Of Monsters & Men: 20 years of Metallica’s St Anger
It is the butt of nearly every bad album joke since it was released in 2003: Metallica’s St Anger. I still remember heading out to buy the album at Virgin Music in Chapel St, Melbourne to be there at midnight with my buddy Rob. Back then, there wasn’t a stream of pre-release singles on streaming, so all we had as a reference point was first single ‘St Anger’, with it’s awesome video filmed at San Quinten prison.
Context for that first listen is important. St Anger followed a period of inactivity, in terms of releases, after giving fans an album a year from 1996 – 1999 (in order: Load, Re-Load, Garage, Inc, and the live album S&M). Load came with the controversy as the band all cut their hair and doubled down on the stadium rock of the Black Album with bluesy tunes like ‘Bleeding Me‘, ‘Outlaw Torn’ and grunge rockers such as single ‘Until It Sleeps’ and ‘Hero of the Day’. In So that was our reference point for hearing the ‘St Anger’ single for the first time. It was fast, blast beats not heard since … And Justice For All, James was very aggressive but also it was down tuned and modern in a System of a Down kind of way. We were excited for what the album might hold. It’s also worth noting that the single/video version of the song is a fair bit shorter. Equally important is the fact that Jason Newstead had left the band in 2001, that the band had not announced a replacement until just before the single dropped, and other than a few sketchy performances early in the recording process (with producer Bob Rock on bass) had not played a gig. Some of that could be explained by James Hetfield’s stint in rehab, the impact of which would be explained in due time (more on that soon).
However, we were not prepared for ‘Frantic’, and more specifically the line: “My lifestyle determines by death style.”
What. The. Hell.
Yes it was and still is the heaviest stuff Metallica has ever released. Across the album, there is a relentless and desperation to the songs. They really do knock you from your senses. But then it grinds. By the end of the third track, the 8 minute plus ‘Some Kind of Monster’, it’s clear the band have a concept and are going to hammer it for nearly 80 minutes. And there is that snare sound. On. Every. Goddamn. Song. At some point it ceases to be experimental and ‘serving the song’ and just becomes an awful creative decision.
The lyrics too were a mess, with unnecessary repetition and lines, like the one mentioned in ‘Frantic’, and whole songs, like ‘Invisible Kid’, just being unbelievably cringe. There are moments that linger – the depiction of anxiety and fear in ‘The Unnamed Feeling’ is raw and honest. The delivery of most of ‘All Within My Hands’ is just awesome, the acoustic version of which has become a live classic.
The album would get a second wind with the release of documentary film Metallica: Some Kind of Monster. Directed by Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky it was originally intended to be a straight ‘making-of’ feature on the new album, then being recorded as a jam record at the Presidio army barracks in San Francisco. The band had engaged with a counselor at the time, the infamous Phil Towle (whose jumpers stole the show) so there was some emotional depth too.
Then James Hetfield went to rehab.
The film shows the lowest point of Metallica since Cliff Burton died. With Hetfield estranged and in treatment, and Newstead gone, it is left to Lars Ulrich and Kirk Hammett to carry on with uncertainty. For all intents and purposes, Metallica is no more in 2001. The movie depicts them trying to catch Newstead with his new band Echobrain, only to be rebuffed, and has a somber sit down with ex-guitarist Dave Mustaine, in which Mustaine bares his pain at his exit from the band 20 years earlier.
When Hetfield returns, it is to resume recording at the new Metallica HQ. The band work on lyrics as a collective, debate whether to include solos (Kirk loses out) and are told to “delete that” by Lars’ father Torben when they play him a proposed intro track. They clash over James’ reduced schedule and depict the struggle it is to be creative, sober and relevant after more than 20 years as a band. They discuss suing their fans as part of their suit against Napster, and the lack of support they received from peers. There is the audition process for new bassist, in which Robert Trujillo is successful.
With all this clearer in the documentary, the lyrics make a lot more sense, as do the creative songwriting decisions. ‘Shoot Me Again’ and ‘Sweet Amber’ are attacking the established music industry, that even after a quadrillion records sold, still treats them as outsiders. ‘My World’ is now clearly an attempt to find their place as sober artists and maintain a sense of control.
Born following an intense period of external and internal band struggles, the album was released with huge fanfare and, believe it or not, a fair amount of critical acclaim. A quick glance at the album’s Wikipedia entry reveals that major publications saw something in the album’s abrasive and unrelenting barrage of down tuned riffs and barked vocals. These reviews have not aged well. The film maintains a cult and critical status as a terrific depiction of a band at breaking point and what it takes to push through.
Twenty years on St Anger still matters as a Metallica album. The real legacy is shown through the film, as they become a metal band who are real people with their fears, dreams and family life all on show. It shows grown, successful men discussing their feelings. It is something of a miracle they survived. The resulting tour was a massive success, with only a small spread of St Anger songs among the return to full versions of ‘Master of Puppets’ and live debuts for classic like ‘Dyer’s Eve’. The return to a heavier, faster sound would pay dividends on next album Death Magnetic (2008) as they’d embrace their past to plot their future.
But in hindsight something was lost in the criticism of St Anger, and it’s lack of musical legacy. Don’t get me wrong, it remains almost un-listenable to anyone but the most determined fan. Rob actually reminded me recently that we threw his copy of the CD out of his car after someone had got sick of listening to it. That said, it was the last time the band were actually dangerous and experimental, with each subsequent albums through to 2023’s 72 Seasons (review here) feeling like a facsimile of a band seeking to recapture past glories than challenge themselves or the status quo.
Happy birthday St Anger, and congrats to Metallica. Without this album I am not sure they would still be around. Now how about that Australian tour you owe us?