Masochist Music Review: Metallica - St. Anger

What can I say, I’m a masochist when it comes to music.  I like to have complete catalogues when it comes to my favorite musicians.  Sometimes this is a good thing (Alice Cooper, AC/DC) but oftentimes it’s not.  Not only that, but I used to fall into the trap of hearing one or two great songs and purchasing a whole album because of it, which sometimes produced a diamond, but usually only coal.  During this series, we will dwell on some of the albums I have in my collection that are downright terrible.  I will re-listen to them all and give you my impression of them.

Now this is only my opinion, so don’t take it as gospel.  If you like a particular album in this series, let me know, we’ll open up a discussion about it.  I’m always open to discussing the merits of any particular album, and if you have any suggestions (and especially if you have the album itself and are willing to share your views) then let me know and I’d be happy to add it to the list.

Album Name: St. Anger

Artist:  Metallica

Release Date: June, 2003

Why you bought it:  It’s a Metallica album!  Unlike most other people, I wasn’t completely turned off by the Load/ReLoad albums and eagerly awaited the new material.  I don’t remember if I heard any new music on the radio before the release of the album, but it would not have deterred me from my purchase.  At this point, the worst album in the Metallica catalog was probably ReLoad, and if they could craft a similar album I was sure that I wouldn’t hate it.

First impressions:  Well, it wasn’t ReLoad, but it also wasn’t good.  I listened to the whole thing, searching for a silver lining (there wasn’t one) and shelved it from there.  This was the album that I took out when I wanted to “get away” though.  It is essentially just noise as there is very little in terms of melody or musical prowess here.  I could crank the volume on this and just forget everything for forty-five minutes (or whatever the run-time is).  While I didn’t enjoy the album at the time, I understood the necessity of having it in my possession.

Impressions upon listening to it recently:  I’m happy to say that I am in a better place and do not need the services of St. Anger.  Unfortunately, without that necessity, I was forced to listen to the album and judge it based on its merits.  This is unfortunate for the album as the merits are few and far between.  The music is a mess and the lack of solos (something that I usually look forward to when it comes to bands with good guitarists) is disheartening.  It almost feels like Metallica made this as a concept album and the concept was “If they thought ReLoad was bad, wait till they get a load (see what I did there) of this steaming pile.” 

Any saving grace?:  Aside from being angry mood music?  Nope. 

Was it worth the purchase?: Not full price, and only if you want all of the Metallica discs, warts and all.  There’s a reason most old Metallica albums still sell at a high price…because they are good!  This is a bargain bin album for sure.