¿Would you believe me if I said that St. Anger was the 1st Metallica album I’d e’er listened to. I liked it @ the time, — & still do — but I do remember thinking to myself while listening to it, { ¿This is the legendary Metallica? }. It wouldn’t be till I heard “Fade to Black” on the radio that I understood why this band was respected. Still, while obviously not as good as classics like Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets, or their self-titled “Black Album”, St. Anger had potential, especially as the 1st album wherein they returned to metal — albeit, a nu-metal-like sound — after their weird hard rock detour in the 90s; & I would still say it’s better than Reload, e’en if “Fuel” & “The Memory Remains” ( a’least the latter’s music video, where James Hetfield keeps trying to chew the screen off, he’s mugging so much ) are themselves cheesy classics.

St. Anger had a punk, grungy, low-fi, garage rock sound, amplified by those “trash can lid” drums, that could have worked if they didn’t make these songs have the same lengths as their mo’ prog-metal predecessors from the 80s. Prog metal can have songs 8 minutes long ’cause they have many compositional variations; St. Anger doesn’t &, in tune with most nu-metal, lacked guitar solos, so its songs sounded repetitive. There’s a reason punk bands usually have short songs; & there’s a reason why fan remixes that try to improve this album usually shorten the songs.

Still, e’en with these flaws there’s 1 thing St. Anger has that no other Metallica album has to the same degree: its sheer level o’ silly cheese; & that is what we look for in Nostalgic Novelty Noughties Nu-Metal.

1. Frantic

This is 1 o’ the few songs the band still plays @ live shows & is still proud o’; luckily, that doesn’t mean it loses any cheesy charm, with that classic introduction to Lars Ulrich’s iconic trash can lid drums & then James Hetfield singing in the monotone voice o’ a gruff robot, “IF I COULD HAVE MY WASTED DAYS BACK… WOULD I USE THEM… TO… GET BACK… ON… TRACK”, followed by a refrain where he repeats in a goblin voice, “MY LIFESTYLE… DETERMINES MY DEATHSTYLE”, & then later, “FRANTIC TICK, TICK, TICK, TICK, TICK, ¡TOCK!”, all so hammily sung.

Despite how cheesy this song is, I do have to note that the chorus, where Hetfield sings in a much smoother voice, while jazzy guitar riffs play, does sound genuinely nice; & it’s not as if the silly parts o’ this song don’t fit the desperate, insane vibe this song’s going for, representing the sentiments o’ a man who thinks his end is coming @ any moment.

Grade: S

Music Video

¿Could one ask for anything mo’ from this music video? It’s a bunch o’ flashing images o’ someone crashing their car into shit in some suburban wasteland; the band jamming in front o’ scraggly, leafless boughs on what looks like a gray day in late autumn / winter ( perfect for the time I’m publishing this review ); some bearded guy drinking many shots o’ alcohol, & a close up o’ an analog clock ticking down the tick-tocks Hetfield keeps shouting ’bout to remind you that, yes, this is a song ’bout time.

Grade: ⏱️

2. St. Anger

Another classic, with such repeatable cheesy lines as the opening, “St. Anger round my neck / He never gets respect” & “I’M MADLY IN ANGER WITH YOU”. Tho, I think the funniest are the following:

I feel my world shake
like an earthquake

Those are literally synonyms: yes, your world shaking feels like the earth quaking ’cause your world is earth & shaking is quaking. That’s like singing the line, “I feel cold / like sensing something chilly”.

As iconic as this song is with its memorable lines & riffs, it is a victim o’ the problem I mentioned in the intro o’ being too long & repetitive. Also, you have outright boring parts, like the bridge, with boring basic playing & lines that feel rhythmless, repetitive, off-key, & unmemorable.

