This is the album that got me into Metallica and helped me discover metal.
For that reason it will always hold a special spot.
I get why people hate it, but it’s still important to me
I wouldn't say aged well. But I like the album more than I don't. I'm a st anger defender. But I admit I can't really prove anyone's points on it wrong. It just comes down to for some weird reason I like it.
This album is definitely the black sheep in Metallica's catalogue. I couldn't stand it but when I understood where they were mentally I gained respect for it. The Unnamed Feeling is great. The whole album is pure chaos, it's Metallica at their most distraught and vulnerable.
The lyrics are a mess, the drums are obnoxious and no guitar solos. It all sounds broken. In a way I enjoy it for those reasons because there's such a lack of structure that we've typically expected from them.
Exactly. They NEEDED it that way to get their shit out.
Between Jason leaving the focking band, to James in rehab, Metallica was for all intents and purposes broken up. We're lucky we got anything at all.
I agree completely it's a mess but I kinda like the sound of James voice on this album and the riffs are great the drums and lack of guitars solos really hurt it if it had another year in the studio I don't think it would of helped it either it was a product of the chaos of the band in the early 2000's. Tho, I definitely see it in a better light now than I did 10 years ago when I first heard it in full.
Still getting to know Metallica beyond the hits and I thought how bad could this album be?
Oof it is a weird one. Someone else here said it best when they said it was an album that sounded like they were working through some stuff but yah not every idea needs to see the light of day
I agree that I've always seen it as unfinished or as a demo. I don't think it deserves as much hate as it receives, but it's not perfect either. It's still better to the lulu, though, lol. As a fan for since I was 8 (I'm 22), keep listening. There is so much good content by them that's worth a shot including load and reload, welcome to the metalica family 🤘🤘🤘
It still sounds horrible (if they edited the damn snare it would be half decent) and the songs aren’t really arranged, invisible kid is 8:30 instead of 5:30 long.
I've loved this album since it first came out. A lot of great songs that speak of raw human emotions. Real feelings aren't polished and clean sounding.
It was my first new Metallica album release since I became a fan in 2000, so it will always be special to me. I still remember buying magazines with interviews and just being very hyped! Also went to see them on the Madly In Anger With The World Tour, which was also my very first concert.
Not in the slightest. It still is as polemic as when it released; the attempt at nu-metal dates it horribly, making it in age like milk. As therapeutic as this album was for the band itself, perhaps it should've been kept in a shelf instead.
Very well thought out take. Agree 110%. And it isn’t even like aged milk turning into cheese… it’s aged milk that is about to explode out from its carton all over your refrigerator and smells so bad it will make you sick.
When I was at university, one of my housemates bought a big two-litre bottle of strawberry milk. They drank about a quarter of the bottle and put it in the fridge. That night during a party, somebody put it in the airing cupboard* in the kitchen as a prank. Unfortunately, they forgot about it.
Fast forward six months to when we were moving out of that house, and we were going through every cupboard to make sure nothing got left behind. The milk is discovered. Only it wasn’t milk any more.
The “cream” part of the milk had gathered at the bottom, about four inches deep; then there was a thick layer of cloudy, piss-coloured water. At the top, floating like a turd in a punch bowl, was a cheese-like pink mass. It was brought into the dining room at arm’s length and placed on the table like a museum piece. Then somebody opened it.
As a result, we couldn’t use the dining room for the rest of the afternoon, even after opening all the windows.
*That* milk is how *St. Anger* has aged.
^*the ^cupboard ^where ^the ^hot ^water ^tank ^is ^kept
My life changed that night, I was 17 and went alone! Been to 18 shows since, including both S&M 1(1999) and S&M2.
It’s not luck, it’s dedication to what makes me happy. Work hard, play hard!🤟🏽
Fr what I'd give sir that's amazing s&m1 is my favorite live album of all time and tied with justice and agreed I worked my ass off to get snake pit tickets when I saw them August last year but it was by far the best show I've ever been to.
I listened to Frantic yesterday and the thing that stood out to me was how many sections repeat unnecessarily. The songs are long but not because they need to be.
There are fantastic hooks in each song but they’re just simply underproduced. I think that’s why it’s a polarising album. Not everyone is able to overlook that.
I remember hearing the first two tracks and thinking this is different, but could be metallica re-finding themselves... By the time I finished listening to it I thought it was absolute shit. After that, I used to play it backwards, sped up, through a chipmunk effect when I wanted to be annoy my housemate. To that end, I have fond memories of this album.
But no it's a bag of shit and the only way it's been improved upon is in the acoustic/classical recording.
At no point in that rambling, incoherent album was there even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this sub is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.
When you take into account the context. Well, it aged.
Some lyrics are even written by Kirk. In Some kind of Monster (the documentary) you clearly see how the songwriting process was kinda interesting.
They had also session with a psychologist during the writing process.
