St. Anger

I finally did it.

Metallica has had a very special place in my heart for almost 20 years now. They've gotten me through many key times in life, both high and low. Their music has reached me in a way that no other artist has. I've always been forgiving of their less-than-stellar material, I've always felt that their best work easily made up for some of the less phenomenal stuff.

And so, when St. Anger was released in 2003 ... I heard one track (Frantic) and went into seclusion. If their first single from the new album was this bad, I didn't want to ruin my opinion of them by listening to any more. And so I intentionally steered clear of that album, never hearing it, never even buying it.

Add to that the harsh criticism of the album by just about everyone, and my decision was sealed. I wasn't going to tarnish the of image "My Boys" which I held in my heart. And no, public criticism does NOT influence me. What other people think matters very little to me. Other albums and other projects have been panned before (Reload, S&M), and I stood right alongside Metallica, and still enjoyed their work tremendously.

I have no idea why, but I felt it was time to give St. Anger an honest listen. I actually bought it, instead of downloading it. They deserved my money and my loyalty just like any other artist that I enjoy.

Guys? You really laid a turkey this time. I tried to find SOMETHING redeemable within that album, I tried to find SOMETHING to like, something that caught my ear and made me want to hear the album more than once. I heard nothing.

It seems that Metallica took their formula and totally reversed it. All those noodly guitar solos by Kirk? Gone. Not a single guitar solo on the album. All those well-thought-out introspective lyrics by James? Gone. Nothing but grunting and repetetive senseless phrases. Even the drums ... how could anyone mess up drums? By adding some stainless steel snare that sounds out of tune with anything but a junkyard. And the new guy? Why does Trujillo get tons of audible bass on this album when Newstead got virtually NONE for YEARS?

It's not going to turn me against Metallica, but it has disappointed me. I should have left St. Anger under the rock where I found it.