Review Summary: The infamous St. Anger album by Metallica, often really loved or really hated. Although is record isn't the usual Metallica, I think it very accurately depicts Metallica's place in the world during those years. The Metallica train had stopped and their ba
Okay, this is my first review but I will try to be as in depth as possible.
James Hetfield: Rhythm Guitar, Lead Vocals
Kirk Hammett: Lead Guitar, Backup Vocals
Lars Ulrich: Drummer
Bob Rock: Temporary Bassist(Later replaced by Robert Trujillo for touring)
As a stand alone album, St. Anger is a clutter of mixed emotions released from the remaining band members: James, Kirk and Lares. I personally think it sounds good, but I understand why people hate it, too. Where's the solo madness? Where's that famous James Hetfield bark? Where is the famous Lares Ulrich snare? Where's Jason Newsted? That's what St. Anger is, three men who are trying to write music who face so many obstacles that it's almost understandable why they couldn't reach that classic Master of Puppets thrash or Black Album heaviness.
So here is how I feel about every individual song:
Frantic: I think this track is a great opener and a great example of the musical journey that the listener is in store for. Lyrically, it's about a man who is recalling his life after all the time that he's wasted with drugs, and I feel that it represents James Hetfield's post-rehab feeling. If he could have his wasted days back, he'd do a lot better with that time. I think the guitar riffage is catchy at most, and the drum is pretty much that classic Lares Ulrich sound if he were playing the trash cans. 4/5
St. Anger: A great and well written single. The guitar is riff is incredibly catchy, and Ulrich has some pretty sweet double bass action going on. Lyrically, James' voice is incredible! I love how you can feel the anger he had during the writing of this song, and that's the important thing for a song to have. The ability for it to represent the feeling the band had during the time is this songs purpose, and I think that's clever. 5/5
Some Kind of Monster: The drums, guitar and vocals all match up pretty amazing in this track. The main riff is certainly very theatrical and catchy! The drums don't even sound Lars Ulrich to me, it sounds like some pumped up teenager playing his best and drums. Lyrically, they almost match that classic James Hetfield bark, and that's what gives this song its theatrical/garage band sound and I absolutely love it. 4.5/5
Dirty Window: Although I feel like this song is just a filler and I never really got into it, the guitar is pretty catchy. I think this song sounds a little bit too generic because of the lyrics, which is why I never really got into it. 2/5
Invisible Kid: I'll be flat out and say that the twangy guitar sounded to lame for my tastes, as it isn't Metal, I think it's just a noise and an unappealing one at that. 1/5
My World: I love this song, the lyrics are incredible! Metallica is gonna be who they wanna be and not that the critics want them to be. Master of Puppets is in the past, and this song is a f*ck you to anyone who wants to dictate Metallica to be in that mindset again. 3/5
Shoot Me Again: First song I heard from this album, and the drum in the beginning instantly got me hooked onto this song. Personally, this is my pump up song, but I know Metallica meant it to be the song that represents Metallica's place in the world. No matter the sales or the hate, Metallica is here to stay and will continue to make music until they die. 4/5
Sweet Amber: I admit that I am just hearing this song, but that's because the title and intro never really caught my attention. But after I heard it? Oh man! This is a great song with an incredible show of guitarmanship! The lyrics are also meaningful, but I feel that James' singing is too bland. 3.5/5
The Unnamed Feeling: This song. This incredible masterpiece that I have had the honor of listening to. I don't know if it's just the lyrics, but the musicianship Metallica shows in this song is almost surreal! This song plays along perfectly, and everything just has an incredible flow to it that I find myself listening to this track over and over again. A nice heavy start, but twists into this catchy chorus where James' just repeats "And the unnamed feeling, it comes alive." This song is a classic in my opinion, and anyone who says that Metallica lost their touch should definitely listen to this track at least once. 5/5
Purify: Another song that never really caught my attention, but a pretty good filler. 2.5
All Within My Hands: The intro is completely unnecessary, but this is another incredible song that I wish was worked on a little more. The lyrics and chorus is insanely catchy, and it would have flowed better if it had some parts removed. I find myself listening to this track plenty of times, and I think its a great way to end the album, because Metallica's future is all within their hands and no-one else's.
All in all, I love this album. Although it's not a Metallica classic, the feeling this song gets is the last little bit of emotion Metallica released and should definitely be listened to a little more by all the real Metallica fans. Album: 4.5/5, but just because of the lack of flow in some songs and the unnecessary fillers.
