream. The song mirrors how a person’s temper slowly becomes rage and ends with some self reflection about how to attempt to control this rage. “I’m madly in anger with YOU”
- Some Kind Of Monster – Visits a common theme in Metallica’s encyclopedia of pain. That is the evilness that lives within each of us. The dark side that claws to get out. James’ monster of addiction was forcing him to make some tough decisions at this point in his life. The helplessness depicted in this song resonates with anyone who has fought an addiction. On the sound of the song, it starts off with a guitar riff that causes a buzzing sound. Anyone who has been around amplified music knows that sound. It’s the sound of the snare drum buzzing from the guitar sound vibrations. It’s not something you normally hear on an album but leaving that little sound in there was purposeful in the greater scheme of things. “Ominous, I am in us”
- Dirty Window – This is my favorite song, lyrically, on the album. I go back and forth on the possible meaning. Is James saying that he is good “clean” on the inside but looks bad “dirty” on the outside. Maybe because he went through therapy he feels that he has addressed his demons. Or is the song saying that James only THINKS he is “clean” and is falsely passing judgment on others. Either way this song rocks in the best Metallica way! “Am I who I think I am?”
- Invisible Kid – I challenge anyone NOT to get hyped when this song comes on. The beginning at least is riff-heaven! The song is a romp with great work by Lars on that garbage can lid. Seriously the drums work great on this one! Lyrically, the song is chilling. Bringing back memories of being a kid with a painful secret. He appears ok but inside is the Invisible Kid who buries his pain and stays out of the adult’s way. “ I hide inside, I hurt inside. I hide inside but I’ll show you why..”
- My World. – This is a great headphone song. It’s the 6th song on the record. I would argue that, so far, “St. Anger” has been a stellar Metallica album. My re-listening has uncovered some forgotten gems and “My World” is one. If you’re following along with the theme of St. Anger, this song marks the moment that our St. Anger character tries to gain control over himself and inner demons. It’s a constant struggle against some persistent opponents “It’s my world. You can’t have it.”
- Sweet Amber Heavy, heavy song. I wish I could pin down what James is trying to say in this song. I, at first, felt it was a toxic relationship song. But it also works as an alcoholic’s lament. Amber being the color of beer. Remembering the circumstances around the making of this album, that is a logical conclusion. Apparently, neither theory is true. “She deals in habits, deals in pain, I run away but I’m back again”
- The Unnamed Feeling I read that a Metallica fan once said that the older he gets the more he appreciates St. Anger. This is so true. These are mature songs about mature subjects. The Unnamed Feeling explores the depths of anxiety that can take over a person. One can actually hear the pain in James’s vocals. This song could be his MOST emotional ever. The frenetic pace of the song mirrors the chaos that can occur when one is consumed with fear. The video of this song is also very powerful as it shows seemingly everyday situations where people can lose control. “Lose myself in a crowded room, You fool, you fool, it will be here soon”
- Purify This may be my least favorite tune on a seriously strong album. Purify is about getting clean. Clean from what, is anyone’s guess. Again, the lyrics point to a stripping away of all the dirt that gathered on our hero throughout the years. He is also asking for HELP, acknowledging that the cleansing can’t be done by oneself. There is a lot to strip away as we build those layers up over time. Can we actually get rid of it all? It will be painful, this much is certain. “Peeling back the skin, Acid wash, ghost white, Ultra clean”
- . All Within My Hands is a sickening account of a control freak who ruins everything he loves. Our hero can’t help but crush the things he holds closest. Touching on the fear of abandonment, this song claims that one has to hold on tightly when in love because to let go is to die. The song itself is as two-sided as a toxic relationship can be. There are quiet moments as well as pulsating, disturbing ones as the song weaves in and out of lunatic thoughts. The song ends with James screaming the word “kill” about 30 times. An unsettling ending to an unsettling album. The ironic thing is “All Within My Hands” or AWMH is the name of Metallica’s highly successful foundation. Of course the idea of ‘within my hands’ differs a little when referring to the foundation. “Love is control, I’ll die if I let go”
The St. Anger album, while initially rejected by the hardcore metal fans, has ended up being the album that saved Metallica. It became the album that brought the passion back to the group. Through the process of making this album, the group was forced to change personnel, face their demons as a group and individuals. The rough times that James Hetfield experienced during the making of St. Anger informed some of his most personal and heart wrenching songwriting.
The highs on this record far outweigh the lows. The band survived the tepid response and continued to kick ass on the following tour, like they always do. Metallica’s popularity has only grown since St. Anger woke up the fans. There will always be those speed metalheads who yearn for the 19 yr old, long haired James Hetfield of old. But, you know, everyone grows up eventually.