Grade: B

Music Video

This music video shows Metallica being such badasses as to play before a prison e’en after the security warns them that they ain’t doin’ shit if the inmates grab 1 o’ them & tries using them as a hostage, while also showing mo’ ’bout the lives o’ 4 inmates, which I guess is meant to humanize them — tho these scenes are so brief, it feels very vague. It’s a cool idea & I guess it fits with the theme o’ the inmates having anger managements issues that led them to prison.

Grade: B

3. Some Kind of Monster

This song starts with another iconic riff, 1st starting muffled & low, then breaking out in full with drums, & then adding jazzy variations on top.

Unfortunately, the lyrics aren’t nearly as memorable: the verses are just a stream o’ “This is the [noun] that [verb] you [modifier]”, while the noun asks, “¿Are we the people… SOME KIND OF MONSTEEEERRRR”. See, it’s saying something ’bout human nature, or something. I do kind o’ like the different ways Hetfield sings speaks the verse lines, but not so much the chorus, where he sometimes says “weeee the peopleeeee” with voice cracks. The song does end with some daemonic chant o’, “OMINOUS, I’M IN US”, which is pretty fun.

Then, if we the listeners, weren’t laughing yet, right @ the end the music suddenly breaks down to some goofy, squeaky riff while Ulrich just randomly bangs his drums. I have no idea why.

Grade: B

Music Video

This song’s music video is basically a trailer for their documentary named after this very song. It seems to reframe the song as being ’bout Metallica’s legacy & how they struggle to maintain it… which only makes the “¿Are we the people…?” bit all the mo’ jarring & ill-fitting. O well: the scenes o’ the band silently berating Ulrich’s experimental drumming is funny if you saw the scene in the movie.

Grade: B

4. Dirty Window

An underrated gem. ’Bove a stanky downtuned riff ( ¿have I mentioned how much I love downtuned guitars? ) the 1st verse ends with the amazing line in falsetto, “¡This house is cleeean, babe; this house is cleeean!”; & then above tribal thumping Hetfield slowly grunts out, “I. LOOK. OUT. MY. WINDOW. &. SEE. WHAT’S. GONE. WRONG… COURT. IS. IN. SESSION. &. I… SLAM… MY… GA-VEL… DOWN…”; then we get this jazzy riff with some clickity drum petals while Hetfield croons out & the smarmiest way, “I’m judgin’, I’m jury, & I’m executioner too”, just before the thumping drums come back & Hetfield just starts shouting out random words that end with “or”… ’Cept he apparently couldn’t think o’ too many words, since he had to repeat a few multiple times:

PROJECTOR. PROTECTOR.
REJECTOR. INFECTOR.
PROJECTOR. REJECTOR.
INFECTOR, INJECTOR, DEFECTOR, REJECTOR…

Then the song ends with clones o’ Hetfield chanting in tandem, “I… I…” while Hetfield, his voice cracking again, talks ’bout drinking from the “cup of denial” & “judging the world from my throne”.

This song is clearly ’bout judgmental hypocrites who put themselves ’bove others, but with much mo’, um, colorful way o’ expressing this common idea, most notable the metaphor on which this song is titled, “this window clean inside, dirty on the out” ( Hetfield’s performance for that line is genuinely great ). But according to Genius, this song is ’bout Hetfield’s alcoholism &… either how he thinks he’s healthy now that he’s sober, but people can still see him as scarred by his alcoholism, or that he’s deluded ’bout being sober @ all, still drinking from that “cup of denial”. That’s certainly a different way o’ thinking ’bout the common problem o’ alcoholism — so much so that I ne’er considered this song might be ’bout alcoholism, e’en tho I knew Hetfield’s angst o’er his struggle to get clean before & during the making o’ this album heavily inspired this album’s production for years. I’m going to admit, unless Hetfield himself said this song was ’bout his struggles with alcoholism, I’m skeptical & think this might be fans assuming the context they know the most was ’hind this album is ’hind e’ery song, like how people assume e’ery Linkin Park song is ’bout suicide after Chester Benington’s suicide. I don’t remember him saying so in the documentary, where they talked ’bout the writing o’ various songs ( I don’t remember them talking ’bout the writing o’ this song @ all, actually ).

