Customer Reviews

St Anger (Bonus Dvd)

5 star:		(1,026)
4 star:		(672)
3 star:		(459)
2 star:		(455)
1 star:		(1,555)

 

 

Let's start this by assuring everyone that I am indeed a Metallica fan. In fact, if pressed to list my five favorite artists of all time, they're in at a comfortable number three slot. However, friends and neighbors, this album is not Metallica. Oh, the box says "Metallica". The radio assures us that it is indeed the rock gods themselves, and the helpful little DVD even shows Metallica singing songs off of St. Anger. The box is mislabeled, the radio lies and those must be actors in masks.

Lets start with the lyrics. These are not Metallica lyrics. These are fast paced campfire songs to sing at the next AA picnic. I would not be surprised if many of the chorus phrases were copied off of motivational posters found in the break room of a post office, or a first grade classroom. Sadder still, song lyrics that manage not to sound preachy instead just sound like whining. Which is fitting, since I suppose that's what it is.

Enough of that, let's move on to music. Let's start with a question : Do you like Linkin Park? Disturbed? Local bands that model themselves after the aforementioned .... and name themselves "Hatred Center" or "Pain Rangers" ? Answer yes to those and I can make this short by having you skip the rest of this review and proceeding directly back to the order confirmation page. Seriously....Shoo. Go buy the album already.....................Okay, now that we got rid of those guys, let's talk music. Let's talk about Lar's drums that have been replaced with Folgers cans. Let's talk about why his drumsticks have been replaced with kitchen whisks of some sort. I mean c'mon folks. The drums sound like they belong behind Paul Simon during a rousing rendition of "Graceland", except Paul Simon would probably have the sense to hire a drummer that can produce easily discerned beats rather than random pounding. Well, random whisking anyway. Tchick tchicka tchicka tchok. Woo hoo. Let's talk about the complete and utter lack of guitar solos. Oh, and don't hand me that "guitar solos are for hair metal" line either. I won't even bother to explain how wrong that is. Solo's MADE Metallica. Kirk helped pioneer single note solos, that's how you knew you were listening to Metallica. People modeled their guitar careers after these solos, but let's not focus on that. Let's instead focus on the COMPLETE and UTTER lack of said solos, maybe Kirk left his guitar on the subway and someone stole it. Stranger things have happened, granted he would have had to leave his feral intensity there to be stolen too. Hmmm. Let's talk about the bass riffs that are left stranded out in the rain like dead squirrels that were run over by the figurative 79' Buick of chaotic rampaging guitars. The gaps that appear in the middle of songs like wormholes near prominent Start Trek characters. The songs that try to change riffs midstream, fail, try again and then once more for emphasis they try yet again. Why? WHYYYY?

I feel that I'm missing some points here. I feel that there is so much more that I could tell you, so much more you need to know. I don't know kids. That's the best I can do, may it help you in your decision making process.

Hmm, where to begin? Ok, how about this? The new Metallica CD, "St. Anger", is nothing short of awful. Yeah, that works. If Metallica weren't finished before, they most certainly are now. Having listened to the whole thing, I can say that there is not a single moment of the CD that doesn't make me want to do horrible evil things to it. Metallica are trying desperately to be heavy and scary, and somehow trying to start some kind of revolution. Guess what? Metal has been doing just fine for the last 10 years without Metallica, and it will continue to do so for many years to come. Why do I want to hear Lars trying to do blast beats, when I can hear dozens of competent drummers do it successfully? For that matter, why do I want to listen to this in the first place? Answer: I don't.

Oh, and as if the music and lyrics weren't bad enough, the production is even worse. Even "Justice" had better production than this (and production still didn't stop it from being their best album). This sounds like it was recorded in the men's room at Burger King.

Yep, this is just bad. I won't say I'm disappointed, because I really didn't expect much in the first place. I have no use for Metallica anymore. They may have influenced loads of other metal bands, but most of those metal bands have surpassed them in quality by far, and I think I'll just stick to those.

Oh, and this does not sound like Slipknot. Slipknot may not be the best band ever, but they're way better than this.

Go buy something else, like a pizza. Mmmm, pizza.

After having the evening to review my thoughts, I really just can't believe this album. I literally just don't even understand how this happened. I distinctly remember reading an interview or two regarding the release of this, and how it was supposed to be like 'Justice' and how they were going back to longer, heavier songs. I'll shamefully admit that a small part of me that was anticipating this album, hoping for an ointment to the infected wounds Metallica has left me with over the last few years.

I literally can't get past the first song, each time expecting it to sound better than it did the last time I heard it.

It sounds like this whole album was recorded in two hours in someone's basement. I wasn't the biggest fan of the black album, and I didn't even bother with Load, but at least the production was good.

I'm literally stunned at how noone at any point in the recording process spoke up to mention that the music on St. Anger sounds like a train wreck.
The songs are terrible and make no sense, the lyrics are redundant and pointless, the playing is sloppy and occasionally off time with itself, Hetfield's voice sounds AWFUL, and most importantly, I feel like something is wrong with my speakers when I listen to it, because the production and mixing are all noisy and messed up.

