I would absolutely agree it’s Metallica’s weakest album if we’re not counting Lulu, but I’d argue it’s really more of a Lou Reed album. And yeah, some of the tracks like Invisible Kid and Purify probably deserve some of the hate. But really, it’s not that bad. I actually love Shoot me Again, Frantic, The Unnamed Feeling, and Sweet Amber. The lyrics are stupid sure, but Metallica has never been known for genius songwriting. I actually kinda like the snare sound and the more gritty sounding guitar riffs. If you watch the documentary, you’d find the band was going through some rough patches. Jason Newsted quit the band, and James Hetfield was trying to get sober. In a weird way, if not for St. Anger, Metallica probably would not have survived. If you don’t get what I mean by that, I’d highly suggest watching the documentary. But yeah, St. Anger is no Master of Puppets, but I like it for what it is.
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Personally, at its release, for me it was the best since … and Justice for all.
it’s the worst metallica album unless you count lulu. so how can you say it’s not as bad as people say?
I am a diehard metal fan, but after trying more than a thousand times, I still cannot like Metallica.
St Anger is probably a big factor
I’ve actually recently gone back through Metallica and Megadeths catalogues on my summer vacation. I haven’t really listened to them in 15 years so it was refreshing to go back.
Look I think there are a few cool songs on St. Anger. There are actually a lot of individual song parts I like – some cool riffs, cool lyrics and such.
The mixing is both good and bad – I think the down tuned guitars with that clanging drum sound can actually work quite well sometimes, but often times the drums overpower the entire mix. Overall it does end up being one of Metallica’s worst efforts. I think I sort of agree with you. Sort of.
Edit: since posting I threw some st. Anger tracks on. The drum sound is cool for the first few minutes and becomes incredibly fucking annoying after a while lol.
>weakest album
Not even dang close, dude
It’s not any worse than Metallica’s average quality. Metallica are pretty mediocre in general in my opinion. Boring ass melodies. St Anger has some of the best riffs I’ve heard from the band but the vocal melodies are really uninspired (or just annoying, in the case of the title track).
I think Lars’ stupid experiment with the snare tanked the album’s reputation more than anything else. I came across a video of them performing the Unnamed Feeling live a couple years ago and Lars was using a regular snare drum, it sounded MUCH better.
It’s awful.
Here’s the thing – when they perform St Anger songs live, they’re actually really good. The production values on this album were horrifically bad, and they’re much much better live.
Its dogshit. The snare hurts my brain
I think what the album suffers from the most is how long some of the songs are without offering some interesting melodies or riffs. Instead, they extend and extend. If they cut the time a bit like as in St. Anger’s music video, the album would’ve worked a bit better. Besides, I’m not against experimentation. I like Megadeth’s Risk, Iron Maiden’s The X Factor, and Dream Theater’s The Astonishing, for instance. However, shorter song structure with the overall feelings they wanted to convey would’ve been better for the album imo. I like the title track’s short version, Sweet Amber, Dirty Window, and Frantic from the album.
I think it was the album they needed to make at the time, and it’s really the only album they were capable of making at the time. The documentary Some Kind of Monster adds context and kind of serves as a companion piece to the album. That being said, ignoring the context and judging the album in a vacuum, St Anger is nothing short of a musical abortion, and they probably would have been better off not releasing it.
The title track’s music video was shot in a prison and the album art is a literal red raging clenched fist. The album is unapologetic in what it is trying to do, I think people who approached it expecting a tidy well-composed product are doing it wrong
The production is dogshit, which is half the problem. The other half is the songwriting; the songs go on for way too long and are very repetitive. If they shortened the songs and cleaned up the production it would’ve been way more positively received.
Its terrible. People mentioned the trash can snare and production. But the lyrics are the worst James ever wrote.
I like the sings on shuffle with songs with other albums mixed in but I can’t make it through the album itself without literally getting a headache
In have an unpopularception opinion: I like Lars Ulrich drum’s sounds 😂
Also, Frantic and Some Kind of Monster are one of my favorite Metallica songs.
You want a real unpopular opinion? St Anger is my favorite Metallica album.
The album itself is pretty great, it’s that snare.
They were never brilliant lyricists, but the climax of All Within My Hands literally being
Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill
Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill
Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill
Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill
Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill
Kill, kill, kill
Kill, kill, kill, kill
Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill
Was laughably bad
People actually listened to Metallica after the black album? They’ve been shit for nearly 30 years lol
Someone remixed it under st b anger and it made me realise it isn’t that bad just poorly mixed which isn’t the first time.
The documentary definitely shows and makes sense why this album was bad as the band was equally in a rough spot
I definitely don’t hate it as much as I use to but still personally I don’t listen to many songs past their first five albums which I adore
It’s great, I use the songs from that album as my toilet break during the concert.
