ST ANGER
Just to show you that we're all not a bunch of sycophantic, ass-licking, douche-nozzles (not that you thought that in the first place), here we have another look at Metallica's latest disc, 'St Anger'. There's already been one review on this site, and that one was pretty favorable.
Marc's review...is not.
It's been 5-plus years since METALLICA released
ReLoad, their last album containing original songs. Since then, things have pretty much
turned inside out for the boys in black. Lars decided to criticize his own fans for 'stealing' HIS music, longtime bassist Jason
Newsted had enough of James and Lars' stadium-sized egos and took off, and James went into rehab for close to a year to sort out his
own personal demons. During this period, things looked bleak and no one was certain if the band could recover. Lo and behold,
they got back on their feet, recorded a CD and hired former SUICIDAL TENDENCIES/OZZY OSBOURNE bassist Robert Trujillo (the BEST candidate
for the job by far).
Well, after spending close to 60 hours listening to this absolute pile of rubbish...I will approach this review from three different angles:
Songs,
Production, and
Style.
Songs:
So here it is, a new disc, and new millenium and a new band for that matter. Metallica decided to use longtime producer Bob Rock to handle bass guitar duties on this disc and approach the songwriting process with a much more open and democratic process than before (ironic considering that was one of the main reasons for Newsted quitting the band to begin with).
I think that the songs on
St Anger are simply AWFUL and downright some of their weakest material to date. There have been rumored reports prior to the albums release that this was to be return to the old
...And Justice For All/
Master Of Puppets style and
this couldn't be furter from the truth. This new material sounds like half-assed attempts at sounding 'current' and 'fresh'. Some of the riffs simply
sound like they were lifted from the last KORN disc,
Untouchables, and why in the hell would Metallica try to sound like this is simply a mystery
to me. Most of the tracks are over six minutes long, with endless amounts of riffs pasted together capped by lackluster choruses with barely a hook in
sight. The lead-off single "St. Anger" is simply terrible and the lyrics are pedestrian and downright laughable. To top things off, there simply seems to be NO emphasis on dynamics, or mood. Every song sounds the same
and the lack of focus simply makes this almost unlistenable (I don't know how I managed to listen to it five times before writing this review).
Production:
The production on this disc is dreadful; it's a Pro-Tools mess with some of the edits being extremely choppy and haphazard. The drums sound like
tin cans. Lars used a metal snare or something close to it to replicate a more 'natural' sound a-la Stewart Copeland and all he managed to succeed
with this was creating one of the worst drum sounds ever committed to disc. STOP TRYING TO BE JOHN BONHAM - IT WON'T WORK!
There is no punch or clarity in any of the guitars, the bass sounds dreadfully muddy and there is not one single guitar solo anywhere on this disc either. Strange, considering that Kirk Hammett has a pretty devout following (Why, I don't know). The band wanted to capture a 'raw' sound, which for the most part, they succeeded in doing, but when you can hear audible mistakes in the music, sloppy ProTools edits, and horrible production which sounds as though they hung four open mics in a large room and proceeded to record their new album, this approach simply falls short. This could be one of the WORST discs I have EVER had to review.
Style:
Being a musician and a graphic artist myself, I completely applaud bands/artists for trying to create music that is fresh, energetic and
emotional (for any proof on this, look to DAVID BOWIE for inspiration). As an artist, it is in your hands to create and elicit an emotional response from the listener or viewer. If that is not being achieved, then you are not creating something of deeper artistic measure. Sure, you can write, draw, or film something that may stimulate the senses or even raise an eyebrow, but for the most part, art is something that is used to communicate and draw response.
Metallica have decided to once again turn things around and change. I applaud them for trying, but when the results are as bad as
St.Anger, it
makes me wonder if they were just trying too hard to be different for the sake of being different; Trying too hard to abandon their true voice. Does this mean that I would want them to record
Master
of Puppets II? Absolutely NOT, but seriously, releasing a disc of sub-standard material recorded in such a lackluster manner, and not having the good sense to step back and really listen to the crap they were writing really demonstrates that Metallica
simply did not do justice to the songs, their fans, but most of all, to themselves. This has always been a band that raised the bar for other acts to follow. Now, they have simply reduced themselves to become followers of a trend they helped create. A lot of people (fans especially) criticized Metallica for 'selling out' during the
Load/Reload period, and many who accussed them of selling out during the
Black album days, but through it all, no matter how different, or how short they cut their hair, they created music that was instense, stimulating and moving. All
they have done with
St.Anger was prove that maybe their days as a band are numbered and the well has indeed RUN DRY.