I'm disappointed that the lowest rating Amazon has is 1 Star, because the assumption with one star is that there is something of any value on this album at all, which there is not. There really should be a "zero star" rating, or even "negative star" ratings for albums like this, which rise above and beyond simply being poorly written, but are also poorly executed as well.

Metallica doesn't have to worry about this album being pirated at all. This album [stinks].

I am a heavy metal fan. I am a speed / thrash / 'death' metal fan. I loved Metallica from the beginning through the 'Black Album' and Garage... When I heard they were going back to their 'roots' I was excited to hear the new CD. I bought it months ago and have listened to it many times since. Let me say again, I am a heavy metal fan. Now to clarify, I've been listening to metal since the 70s (long time, 1000s of albums (CDs)). Metal means musicianship, songwriting, ground-breaking efforts, big bass guitar, lead, chords, crunch, distortion, harmonics, solos, drums, innovation, imitation, burn-outs, sell-outs, metals' history, blues, jazz, fusion, instrumentation, story-telling, setting / changing moods, communicating a message, Dave Mustaine, Rob Halford, Tony Iommi, Iron Maiden, Dream Theater, Ritchie Blackmore, James Hetfield, Zakk Wylde (and tons of other artists...), aggression, spine-cracking thunder (a.k.a. Saxon), blistering lightning (a.k.a. Yngwie Malmsteen), and did I mention talent?

St. Anger has the following items from that list: James. I know it's nearly impossible to encompass each of the items above in a single effort. Metallica, however, has managed to include virtually none.

It seems clear to me that they are trying to move forward; trying to become a 'new' speed / 'death' metal act. Guess what? If you want to pull that off, you have to be able to play your instruments. You have to be able to write a song. You have to have power and precision. This CD has none of that. It sounds terrible. Is Lars playing on buckets and cans?

'tink' 'tink' 'tink?!' What is that?

This CD is the James and Lars show. Period. Some songs start strong, but as soon as James sings, everything but his voice and those annoying drums fade to background. I can't even make out a decent chord progression. And solos? ... I can hear it now...

James: Hey Kirk, none of those really cool new bands are playing solos, you know. Who needs `em? Nobody will miss them anyway...

Kirk: Great idea! Then the new kids will love us and we can sell CDs to them, too. Besides, it's only my job. Lead Guitar and all...

Lars: We can always count on our core audience. They love everything we do, no matter what. Even if it's crap. That alone will bring in a few million $. Everyone will think we're innovating again... this will be great!

Attention Metallica: Lars is one of the weakest drummers in metal. James is a good (and only good any more) rhythm guitar player. Kirk is mediocre on his best day (easily buried by hundreds of other axe players). The new bass player (Robert) is pretty solid, but that's it. If you want to assemble a complex, fast, innovative CD you need more than you've got. Bottom line.

This CD reveals the limits of Metallica. If you want a great heavy / thrash / speed / death metal CD, try Extol. Try Pantera. Check out Shadows Fall. Of course, there's Megadeth.

Metallica, I'm pleading... put us out your misery. Grow up. Learn to play... no, seriously. Stop trying to be cool and appeal to the new audience. Be Metallica! If you can't do that, stop making music. Millions of ears will thank you.

No, this album isn't an avante-garde Autechre-inspired IDM fest, but it's probably the closest Metallica will ever come.

When my friend asked me today how St. Anger is, my first response was "F----in' weird...but really great." Then I thought about it, and it hit me--St. Anger is, with the exception of Radiohead's Kid A from a couple years ago, probably the strangest, most experimental and unexpected album to come from a multi-million selling act in the last decade (or more).

I had read many reviews and responses to the album before I heard it, and they all said basically the same thing: "Heavy, fast, complex, dirty, grimy, a return to the trashing Metallica of old." That's only partially true. It's heavy, it's complex, it's DEFINITELY dirty and grimy.

But what I never read from anyone's review was the pure WEIRDNESS of it all. You have the country-inflected vocal harmonies shoved in the middle of the goliath "Frantic", the half-dead lead guitar sound at the beginning of "Some Kind Of Monster," the almost Moog sounding octaving guitar on the chorus (?) of "Sweet Amber," the double-time drumming and half-time singing on the verses (?) of "All Within My Hands," the simply indescribable vocal stylings in the bridge (?) of "The Unnamed Feeling" -- the list goes on. This is Metallica at their most experimental.

Most shocking of everything on the disc, however, is the recording quality (or lack thereof). Who would've thought that the band who gave us the pristine sounds of Load and the Black Album could give us this album that could easily be described as "Lo fi"? It took me a song or two to get used to, but after sitting through the whole disc, it all made sense.

This album is catharsis for a band who, in the short time of writing and recording it, no longer gave a damn about what was expected from them. What it lacks in production and lyrics, it makes up for in its pure INTENSITY and those magical moments where you just can't believe they did what they did.

Many people are going to HATE St. Anger. Many people already do. It's one of those records where you just have to "get it." While the album has its flaws, I believe that it is planting the seeds for the next true Metallica (or rock) classic.