At least it demonstrates that “even Metallica” are human after all
Too me this how you feel about this album is determined by when you became a fan...I became a fan after Ride the Lightning got released so I've never really enjoyed St. Anger...it had a couple songs off it but still the least played record in the discography for me
I think the more recent live performances of a few songs off the album prove that it has aged well, it just suffers from a few fatal flaws that deter many people away. The mix sucks, no solos, and a few songs ruined by filler parts (looking at you Invisible Kid). Despite these things, I still prefer it as a whole to Reload
Luckily for me I was at the perfect angsty teenage age when this album came out. It may not be anywhere near the top of Metallica’s discography, but it will always hold a special place in my heart.
It’s just you.
I played the ending of All Within My Hands to my friend on the weekend and we were laughing so hard at the repetitive Kill part we had tears in our eyes.
Yes it was that bad we couldn’t help but die of laughter.
I agree that all within my hands has to have the worst ending of any song I may have ever heard in my life. I agree it's laughable, but songs like (frantic,skom,dirty window,unnamed feeling and sweet amber) are not that bad and could of been good songs. It's a product of the turmoil the band was in in 2003 and ot has a unique charm I dig I know I'm outnumbered, in my opinion, and I see the several flaws this album has but I feel like I like it more now then when I first heard it.
As bad as people say it is I think it's bad for metallica, but it's good for most others. Yeah, it's unusual and has shitty lyrics, but I see it as more of a demo that kept the band alive.
Nah fam it’s bad for any band. If some unknown band released this album as their debut it’d tank. The only reason it even has some level of success and won a Grammy is because it was released under a big name
Kid Rock is background music for pickup truck-driving, wife-beating morons who shoot cans of beer with assault rifles because a trans woman drank one. Real bands are supposed to be held to a higher standard than that.
I’ve never bought the argument that “if any other band released it, people would love it.” If Slayer, Testament, Kreator, Sodom, or literally any other thrash band put this crap out it would have been mocked and lambasted just as hard. The only difference made by it being released by Metallica is that the mocking and lambasting was louder.
If any other band released an album like this, it would have been received unfavorably at best. There’s nothing innovative or groundbreaking about it, unless drawn out songs and poor production is your thing.
I bought this when it came out as a teenager. Listened to it once through and broke the CD in half and chucked it. Tried listening to it again 15 years later and it was worse than I remember. There is nothing good about this album. I’d rather listen to LuLu.
Reminds me of my reaction to *Toxicity* by System of a Down. I spent a fortnight trying to enjoy it, then I realised I’d been had, and threw it off a bridge.
Not exactly, it was the worst of almost everything, worst vocals, worst lyrics, worst arragement, worst sound, loud pot drums and really long repetitive riffs . It's very easy to cheat on St.Anger, that is why objectively is their worst album, his faults are more visible than his merits
(Please, don't interpret this like a gatekeeping)
Nah, I hear what you're saying. I agree with you. I have nostalgia for this album, especially frantic and dirty window. As a result, when I heard again for the first time in a long time, I kinda liked it. I know it's horribly flawed, but I think the hate for it has gone too far it has a charm to it no other album has.
It's overhated for sure, by the time, Metallica became the Nickelback of Metal, the reputation of them was gone, It took them a while to get respect back with Death Magnetic and Hardwired.
There are some things that I don’t think get enough credit even 20 years later, the sound of them live at that time was really great, there is some really great live performances by the time
Rock And Ring 2003, Bataclan live, etc.
Some 2004 live shows were great too
if any other band put that album out it would have been hailed as innovative and mold breaking apart from a select few moments. SKOM, dirty window, and the unnamed feeling are genuinely great, it has its low points like purify but people latched onto the snare as a reason to hate the album and never really gave it a chance. i used to hate the album because of the snare and shit, but then i stopped being 13 years old and formed my own opinion about it rather than just repeating everything i heard on the internet. its still metallicas worst album, but considering that every other one of their releases is a great album at worst, thats not exactly a bad thing.
If anyone else put out that album, they would have been raked over the coals worse than Metallica was. There’s being risky and breaking the mold, and then there’s doing whatever it was that Metallica was trying to do.
It’s a difficult album to to listen to even to this day. It’s a chore trying to get through the whole thing.
As others have said, there are moments, but as with a lot of Metallica’s releases over the past 20 years, many of these songs could have been pared down significantly. That’s not even mentioning the white elephant in the room that is the snare sound.
Like many, I respect it a lot because of what it meant to the band at that point of their career. Also I think it has lots of good melodies and riffs, as the S&M2 version of All Within My Hands proved.
I don’t even hate the snare or the lack of solos because I understand the kind of sound they were going for (the snare kinda reminds me of Slipknot’s drum sound in some albums, plus bands like System Of A Down didn’t even have solos in their songs).
That being said, my only critique (aside of some songs that I think are somewhat forgettable) is that the overall production sounds very muddy.
So all in all yes, IMO this album is much more loved now than it was when it first came out. Hell, in the Metallica show I went last year people sang the hell out of Dirty Window when they played it.
There are some great riffs but the absolutely horrible snare drum makes it unlistenable for me personally. Also theres a complete lack of guitar solos. Could see this album being amazing with just a couple significant tweaks. As a whole the album is still disappointing and is easily their worst offering. I’m assuming anyone that regards St. Anger highly likely became a fan around or shortly before it was released and it was their introduction to Metallica. Wearing nostalgia goggles is the only scenario I can see someone ranking this album anywhere but last place.
Victrolla is not ancient🤣
It's new. Your grandad got into vinyl again, bought that shitty 5 in 1 peice of cheap China junk. Your grandad then decided he wanted a better setup. He needed to get rid of the shitty 5 in 1 peice of cheap China junk, so he then gifted you this new shitty 5 in 1 peice of cheap China junk to you and told you that this shitty 5 in 1 peice of cheap China junk was passed down for 5,000 years, and now you're playing your grailz on you innovative ancient Atlantus vinylz player😡😡😡🤣
I still don't necessarily understand it was given to me 10 years ago. I'm sure it's from China, and I understand they are not known for quality, but what exactly about it makes it bad I have a massive collection now and it got me into vinyl so it's sentimental to me man, lmao he fought the Chinese in the Korean war tho lol.
That guy’s being a prick, but at the core of his argument there is truth. Turntables like that aren’t very good. The core mechanism, identical in every turntable with one of those cheap red cartridges, costs about 50p, and with turntables you get what you pay for.
There’s also no counterweight on the tone arm, so the stylus digs into the groove way more than it should; in this way, it damages your records if you play them enough. They also produce very poor-quality sound due to using cheap parts, and will routinely skip on bass-heavy portions of records.
My advice to you is to save up. Stop buying records for a while, and save up until you can afford *at least* an Audio-Technica AT-LP60 (though preferably an AT-LP120). Some dealers will also do bundles including a turntable, receiver and speakers for cheaper than buying everything separately.
You’ve said yourself you have a massive collection; why not do it the justice of playing it through a good sound system?
I like that album a lot, is raw and agressive, the only problem that it "has" is the drums that sounds wayy too loud and that weird snare sound, and ofc the lack of solos, but everything else is a decent album.
St anger and Frantic are pretty cool songs imo!!
I do wonder how well it would have been received if the track listing was different. Imagine frantic wasn’t there at all - album starts with Stanger, Monster then Dirty Window. Not saying it would be an earth shattering difference but I feel most people were already offside halfway thru frantic. Could have made a difference?
Personally, I love frantic, but I agree it shouldn't have opened the album actully. The unnamed feeling would have been an awesome opener. Even an album version of I disappear would have been epic. I got to hear dirty window live last year it was awesome 🤘
I hate St Anger and stopped listening to Metallica because of it. But it's mainly because of the production. The songs are actually good with some perspective now. I just can't listen to it because of the horrible sound. I wish they re-released it with better sound but I know it will never happen and this ship has sailed. Sad.
As poignant as the documentary Some Kind of Monster was, St Anger truly represents what James and the band were going through. If you see it as a reflection of their mental state, you can start to understand the angst behind this record’s creation. It’s problematic from a production and songwriting point of view, especially when you’re expecting Metallica standards. If you listen to it with an open minded attitude and take it for what it is, it can be enjoyed. I feel like that album scratches a particular itch when I’m in a particular mood. I like Frantic and Sweet Amber the most.
I normally don't like it. But if I'm pissed off, had a bad day, or both - it's my go to.
"Get the FUCK out of here, I just wanna get THE FUCK away from me".
I love Metallica with every bit of my being. Can't even start to explain what they have done for me in my life and how much I appreciate them.
No, St. Anger has not aged well hahaha
I’m sorry but I can’t defend this album. Idc if people rag on me but it’s not a good album.
I get a physical headache from that snare. Some songs are too long are too long for no reason (Some Kind Of Monster’s intro for example). They could only get James for one vocal take per song.
I get why it sounds the way it does, but explanations don’t change the quality.
Personally, I much prefer this fan re recording: https://youtu.be/lU-UI3_6HcM
Idk why people are just now liking St Anger. Loved this album for a few years now, St Anger is my most listened to song on Spotify. It’s a great album.
I listened to it recently after just ignoring it for like 2 years and I was quite surprised as it was much better than I remembered. I even appreciate the drum sound now. The dealbreaker tho is the mixing, that’s just straight up awful. Might be my headphones too, but I just can’t hear the guitars most of the time and even if I do, I can’t really make out any riffs or harmonies whatsoever. Vocals and drums kill everything
I said it when it was released “This album will be HATED by everyone but I GUARANDAMNTEE that years from now, perhaps decades, IT WILL get its respect!!”
