ST. ANGER: CONTROVERSY AT ITS FINEST

“The drum sound is horrific-no solos and the songs plain stink.” “They’re capable of much better.” “It sounds like an awful demo tape, full of really rubbish riffs.” If you’re well-versed in Metallica’s history, you’d be familiar with their eighth studio album St. Anger-and even more so with the immediate backlash that followed.

Legendary American heavy metal band Metallica is one of the “big four” pioneers of thrash metal, topping charts and selling out albums consecutively for years. But fame and success comes with a cost. For Metallica, that was the disaster that became St. Anger.

“The horrendous lyrics, over-long songs and snare sound seem to be the main culprits,” the majority of critics say. They wouldn’t be entirely wrong. St. Anger’s infamous sound is defined by the harsh, metallic snare drum, often compared to the clang of a trash can or frying pans. The question is, what led to this catastrophe?

Former bassist Jason Newsted joined Metallica a month after bassist Cliff Burton passed away in a tour bus accident. During the St. Anger era(2001-2004), Newsted quit the band (January 17, 2001) due to a desire to pursue his side project Echobrain and tension with the band-primarily with James Hetfield. Jason also often felt more like a replacement for Cliff than part of the band. More recently, Newsted admitted he was a “horrible addict” as he reflects on events at the time. He mentioned reaching out for support with his struggle with addiction and mental health-which was denied.

Following Newsted’s departure, Bob Rock, Metallica’s producer, filled in as a temporary bassist. Disputes between members of the band continued, James’s grapple with addiction problems of his own pushed him to go into rehab for around 7 months to a year in July of 2001. When he returned, he set a 4pm rule, asserting that he would only be allowed to work on St. Anger from 12pm to 4pm to help him recover mentally and physically, and also allow him to spend more time with his family. But arguments started after he arrived late on multiple occasions. 

Recording resumed with the assistance of performance coach/therapist Phil Towle, who made multiple appearances in Metallica’s documentary film Some Kind of Monster where many of the other conflicts and events during the St. Anger era were also documented.  He assisted the band with the copious amount of problems they were facing.

Additionally, on April 13, 2000, