Metallica - St. Anger
2003 Elektra

Track Listing:
1.  Frantic
2.  St. Anger
3.  Some Kind Of Monster
4.  Dirty Window
5.  Invisible Kid
6.  My World
7.  Shoot Me Again
8.  Sweet Amber
9.  The Unnamed Feeling
10. Purify
11. All Within My Hands

Line-Up:
Vocals:  James Hetfield
Guitars:  James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett
Bass:  Rob Trujillo
Drums:  Lars Ulrich

Website:  www.metallica.com

Horatio's Rating:  A
Overall Album Rating:  A

Also be sure to read:
Metallica - ...And Justice For All Review by Horatio
Metallica - Kill 'Em All Review by Scoots
Metallica - Metallica Review by Horatio

Horatio's Review:
No band in metal history has provoked opinions as extreme as Metallica, the band unable to do anything right it seems since 1996's 'Load'.  I'll admit 'Load' and 'Reload' weren't exceptional recordings, but they could have been worse.  Fans still bought the albums and flocked to the concerts but pined for the Metallica of old, hoping for a return to the band's thrash era material circa 1983-88.  It took a lengthy period, but 'St. Anger' was the album which finally delivered what these so called fans wanted.  And the dirty bastards turned on it, as well.  It bores me to rehash the problems most associate with the album, but I considered it an instant classic in 2003 and I stand by that two years later.  The band had never been heavier, delivering a 'Kill Em' All' for the modern age, only most were too foolish to see it.  'St. Anger' is metal stripped down to its crudest form, the way it should be.  It harkens back to the genre's glory days when bands weren't afraid to experiment and play it straight down the line.  Crucially it reestablished Metallica as a force to be reckoned with in the thrash leagues, proving they could still mix it up with the Slayer's of the world. 

'Frantic' opens the album in the vein of a 'Blackened' or 'Battery', the thrash explosion in the opening seconds utter devastation.  Sit there, listen to it and tell me conclusively what is wrong with it.  Don't hand me the lack of guitar solos or the tin pot drumming excuses either.  The latter is one of the album's highpoints.  The title track blew me away when I first heard it, especially the near blast beats from little Lars.  There's nary a wasted track from this point onward, the best of the bunch 'Shoot Me Again', 'Purify' and 'All Within My Hands'.  'Shoot Me Again' riffing sounds like open warfare during the thrash sections while the latter two are thrash classics on par with the 80's.  'Sweet Amber' and 'The Unnamed Feeling' recall the 'Load' era, with the heaviness magnified multiple times.  The end result is a masterpiece of all out fury.  The band pooled all their aggression into the recordings as witnessed by the 'Some Kind Of Monster' film, culminating in one of the only worthwhile metal albums of the decade thus far.  If you wonder why Dave Mustaine is a joke, compare 'The System Has Failed' to 'St. Anger' and tell me who sounds more convincing when it comes to thrash.  Metallica captured the essence of metal here, something everyone hates and is offended by.  In that regard, 'St. Anger' was and still is a success. 

Song summaries include...

1. Frantic - James is worried about the impending shortage of living time left in his alcohol fueled existence.  So he buys a gun, heads to Siberia and goes insane, trapped in a hut during a snowstorm.  That's what he claimed anyway.  Times running out for all of us.  And we piss it all away!  At least he had the sense to tell the tale to the beat of a thrash onslaught.  BUT IT'S ALL FAKE OF COURSE.  A

2. St. Anger - James is an angry man.  He could have ended up in San Quentin where the video for the song was filmed.  He looks like he would fit right in.  One thing I've noticed about this album is that radio never plays anything off it.  It's okay to play 'Ronnie' but not this.  A

3. Some Kind Of Monster - I was on hand when Metallica played this live for the first time last year at a gig I attended of theirs.  It was momentous enough to be mentioned on RockDetector at least.  Handy little metaller is this 'un.  Bit o' thrash here and there, nice swarves of riffs that recall 'Roots' era Sepultura.  B+

4. Dirty Window - That drum sound is genius.  It gives the album a dirty garage feel.  That was the whole point naturally.  Another nifty rocker.  B

5. Invisible Kid - James gets to grips with his sadistic upbringing in a religious household once again.  Nasty, harsh riffing during the opening minutes.  Who would have thought Kirk was capable of it again, except when playing live.  As a now deceased writer once said 'a blast of light motherfucker!'  B+

6. My World - The fuckers got into James' head, man.  Just like mine and yours.  At least he's not afraid to claim his insanity.  'The sons of bitches tried to take my head'! They've already got mine. Nice 'Magic Bus' rip off with the line 'you can't have it!' 'I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT THE QUESTION IS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'  B

7. Shoot Me Again - Pummeling to any man.  Riffing straight from thrash's heyday, crushing speed metal segments.  Real deal James!  A+ all the way.  Almost topples Slayer for rawness in the chorus.  A+

8. Sweet Amber - Obscure classic with more excursions into speed.  After discarding thrash in 1991 the abundance on offer here is akin to an overdose.  Will it last?  Will the next album be another 'Load'?  Does it matter?  No. T his was a statement and it cannot be erased.  A

9. The Unnamed Feeling - A 'Load' feel pervades, but the riffs scorch anything from that.  B+

10. Purify - Metal from the gutter bro.  A baseball bat shot from a Mongrel Mob thug.  A gang rape in prison.  A sawn off gunshot blast to the face.  Do you hear me?  This is the backdrop to those events.  A+

11. All Within My Hands - Simmering thrash brilliance that rivals the band's 80's best.  How can it be denied?  The blast at the two minute point says it all.  A ride at eight plus minutes, but keeps interest through passages of heaviness and mellowness.  The sound of a machine.  A

Horatio's Rating:  A