Grade: A

5. Invisible Kid

Most people seem to think this is the worst song on this album, & possibly Metallica’s worst song e’er, & I can see why: it is hilariously inane, starting with these amazing lines, sung with complete hammitude:

INVISIBLE KID, NEVER SEEN WHAT HE DID
GOT STUCK WHERE HE HID, FALLING THRU THE GRID

Then, after 2 full verses o’ these grunted lines, Hetfield sings in a soulful voice, “i hide inside, i hurt inside, i hide inside, but i’ll show you…”, then in a ghostly voice, sings the chorus, saying the opposite, repeatedly saying he’s OK… & then the part just after has Hetfield grunt out, “OPEN YOUR HEART, I’M BEATING RIGHT HERE / OPEN YOUR MIND, I’M BEING RIGHT HERE”, followed by an e’en deeper voice grunting, “RIGHT NOW”. ’Hind all o’ these mood swings are the same repetitive drum clanging & chugging riffs.

Then we get to the bridge, where Hetfield, singing in he campiest way I think he’s e’er sung in his life, goes, “¡Oooooo! ¡What a goo-ood boy you are!”, & mo’, with each “¡Oooooo!” somehow getting e’en hammier. It is amazing. If you can’t get enjoyment from this, you have no soul.

It’s e’en funnier when you realize this song is just a laughably bad version o’ “The Unforgiven”, both having the same theme o’ a misunderstood child.

Grade: 👻🧒

6. My World

This song starts with 40 seconds o’ generic riffing before Hetfield out o’ nowhere cries out, “THE MOTHAFUCKAS GOT IN MY HEEAAAD”. After 1 mo’ line, we already get the prechorus, where Hetfield & his clones keep insisting, “It’s my wooorld… now”. If you’re being possessed by “motherfuckers” who are trying to make [you] someone else instead”, ¿is it really your world?

If that wasn’t silly, just listen to the bridge. Hetfield says in a comically deep, quiet voice, while o’erannunciating & pausing after nearly e’ery word, “not… ONly… do I NOT… know… the… answer…”, then starts shouting out, “¡I… DON’T… EVEN KNOW… WHAT… THE… QUESTION IS!”. Then, before the listener has time to adjust to whate’er the hell that was, Hetfield suddenly starts singing a different song, crying out in a high-pitched voice, “Gaaaaawd, it feels… like it only rains on meeee…”, repeated multiple times, sounding increasingly desperate each time & joined by his clones in the background… & then he goes back to the “not… ONly… do I NOT… know… the… answer…” part, only to end with a “¡Sucka!”, before chanting repeatedly, “Out of my head”, & then, “enough’s enough’s enough’s…” in an increasingly frantic voice.

I have a feeling “it’s my world now” is s’posed to be ironic &, in fact, the protagonist’s mental world is not in his control whatsoe’er & he is only trying desperately to insist it is.

Genius doesn’t e’en try to explain this song beyond saying that it hasn’t been played live e’er — presumably ’cause they’d bring on the straitjackets if they saw Hetfield singing these lines in person.

While this song has some o’ Metallica’s least-inspired music so far, I do like the way the riffs drone out, leaving the deep drumbeats & bass to shine thru, during the middle section’s chorus o’ Hetfield saying, “It’s my world, you can’t have it”.