THIS ALBUM IS AT WORST:
A poorly recorded, slapped together experiment that, while lacking direction and incredible songs, still stands as respectable attempt to revitalize the state of modern metal through experimentation and brutal honesty.

THIS ALBUM IS AT BEST:
A historic moment in the history of modern rock, where a hugely popular band decided to actualy DO SOMETHING about the state of popular music instead of just talking about it. An anomaly of a record that succeeds in wearing its heart on its sleeve through sincerity, experimentation, and intensity, in spite of it's occasional lack of musical and lyrical focus.

Personally I think it's somewhere between those two.

This got to be the most diturbing thing I have ever experience. I went to my local Used cd store to see whats new and some kid was trying to convience the store's owner to buy his St. Anger copy for 2 bucks. The kid walk back out of the store with the cd under his arm. I asked the owner why he didn't buy the record from the kid and then he told no one is buying that item any more. I asked why, and he showed me the metallica used cd section...OHHH My God!!! there were at least 45 St. Anger copies in there! "I will never buy a copy of that junk again", the man told me, "the last time I sold one of those was 3 weeks ago and two days after that, the same guy walked back in here and wanted to sell it back to me again for 2 bucks! True story!
The guy and the kid were both right about not selling or buying that album...St Anger is the worst thing that ever happened to an electric guitar!
Dear god!!!!
How can this be!!!. Even though Load and Re-load were not what oldschool fans like me expected from Metallica, this should go down in the Guiness Book of World records as the greatest dissapointment in music history. This is completely aweful!!! I mean, no pun intended, but this is rookie material for elder Gods of metal like Metallica, even Venom's Welcome to Hell sounds better! I can't believe someone actually wanted to record and album that sounds bad on porpoise! This will never grow on me, no matter how many years i'll try to! So for those of you trying to sell this....jajajajajaja try the moon, coz there aren't enough people in this planet that would like to buy that crap! not even used!

If I could give this album a zero I would... Metallica started out as playing REAL Heavy Metal Load and Re-Load were OKAY by my standards not bad not good..... but this new album is just trash they have gone from bad to worse... Nu-Metallica is total commercial TRASH and has not one shred of good in it! Total utter TRASH... So do yourself a favor dont buy this CD EVER.... if you want REAL Heavy Metal look into the following bands
Heavy Metal- Helloween, Iron Maiden, Slayer, Sonata Arctica, Pantera

and if you like extreme stuff look into
Dimmu Borgir, Emperor, Darkthrone, Mayhem, Dodheimsgard, Immortal etc....

LONG LIVE THE TRUE METAL SCENE!!!!
DOWN WITH COMMERCIAL TRASH!

St Anger is the 'Jar Jar Binks' of metal albums.

FU**!!!! James, Lars, do us a favor, stop. Just stop. This album just totally sucks. I know you still have the talent somewhere to write another Call of Ktulu or One but, until you find that ability again, don't release another album like this...

I dunno what Metallica was thinking when they wrote this piece of sh**. Ok, compared to some of the really horrible nu-metal out there this is bearable, maybe st. anger, and possibly SKOM, but in general, this isn't metallica. In this album they write about the anger at themselves instead of the anger at the world around them. They've lost the element of targeted aggression that was present in songs like Ride the Lightning, One, and Master of Puppets, in summary, their earlier albums...and where the fu** are the guitar solos that used to define Metallica's work. The nature of these songs is too repetative with too few riffs and too much dumb Hetfield "yeah-ing". Generally, when asked about Metallica by my less musically inclined friends, I simply don't mention this album. If you want to start on Metallica don't even think about this album or you probably won't ever want to listen to them again!

I expected as much from this album, what with Reload being a watered down piece of sh** also.

Still, Metallica was one of the best bands ever and I recommend Kill 'em All, Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets, ...and Justice For All. Metallica, and Load are incredible albums, 2 of my favorites, but if you're looking for metal stick with their first 4. Don't let this album keep you away from earlier Metallica because they really were amazing but don't buy this album, it's not worth your money or your time.

Let me just begin by saying that I am an avid music fan. I like some examples of most types of music. Metal, Rock, Pop, Punk, Country, Classical, Rap, Blues, Folk, you name it, I've got some. So I hate this album not because I wanted "old Metallica", and don't like nu-metal or punk, so much as because it emits an odor worse than a 3 week dead skunk. Musically, it's not good. Doesn't matter what genre you try to fit it in; it's simply not good. It's not pleasant, or thought provoking, or exciting, or relaxing, or stimulative of any of the emotions music is supposed to evoke. I can take unskilled music, if it acheives something worthwhile. St. Anger achieves pretty much nothing. Apathy, maybe. So I dislkie it strongly, got rid of the album, occasionally shed a tear over the precipitous decline of a great band, and get on with my life. I hope the guys don't put out anything else, because they're only making fools of themselves, but that doesn't detract from all the very good music they've given us over the years.

Also, it makes a much greater impression, people, if you don't rant and rave and call people posers...excessive use of the word is one of the symptoms, you know. As in, it takes one to know one, eh? Also, knowing how to spell, and the rudimentary use of grammer, helps to get your point across without sounding like uneducated scum.