Metallica has been cosplaying as Metallica since the late 80s. It’s literally as if they forgot who they were and how to write riffs.
St.Anger is what happens when everyone around a band is too scared to be honest and say this sucks. Metallica got ruined by yes men and a lack of direction after success. Fantastic live band but very poor in the studio.
What made St.Anger hurt more was Metallica seemed like yhe3y were about to get good again with -Human and No Leaf Clover from S&M and the banger I Disappear and then BAM! St.Anger
https://www.youtube.com/clip/UgkxhUfE7pztE7RtF1t-ljvCWxbbdVdmWyQe
In all seriousness, I like St. Anger too, not particularly fond of the album’s version of All Within My Hands, but if any of you haven’t heard the live version with the San Francisco symphony, you really should.
After the black album everything is bad. Basically a different shittier band.
Metallica hasn’t been known for genius songwriting? What!? You say that in the same paragraph you mention Master of Puppets, arguably some of the greatest metal lyrics of that decade, and I say arguably because they also released And Justice For All and Ride The Lightning in the same decade…No wonder you like St Anger, you don’t know what good songwriting is…Definitely posted this in the right place and I feel soiled for upvoting your post.
James said it right: ” … St. Anger could use a little less tin snare drum, but those things are what make those records part of our history.”
Choices were made at the time for a reason, and you have to respect that.
First time I heard it a local radio station was playing the whole album. It sounded like a live Metallica coverband playing in a garage with the only microphone sitting over the snare drum.
My disgust was palpable when the DJ revealed it was a new album.
Truth is every album after the Load is dogshit. A one good song here and there.
I cannot stand the attempt to revise history claiming St Anger is good. Same deal with Nickelback. Both things get ripped on for a very good reason. They could have cut every song on St Anger in half and maybe it would be tolerable, but regardless it’s a mish-mash of half-baked ideas coming from all different directions in an attempt to create something both modern and different by musicians who simply are better at writing no-frills metal/hard rock and have proven themselves to be pretty bad at exploring new musical territory
The issue with St Anger was that Metallica had been inassailable prior to that. Every album was full of bangers and had been hits and St Anger was the sign that they didn’t have it anymore. Definitely not a terrible album by modern standards.
Upvoted because it’s definitely unpopular, but I agree.
I really like some kind of monster, and I’m a fan of the dodgeball snare sound 😅
It never gets respect
I’ve actually never listened to St. Anger before outside of Frantic and probably a couple of other tracks that I can’t remember. Is it better or worse than Risk by Megadeth? That album deserves all the shit it gets.
I think the st anger snares are really cool sounding like unironically
St. Anger is the only good Metallica album
Yes, it is.
I was with you until you liked the snare.
Sane lang gur Lang le leck
The only memorable thing for me about the album is how goddamn annoying the drums sounded to me
Metallica without solos is poop
When I think of Metallica, I think of Ride the Lightning, the Black album, AJfA, Kill em All, and a lot of good songs off other albums, but I stopped listening to them after Death Magnetic. I really liked that album, I thought it was a good one to end it on.
I love St. Anger. Not because it’s a good album, it’s not, it’s fucking dreadful.
I love it because it’s so abhorrently shit it makes me laugh when I listen to it.
Okay? Relative to their early work, it’s absolute dog shit. I’ve loved bands so much that I end up listening to their bad albums enough, to where I eventually grow fond of some of the redeeming qualities, of otherwise shitty art. Doesn’t mean those albums are good
Dude, that snare keeps me up at night in disgust
I used to drive my coworkers insane with this album at a local used record shop. They were assholes so I played it every day. All 71 minutes of it. I had them begging me to only play half since that was how long their choices were on average. Nope! Should have been nicer people. lol.
They wrote 2 songs for the album. The other tracks are a riff and a chorus that were inflated to excruciating length.
It’s the musical equivalent of a kid messing with the font and margains to meet the length of a book report.
Add to that the terrible production value and you have a train wreck of an album.
it’s the only album where I’ve tried to get my money back. that’s not a joke.
I’m sorry, I can’t hear your post over Lars’s beating on garbage can lids
It was so hyped up before the release that it was like they shit in your lap when you finally listened to it.
I definitely vibe shoot me again sometimes. The shoot me again i ain’t dead yet with the guitar riff sounds badass doesnt sound very Metallica but badass.
Didn’t they forget to tune the drums in that Album?
I’m mildly in anger with you!
I was told I was the first person in my hometown to buy that album. I showed up to Record Town at the mall right after open, I was pumped. The clerk just gave me a look and said they’d listened the night before and really tried to like it, but…
I was undeterred in my enthusiasm but goddamn did that album suck. It was jarring how awful it sounded and how bad the lyrics were. I haven’t bothered with it in 20 years but I did give it an honest hearing. Several, in fact. The title track is the only one I’m even a little interested in hearing again.
Terrible opinion, upvote.