Grade: fucking insane

7. Shoot Me Again

We have a verse where Hetfield wails spectrally, “I… won’t go away…”, followed by him in a deep voice shouting, “¡WITH A BULLET IN MAH BACK!” & a prechorus where he says in a deep but quiet cowboy voice, “SHOOT ME AGAIN, I AIN’T DEAD YET”. Later on he keeps repeating his demand to “SHOOT ME AGAIN” in an increasingly frantic tone. Then in the bridge he starts sputtering out nonsense:

WAKE THE SLEEPING GIANT, WAKE THE BEAST
WAKE THE SLEEPING DOG, NO, LET HIM SLEEP

If this were any other album, this would be its most deranged song; but this song had the misfortune o’ coming after “My World”. I do think this song sounds a bit better, with the deeper bass & drums & he haunting droning high riffs during the verses. Honestly, I think the guitar work on this album is a bit underrated: Kirk Hammett seems to be compensating for not being allowed to compose solos, like he would on classic albums, by experimenting with different tones.

Normally I would refuse to take seriously Genius’s claim that this song is ’bout Metallica’s angst @ the fucking Napster situation o’ all things. The lyrics make no hint to that subject & are just vague expressions o’ self-loathing. I would believe this song to be ’bout Hetfield’s alcoholism before that. Howe’er, if you watch the Some Kind of Monster documentary, it heavily implies this song is in fact inspired by Lars Ulrich’s angst o’er the backlash to the situation & how he for some reason thought edgy kids making exquisite flash animations making fun o’ them might nullify e’erything they’d done.

Also, this is not related to this song, but I want to also note that said documentary also has, I shit you not, a very dramatic scene where Ulrich feels torn o’er what was clearly his wife’s idea to sell his modern art paintings for millions, with him acting as if he was responsible for these paintings by… admiring them, not artists like Basquiat. That’s not e’en 1st-world problems: that’s 1% problems.

Grade: B

8. Sweet Amber

This 1 seems to be a fan favorite, & for good reason: those jazzy guitar twinkles @ the beginning followed by he grungy riffs, twanging bass notes, & thumping trash can drums are excellent, followed by Hetfield’s catchy sarcastic crooning ’bout the corruption o’ the music industry, making them do promos for radio stations to get their songs played, & Hetfield’s addiction to “sweet amber” — alcohol, to which he serenades in the chorus, saying li’l mo’ than, “Ooo, Sweet Amber… ¿how sweet are you?”.

This song’s much better composed: “Wash your back so you won’t stab mine / get in bed with your own kind” are legitimately good lyrics, — memorable but make perfect sense — as are, “she holds my hand… & I lie to get a smile” & the ironic childlike lyrics in the 2nd verse, using creative imagery o’ catching rabbits & fetching sticks to represent drug addiction, with “rolls me over until I’m sick” relating to both a playful dog & a hangover. I’m honestly kind o’ glad we got to a legitimately good song @ this point, as I was fearful after “Shoot Me Again” that we’d get too many similarly insane songs back to back & it would lose its luster.

Grade: A

9. The Unnamed Feeling

OK, but this is actually the legitimately best song on this album, with that opening noisy riff followed by such dark basslines. After work from my 1st job as a “liquor pusher” for an airplane catering company, a nightshift job where I would end my shift from 12 to 4 AM, when I would walk home thru a gray tunnel — the same tunnel I used to have as this website’s hero image, but changed, since ’twas a low-quality photo from my grandma’s ol’ cheap camera — I would love playing this song, as it perfectly fit the mood o’ an oily, dark sewerlike tunnel.

The singing is also great. Whereas the flaws in Hetfield’s attempts to sing beyond the limits to which he kept himself in earlier records generally led to great bathos in earlier songs, here his voice creaking from singing too high & the lack o’ rhythm in the verses gives a genuinely unnerving tone, especially o’er the noisy, chaotic riffs, especially followed by the desperate whispers repeating, “it comes alive, it comes alive… it comes alive & I die a little more…”, only to be followed by singing in a calm, tired tone ’bout “the unnamed feeling” that names this song while soft but low & dark notes play, only to then abruptly jump into a miserable-sounding shout as he sings the last line, “takes me away…”. E’en the bridge, where he awkwardly sings, “Get the FUCK out of here… I just wanna get the FUCK away from me”, which looks like it should be goofy, but sounds so miserable that it can’t help but sound harrowing, especially followed by just ranting ’bout the negative ways he feels — “I rage, I glaze [ OK, that sounds kinda goofy nowadays, given how we now use the word “glaze” ], I hurt, I hate”, followed by the guitarist & drummer going apeshit.