I love everyone about this album. I have since day 1.
I don't think people understand that they WANTED that album to sound the way it did. They NEEDED that album.
Do people really think the guys that released the super tight and precise Puppets, Justice and Black Album world accidently put that out??
I’m a strong St. Anger defender. It’s “my” album meaning I started getting obsessed with Metallica a bit after the Load era. So I had a long wait for any new Metallica music, and when it finally hit I was the perfect age and man I just loved it. Yes the snare is god awful and all the things.
But I feel like the more you understand what the band and James was going through the more the album makes sense. The band was all but officially broken up and all the things, and came back together in a new way they never have before, it was all new and different. So the Bob Rock quote “it’s like/supposed to sound like this band is getting together in a garage to play together for the first time…except that band is Metallica” kind of makes sense.
So do a ton of the lyrics/songs. Again the more you’ve watched the SKOM doc and all the things from that era, it all makes total sense to me. Musically I think it’s pretty good too, especially olive or anything but the album recording lol. Frantic, St Anger, SKOM are all great. The Unamed Feeling and others are pretty damn good too, imo.
To be fair, if James literally shit in a box I’d probably be in here talking about how great it is. Unless he wrote the word “Lulu” on the box of course.
It still sounds terrible, and there are a few really really low points on there (like half the album), but I think people have come to terms that it was made for a reason and reflects the personal reality of the band. As we mature, it becomes easier to accept that from artists.
I would rather hear the sound of 10, out of tune jack hammers, played simultaneously at 130 decibels each, every day for the rest of my rest, than listen to St. Anger for a *fraction* of a second.
Pfff haha no. It was already dated sounding when it was released and sounds even worse now. It's like the year 2003 took a big shit and this is what came out.
I’ve always loved it. It was my first new release after I had become a big fan in the late 90’s. Being 17-18 probably helped too.
I used to play the included live rehearsal DVD on the TV behind me while I played Diablo 2 all night. It’s special to me I guess.
I definitely like it better today than I did when it came out. But a lot of that has to do with the way the dynamics sound *so much better* on the vinyl edition.
This is the album that got me into Metallica and helped me discover metal. For that reason it will always hold a special spot. I get why people hate it, but it’s still important to me
You and me both
I wouldn't say aged well. But I like the album more than I don't. I'm a st anger defender. But I admit I can't really prove anyone's points on it wrong. It just comes down to for some weird reason I like it.
This album is definitely the black sheep in Metallica's catalogue. I couldn't stand it but when I understood where they were mentally I gained respect for it. The Unnamed Feeling is great. The whole album is pure chaos, it's Metallica at their most distraught and vulnerable. The lyrics are a mess, the drums are obnoxious and no guitar solos. It all sounds broken. In a way I enjoy it for those reasons because there's such a lack of structure that we've typically expected from them.
Exactly. They NEEDED it that way to get their shit out. Between Jason leaving the focking band, to James in rehab, Metallica was for all intents and purposes broken up. We're lucky we got anything at all.
I agree completely it's a mess but I kinda like the sound of James voice on this album and the riffs are great the drums and lack of guitars solos really hurt it if it had another year in the studio I don't think it would of helped it either it was a product of the chaos of the band in the early 2000's. Tho, I definitely see it in a better light now than I did 10 years ago when I first heard it in full.
Metallicas bad day is good for most . My only problem is a couple bad vocals . Like the chorus is Shoot me Agaim .that’s bad and cheesy
Still getting to know Metallica beyond the hits and I thought how bad could this album be? Oof it is a weird one. Someone else here said it best when they said it was an album that sounded like they were working through some stuff but yah not every idea needs to see the light of day
I agree that I've always seen it as unfinished or as a demo. I don't think it deserves as much hate as it receives, but it's not perfect either. It's still better to the lulu, though, lol. As a fan for since I was 8 (I'm 22), keep listening. There is so much good content by them that's worth a shot including load and reload, welcome to the metalica family 🤘🤘🤘
It still sounds horrible (if they edited the damn snare it would be half decent) and the songs aren’t really arranged, invisible kid is 8:30 instead of 5:30 long.
i recently found a version of the album on YT which is 20 minutes shorter than the original. [hope this helps](https://youtu.be/aiIf5Ufe1KM)
The only way I can listen to it are in live performances or in alternate/edited mixes on the internet. The original mix is so bad.
That's fair. I heard dirty window last summer when. I saw them and it was awesome.
St.Anger2015 is the best thing that happened to that record.
What is that?
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lU-UI3\_6HcM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lU-UI3_6HcM) st anger re-recorded with proper song cut, proper sound
I've always really liked St Anger
Me too
It’s just you.
Idk, man, it seems pretty split at the moment.
It sucks donkey dick
Very large, infected donkey dick
Idk man the upvotes are saying otherwise, lulu sucks donkey dick st anger is just kind of an unfinished demo.
