Monday, March 14, 2016

THROWBACK ALBUM REVIEW: St. Anger by Metallica


What is the worst album you've ever heard?  That's a hard question to answer, because there is a LOT of bad music out there, all for different reasons, under different genres, by different artists, with different traits that make it awful.  One of the things I've learned in my time of writing critiques, is that certain things that are bad, have a certain amount of enjoyability perhaps buried in them.  A bad movie can be fun to watch for hilarious acting, or ridiculous story, or whatnot.  A bad video game can be enjoyed after popping open a beer and watching a glitch fest of hilarity ensue.  However, I've been reviewing music for a very long time now.  I don't do it as often nowadays, but I used to review music a lot, in my post High School years.  Music was my life back in the day, and I loved recommending music to others, or warning others to stay away from certain music.  And that part of me still lives today.  I make plenty of mixes, in hopes of showing off good music to other people, and of course, I spotlight old music every Thursday for the Throwback Thursday Ressurection Jukebox special thing I do on Google+. In my experience of music...I can tell you that bad music is not so easily enjoyed. You can't just pop open a beer, sit back, and listen to a bad pop album. You're still going to hate it. Which brings me to one of the most controversial albums of all time, by a band I used to absolutely idolize.

Metallica in high school was life.  They were in many ways to me...the band that could do absolutely no wrong. And I'll go ahead and admit that when I was in high school, it was a good time to be a Metallica fan.  My sophomore year, they released Death Magnetic. That album, though not perfect, remains one of my favorite albums they've done, and to me, one of their best. However before that, there was a lot of bad aftertaste from the album that came...beforehand...and that was the infamous St. Anger album.

I used to defend the hell out of this album, and it was dumb fanboy love at it's absolute finest. Growing up, not only have I drifted away from Metallica as my music taste broadened a bit, but I've come to realize...hey...St. Anger ain't all it's cracked up to be. But listening to it again, is it their absolute worst? ...well...no....there's always Lulu to lower the bar even further, but even without Lulu I won't call it their worst.  Honestly I don't know where to rank it.

Now...I will say this.  The production of St. Anger...is garbage. Attrocious. Pitiful. I can go on, but I won't. But combined with the frustrating tone of this album the frustrating lyrics, and the times that Metallica was going through, it strangely...produces a unique charm.  And I don't like putting it that way because I feel as if those who detest this album are gonna accuse me of being a fanboy...guys I haven't listened to Metallica in full for a while now.  I'm too busy fanboying over Pink Floyd or some other old band.  So hear me out.To fully understand this album, we need to go back to the early 2000's, and take a look at what exactly Metallica was going through...

Band therapy, Jason Newsted's departure, James Hetfield's rehab, the drama between them and Napster, and in many ways, that's just the tip of the iceberg.  Watch the documentary, Some Kind of Monster, and you can see a bit more what exactly each member was thinking.  So when I hear James shouting off key, I'm wondering if he's even singing.  It sounds like he's just raging.  The lyrics to some of these songs, when delivered right in songs like Frantic, St. Anger, or even songs like Shoot Me Again, can be pretty...intimidating. Now that's not to say that there isn't a fair amount of...crap.  Because though I used to really really relate to songs like Invisible Kid, I've come to realize that coming from a band like Metallica, they're fucking silly. My World has some cool moments, but overall, it's a knock-off song.  And Purify?  I'll rip more on this song later, but those lyrics don't even make sense.

More on the production. From note one you can likely hear the problem.  I don't really mind the down-tuning so much, as it does give the overall album a darker tone, but they don't really experiment much with it, and when they do experiment, the results can be atrocious, such as the infamous loosening of Lars' snare drum.  A fatal mistake, Lars.  Being a drummer myself, saying the drum heads aren't in tune is an understatement. There are times that snare is just wailed upon, and you cringe at each and every hit. Purify.  Remember that song I was just talking about? A few seconds in, Lars is only hitting that snare...as hard as he can.  I'll give you a moment to rub your faces. Another common complaint is the lack of guitar solos.  Now this is something I wouldn't mind so much, again if they did something to compensate or experiment with. Songs like Frantic don't need solos.  And the song Some Kind of Monster has some jam sessions that aren't too bad to listen to. But as you go further and further into the album, you begin to hear a sense of repetitivity, and that's because there is no solo.  And exhibit A....fucking Purify. There is a section of this song where a certain riff is repeated over 20 to 30 times.  I'm not exaggerating.  That is ridiculous.  Okay I'll stop ripping on Purify...it's too easy.  It might as well be said, it's pretty much the absolute worst Metallica song they've put out.  So what other song can I rip for repetitivity?  How about the album's final song...in which for the last few moments of the song, James decides to shout the single word "Kill" I'm willing to bet over 40 times. 

Put all this together with atrocious production (and thankfully this would be the final project with Bob Rock), mediocre lyrics, and frustrating times, I have only one thing to say.  Why was this album released when it was?  I ask this because there is material here that isn't half bad.  There's a lot of material I actually really like, but if Metallica really wanted this album to come out on top, if you ask me, it really should have been delayed.  Had this album come out a year or two later, perhaps the results would have been better.  Instead, the pros are outweighed by the cons.  But I will say this...despite everything I've said negative...I can still listen to it in full. Now, I'm not gonna say it's a favorite album, because I gotta pace myself, but I find this album strangely satisfying to listen to when I have a shitty day.  And this is kinda how I feel Metallica felt when releasing this.  Dealing with all the shit they were dealing with, I feel that St. Anger was the album that they just poured everything...all that negativity into, and just gave it to us.  Did they care?  I don't know.  But I think of it as a necessary evil because Death Magnetic certainly kicked ass.  Listening to St. Anger on a downer day can be...strangely...cleansing I feel.  At the end of the day, a shitty day is a shitty day, but I like to think of this album as a ritual to exorcize those demons I have that build within me when I feel only rage and frustration at the world.  That aweful production, those angry frustrated lyrics, darker tones in guitar, and aggressive play style strangely helps me cope.  From beginning to finish.

I may just be in the minority there, but with this element, I cannot in my right mind, condemn this album as a failure in full.  That gets reserved for other albums.  While St. Anger isn't exactly on the money, I'm not going to say that it missed the target completely.  Even if it just grazed the outside of it. While it's not for listening on a casual level, it is an album I'd recommend if you just gotta rage a bit.  Because St. Anger DOES live up to it's name.  Metallica's return to its thrash roots does provide some emotionally raw anger that is easily heard in this album.  Give it a listen once in a while before you shelve it or return it to the library or whatever.  It's safe for the occassional listen.  Nothing more, nothing less. Or don't. I don't know anymore. 

Album Grade: C

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