Tho there are many classic Metallica songs with much mo’ interesting & memorable musical compositions than this, I’d go far ’nough to say that this song might have Hetfield’s best work as a singer ( tho “Welcome Home ( Sanitarium )” & their best song o’erall, “Fade to Black”, are admittedly strong competition ).

Grade: S

Music Video

Unfortunately, I would say the music video is the weakest for this album, with the band jamming in a dingy ol’ room like so many 2000s rock bands & a bunch o’ scattered clips o’ people expressing anxiety in very generic, cartoonish ways while psychologic terms in ol’ fashioned fonts fade in & out. It’s not exaggerated ’nough to be funny & obviously not genuinely well done & undermines the much mo’ specific & genuinely harrowing song.

Grade: D

10. Purify

In contrast to the previous song, which was genuinely good, & all the earlier awesomely bad songs, this song is just bad in an annoying way, especially the horrendous chorus where Hetfield repeats in an ear-piercing voice, “¡PUUUURIIIIFYYYYYYYY!”. & the music just sounds like an inferior bootleg o’ the main riff ’hind “Dirty Window”.

The lyrics are just as genuinely bad, falling into the generic, vague language o’ pain that I criticized mediocre nu-metal bands like Drowning Pool o’ employing before, & which this album had been thankfully bereft o’ till now. The closest I could find is the line, “I ain’t dancing with your skeletons”, which isn’t that funny, & is sang in a bland way.

So, in short, this song is only e’er boring or annoying & definitely doesn’t feel like it received the same effort as any other song on this album. The best I can say ’bout it is that I can see the metaphor o’ “tearing down” & “acid wash” — a painful, destructive form o’ cleaning — working well for the pain o’ cleaning oneself up o’ alcoholism, but this song as it is doesn’t have the lyrics, the music, or the singing to do it justice.

Grade: D

11. All Within My Hands

I don’t know if this was the last song recorded or not, but e’en mo’ than all the other songs on this album, this sounds like the band gave up on making a coherent song & the musicians just played riffs & beats while Hetfield ranted & sang completely different songs 1 after the other, not really concerned with being catchy or enjoyable or writing anything deep, just letting out his anger by just saying “hate”, & “die”, & “kill” a lot. This especially applies to the end, where Hammett is just playing basic doom strokes, Ulrich is just bashing his drums, & Hetfield is literally shouting “kill” repeatedly, followed by random feedback & noise. This album could not have a mo’ fitting conclusion.

Grade: ?

Conclusion

I think the biggest injustice this album has received is not so much that people don’t think it’s great in any traditional sense o’ appreciating music, but that tho people acknowledge that this album was necessary for Metallica’s members to let out their frustrations so they could go on to make traditionally good albums like Death Magnetic later on, they don’t acknowledge the curious affect those frustrations have on this album’s sound itself. It is 1 o’ those honest artistic messes that in some ways is mo’ interesting than some o’ the cleaned up albums where the band put mo’ stock into what compositions the audience might find interesting than just letting out their frustrations on the canvas. Death Magnetic is certainly better on a technical level: ¿but do I remember as much ’bout it? I can repeat a few catchy choruses, like “Cyanide, fucking genocide…” or hum the catchier riffs from songs like “All Nightmare Long” ( also, the weird pirate song, “The Unforgiven III”, is underrated ); but nothing clings to me like the raw noise o’ “The Unnamed Feeling” or the surreal lyrics o’ “Dirty Window” or “My World”. “THE MOTHAFUCKAS GOT IN MY HEEAAAD”, indeed.

Final Grade: It is what it is