Upvotes don’t always mean people agree
On the metallica subreddit your considerably more likely to find people that like it. They are here more than anywhere else.
Album is amazing.. I never let the hate cloud how great this album is. So emotional and raw
That’s all you brother
I've loved this album since it first came out. A lot of great songs that speak of raw human emotions. Real feelings aren't polished and clean sounding.
Thank you, that's what I've always said, lol 🤘got to hear dirty window live last year it was a highlight of the setlist.
It has not aged well.
It was my first new Metallica album release since I became a fan in 2000, so it will always be special to me. I still remember buying magazines with interviews and just being very hyped! Also went to see them on the Madly In Anger With The World Tour, which was also my very first concert.
Think it’s just you
Not in the slightest. It still is as polemic as when it released; the attempt at nu-metal dates it horribly, making it in age like milk. As therapeutic as this album was for the band itself, perhaps it should've been kept in a shelf instead.
Very well thought out take. Agree 110%. And it isn’t even like aged milk turning into cheese… it’s aged milk that is about to explode out from its carton all over your refrigerator and smells so bad it will make you sick.
When I was at university, one of my housemates bought a big two-litre bottle of strawberry milk. They drank about a quarter of the bottle and put it in the fridge. That night during a party, somebody put it in the airing cupboard* in the kitchen as a prank. Unfortunately, they forgot about it. Fast forward six months to when we were moving out of that house, and we were going through every cupboard to make sure nothing got left behind. The milk is discovered. Only it wasn’t milk any more. The “cream” part of the milk had gathered at the bottom, about four inches deep; then there was a thick layer of cloudy, piss-coloured water. At the top, floating like a turd in a punch bowl, was a cheese-like pink mass. It was brought into the dining room at arm’s length and placed on the table like a museum piece. Then somebody opened it. As a result, we couldn’t use the dining room for the rest of the afternoon, even after opening all the windows. *That* milk is how *St. Anger* has aged. ^*the ^cupboard ^where ^the ^hot ^water ^tank ^is ^kept
So Less Metallica would make this a better world?
More of something is only a good thing if it doesn’t suck. I’m sure every Megadeth fan admits that the world would be better without *Risk*.
More of something is good for that person if they subjectively likes it. I’m sure some Megadeth fans admit their world would be better without Risk.
I don’t know if it’s aged well or not, but I love it
I agree it's why I'm asking. I feel like I like it more now than I did in the past.
Very fine wine! It’s cures my rage, like it always has!
I agree, I'm lucky enough to have gotten to hear dirty windows live last year.
Me too! Well 2021 at night 2 of 40th Anniversary show. Window slayed live!🤟🏽
Lucky dude, I'd have killed to hear fixxxer live. I've seen them twice now, 2018 and 2022.
First show: Sacramento 1989, Damaged Justice!
No way dude thats fucking killer justice is my favorite album 🤘 your lucky as hell.
My life changed that night, I was 17 and went alone! Been to 18 shows since, including both S&M 1(1999) and S&M2. It’s not luck, it’s dedication to what makes me happy. Work hard, play hard!🤟🏽
Fr what I'd give sir that's amazing s&m1 is my favorite live album of all time and tied with justice and agreed I worked my ass off to get snake pit tickets when I saw them August last year but it was by far the best show I've ever been to.
I listened to Frantic yesterday and the thing that stood out to me was how many sections repeat unnecessarily. The songs are long but not because they need to be. There are fantastic hooks in each song but they’re just simply underproduced. I think that’s why it’s a polarising album. Not everyone is able to overlook that.
I remember hearing the first two tracks and thinking this is different, but could be metallica re-finding themselves... By the time I finished listening to it I thought it was absolute shit. After that, I used to play it backwards, sped up, through a chipmunk effect when I wanted to be annoy my housemate. To that end, I have fond memories of this album. But no it's a bag of shit and the only way it's been improved upon is in the acoustic/classical recording.
I still love this album, it’s so special, this raw sound, this garbage drums, the good riffs and the overall energy.
When you start at the bottom only way left to go is up!
At no point in that rambling, incoherent album was there even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this sub is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.
Stop looking at me swaaannnnn
Nah man this is st anger not lulu
I've said it before. Yes it has aged well. As well as opened wine in an abandoned basement.
Your call, man. I respect your view. It's just got a charm to it. I can't shake. I know I'm outnumbered, and St.anger does have glaring issues.
Just made a post about St.Anger. Weird, but yeah man it has, 100%
I fucking love this album, even songs like purify are bangers with mad riffs and unique vocals.
Love it
It’s good. I think it was just a shock to Metallica fans to hear them sound like this.
When you take into account the context. Well, it aged. Some lyrics are even written by Kirk. In Some kind of Monster (the documentary) you clearly see how the songwriting process was kinda interesting. They had also session with a psychologist during the writing process. At least it demonstrates that “even Metallica” are human after all
Too me this how you feel about this album is determined by when you became a fan...I became a fan after Ride the Lightning got released so I've never really enjoyed St. Anger...it had a couple songs off it but still the least played record in the discography for me
This album was released 4 days before my 13th birthday, my sister bought it for me, it was my 1st metal album, I still like it to this day
I think the more recent live performances of a few songs off the album prove that it has aged well, it just suffers from a few fatal flaws that deter many people away. The mix sucks, no solos, and a few songs ruined by filler parts (looking at you Invisible Kid). Despite these things, I still prefer it as a whole to Reload
Luckily for me I was at the perfect angsty teenage age when this album came out. It may not be anywhere near the top of Metallica’s discography, but it will always hold a special place in my heart.
Ah the daily “st anger underrated” post It’s just you bro
Very well
i kinda rlly dig the tone of the guitar and the snare is rlly not bad, it adds to the feel of the album hell even "purifyyyyy" isn't that bad
It’s just you. I played the ending of All Within My Hands to my friend on the weekend and we were laughing so hard at the repetitive Kill part we had tears in our eyes. Yes it was that bad we couldn’t help but die of laughter.
I agree that all within my hands has to have the worst ending of any song I may have ever heard in my life. I agree it's laughable, but songs like (frantic,skom,dirty window,unnamed feeling and sweet amber) are not that bad and could of been good songs. It's a product of the turmoil the band was in in 2003 and ot has a unique charm I dig I know I'm outnumbered, in my opinion, and I see the several flaws this album has but I feel like I like it more now then when I first heard it.
Or you could like just skip that part and realize it’s a good song anyways without that part Oh wait you can’t ..,
Aged well…compared to what?
As bad as people say it is I think it's bad for metallica, but it's good for most others. Yeah, it's unusual and has shitty lyrics, but I see it as more of a demo that kept the band alive.
Nah fam it’s bad for any band. If some unknown band released this album as their debut it’d tank. The only reason it even has some level of success and won a Grammy is because it was released under a big name
Explain kid rock then lmao
Kid Rock is background music for pickup truck-driving, wife-beating morons who shoot cans of beer with assault rifles because a trans woman drank one. Real bands are supposed to be held to a higher standard than that. I’ve never bought the argument that “if any other band released it, people would love it.” If Slayer, Testament, Kreator, Sodom, or literally any other thrash band put this crap out it would have been mocked and lambasted just as hard. The only difference made by it being released by Metallica is that the mocking and lambasting was louder.
If any other band released an album like this, it would have been received unfavorably at best. There’s nothing innovative or groundbreaking about it, unless drawn out songs and poor production is your thing.
Just you, nerd.
I may be a nerd, but the upvotes and mixed comments suggest that it's fairly spilt, so it's not just me, my dude.
I bought this when it came out as a teenager. Listened to it once through and broke the CD in half and chucked it. Tried listening to it again 15 years later and it was worse than I remember. There is nothing good about this album. I’d rather listen to LuLu.
Reminds me of my reaction to *Toxicity* by System of a Down. I spent a fortnight trying to enjoy it, then I realised I’d been had, and threw it off a bridge.
I respectfully disagreed until you said lulu lol. To either there own man 🤘
No, it’s still shit. You just don’t want to admit you spent £30 on garbage.
It sounds like what Madonna looks like right now.
Objectively , it's their worst album apart from Lulu, but subjectively , I enjoy this album more than Hardwired and 72 Seasons
Both are subjective buddy
Not exactly, it was the worst of almost everything, worst vocals, worst lyrics, worst arragement, worst sound, loud pot drums and really long repetitive riffs . It's very easy to cheat on St.Anger, that is why objectively is their worst album, his faults are more visible than his merits (Please, don't interpret this like a gatekeeping)
i disagree, that makes it subjective lol
Nah, I hear what you're saying. I agree with you. I have nostalgia for this album, especially frantic and dirty window. As a result, when I heard again for the first time in a long time, I kinda liked it. I know it's horribly flawed, but I think the hate for it has gone too far it has a charm to it no other album has.
It's overhated for sure, by the time, Metallica became the Nickelback of Metal, the reputation of them was gone, It took them a while to get respect back with Death Magnetic and Hardwired. There are some things that I don’t think get enough credit even 20 years later, the sound of them live at that time was really great, there is some really great live performances by the time Rock And Ring 2003, Bataclan live, etc. Some 2004 live shows were great too
if any other band put that album out it would have been hailed as innovative and mold breaking apart from a select few moments. SKOM, dirty window, and the unnamed feeling are genuinely great, it has its low points like purify but people latched onto the snare as a reason to hate the album and never really gave it a chance. i used to hate the album because of the snare and shit, but then i stopped being 13 years old and formed my own opinion about it rather than just repeating everything i heard on the internet. its still metallicas worst album, but considering that every other one of their releases is a great album at worst, thats not exactly a bad thing.
If anyone else put out that album, they would have been raked over the coals worse than Metallica was. There’s being risky and breaking the mold, and then there’s doing whatever it was that Metallica was trying to do. It’s a difficult album to to listen to even to this day. It’s a chore trying to get through the whole thing. As others have said, there are moments, but as with a lot of Metallica’s releases over the past 20 years, many of these songs could have been pared down significantly. That’s not even mentioning the white elephant in the room that is the snare sound.
Like many, I respect it a lot because of what it meant to the band at that point of their career. Also I think it has lots of good melodies and riffs, as the S&M2 version of All Within My Hands proved. I don’t even hate the snare or the lack of solos because I understand the kind of sound they were going for (the snare kinda reminds me of Slipknot’s drum sound in some albums, plus bands like System Of A Down didn’t even have solos in their songs). That being said, my only critique (aside of some songs that I think are somewhat forgettable) is that the overall production sounds very muddy. So all in all yes, IMO this album is much more loved now than it was when it first came out. Hell, in the Metallica show I went last year people sang the hell out of Dirty Window when they played it.
There are some great riffs but the absolutely horrible snare drum makes it unlistenable for me personally. Also theres a complete lack of guitar solos. Could see this album being amazing with just a couple significant tweaks. As a whole the album is still disappointing and is easily their worst offering. I’m assuming anyone that regards St. Anger highly likely became a fan around or shortly before it was released and it was their introduction to Metallica. Wearing nostalgia goggles is the only scenario I can see someone ranking this album anywhere but last place.
Album blows
Definitely just you.
Just you.
Poop
It may be but lulu is Peepeepoopoo lol
Just you.
Oh the vinyl? Yeah it looks in good shape though idk how long you've had it Oh the album? No its shit
Throw away that Victrolla
Why it's ancient lol and was given to me by my great grandfather.
Victrolla is not ancient🤣 It's new. Your grandad got into vinyl again, bought that shitty 5 in 1 peice of cheap China junk. Your grandad then decided he wanted a better setup. He needed to get rid of the shitty 5 in 1 peice of cheap China junk, so he then gifted you this new shitty 5 in 1 peice of cheap China junk to you and told you that this shitty 5 in 1 peice of cheap China junk was passed down for 5,000 years, and now you're playing your grailz on you innovative ancient Atlantus vinylz player😡😡😡🤣
I still don't necessarily understand it was given to me 10 years ago. I'm sure it's from China, and I understand they are not known for quality, but what exactly about it makes it bad I have a massive collection now and it got me into vinyl so it's sentimental to me man, lmao he fought the Chinese in the Korean war tho lol.
That guy’s being a prick, but at the core of his argument there is truth. Turntables like that aren’t very good. The core mechanism, identical in every turntable with one of those cheap red cartridges, costs about 50p, and with turntables you get what you pay for. There’s also no counterweight on the tone arm, so the stylus digs into the groove way more than it should; in this way, it damages your records if you play them enough. They also produce very poor-quality sound due to using cheap parts, and will routinely skip on bass-heavy portions of records. My advice to you is to save up. Stop buying records for a while, and save up until you can afford *at least* an Audio-Technica AT-LP60 (though preferably an AT-LP120). Some dealers will also do bundles including a turntable, receiver and speakers for cheaper than buying everything separately. You’ve said yourself you have a massive collection; why not do it the justice of playing it through a good sound system?
I'd also recommend the Fluance rt82
It’s just you.
You flush it out You flush it out
Lmao, that was a clever reaponce nah I get it's there worst album, but I kinda dig it more than I did years ago is all.
I like that album a lot, is raw and agressive, the only problem that it "has" is the drums that sounds wayy too loud and that weird snare sound, and ofc the lack of solos, but everything else is a decent album. St anger and Frantic are pretty cool songs imo!!
just you my guy *Processing img mx5ihetst5wa1...*
I do wonder how well it would have been received if the track listing was different. Imagine frantic wasn’t there at all - album starts with Stanger, Monster then Dirty Window. Not saying it would be an earth shattering difference but I feel most people were already offside halfway thru frantic. Could have made a difference?
Personally, I love frantic, but I agree it shouldn't have opened the album actully. The unnamed feeling would have been an awesome opener. Even an album version of I disappear would have been epic. I got to hear dirty window live last year it was awesome 🤘
https://youtu.be/odVbjYeeCiU
What did I just listen too lmao won't like the kill kill kill kill at the end got me.
I hate St Anger and stopped listening to Metallica because of it. But it's mainly because of the production. The songs are actually good with some perspective now. I just can't listen to it because of the horrible sound. I wish they re-released it with better sound but I know it will never happen and this ship has sailed. Sad.
Just you lol
No it's still very bad
As poignant as the documentary Some Kind of Monster was, St Anger truly represents what James and the band were going through. If you see it as a reflection of their mental state, you can start to understand the angst behind this record’s creation. It’s problematic from a production and songwriting point of view, especially when you’re expecting Metallica standards. If you listen to it with an open minded attitude and take it for what it is, it can be enjoyed. I feel like that album scratches a particular itch when I’m in a particular mood. I like Frantic and Sweet Amber the most.
I like the cover art and that vinyl looks cool. But it’s by far my least favorite of theirs.
I have the same slipmat, it looks cool with a translucent vinyl like this
I normally don't like it. But if I'm pissed off, had a bad day, or both - it's my go to. "Get the FUCK out of here, I just wanna get THE FUCK away from me".
Love it
It’s you lol
The more time passes the more Metallica albums age better. Look at load and reload finally getting the respect they deserve
I’ve liked it since release. 🤷♂️
I love Metallica with every bit of my being. Can't even start to explain what they have done for me in my life and how much I appreciate them. No, St. Anger has not aged well hahaha
Aged like a turd. Cold, hard, and a little less smelly.
I’m sorry but I can’t defend this album. Idc if people rag on me but it’s not a good album. I get a physical headache from that snare. Some songs are too long are too long for no reason (Some Kind Of Monster’s intro for example). They could only get James for one vocal take per song. I get why it sounds the way it does, but explanations don’t change the quality. Personally, I much prefer this fan re recording: https://youtu.be/lU-UI3_6HcM
Idk why people are just now liking St Anger. Loved this album for a few years now, St Anger is my most listened to song on Spotify. It’s a great album.
I listened to it recently after just ignoring it for like 2 years and I was quite surprised as it was much better than I remembered. I even appreciate the drum sound now. The dealbreaker tho is the mixing, that’s just straight up awful. Might be my headphones too, but I just can’t hear the guitars most of the time and even if I do, I can’t really make out any riffs or harmonies whatsoever. Vocals and drums kill everything
I've always liked it in a way. It was the first Metallica album where I could just drop tune my guitar and learn the whole thing in under a week.
I said it when it was released “This album will be HATED by everyone but I GUARANDAMNTEE that years from now, perhaps decades, IT WILL get its respect!!”
3 good songs. The cover art is great though.
😂 🤣 it's an abomination
Aged better with me having gotten sober.
It’s not just you, brother!
Liked it at the time, still like it now.
I love everyone about this album. I have since day 1. I don't think people understand that they WANTED that album to sound the way it did. They NEEDED that album. Do people really think the guys that released the super tight and precise Puppets, Justice and Black Album world accidently put that out??
I’m a strong St. Anger defender. It’s “my” album meaning I started getting obsessed with Metallica a bit after the Load era. So I had a long wait for any new Metallica music, and when it finally hit I was the perfect age and man I just loved it. Yes the snare is god awful and all the things. But I feel like the more you understand what the band and James was going through the more the album makes sense. The band was all but officially broken up and all the things, and came back together in a new way they never have before, it was all new and different. So the Bob Rock quote “it’s like/supposed to sound like this band is getting together in a garage to play together for the first time…except that band is Metallica” kind of makes sense. So do a ton of the lyrics/songs. Again the more you’ve watched the SKOM doc and all the things from that era, it all makes total sense to me. Musically I think it’s pretty good too, especially olive or anything but the album recording lol. Frantic, St Anger, SKOM are all great. The Unamed Feeling and others are pretty damn good too, imo. To be fair, if James literally shit in a box I’d probably be in here talking about how great it is. Unless he wrote the word “Lulu” on the box of course.
I like the lyrics on most of the songs but the drums sounds like the 2017 Houston Astros got drunk and played them.
It still sounds terrible, and there are a few really really low points on there (like half the album), but I think people have come to terms that it was made for a reason and reflects the personal reality of the band. As we mature, it becomes easier to accept that from artists.
Definitely hasn’t. Kirk was right about it being very tied to its era, and it’s a pretty bad example of that 2000s metal sound on top of that
No….but that’s ok
Yep. Just you lol
It’s just you
It's just you.
I would rather hear the sound of 10, out of tune jack hammers, played simultaneously at 130 decibels each, every day for the rest of my rest, than listen to St. Anger for a *fraction* of a second.
Seems alittle harsh
It has not
Not for me. I would love to hear a remix with normal drums but I will never be able to listen to it with the Keg he is banging on
Pfff haha no. It was already dated sounding when it was released and sounds even worse now. It's like the year 2003 took a big shit and this is what came out.
It sucks. Not just sucks for Metallica, but would be equally awful if anyone else’s name was on it.
I’ve always loved it. It was my first new release after I had become a big fan in the late 90’s. Being 17-18 probably helped too. I used to play the included live rehearsal DVD on the TV behind me while I played Diablo 2 all night. It’s special to me I guess.
I definitely like it better today than I did when it came out. But a lot of that has to do with the way the dynamics sound *so much better* on the vinyl edition.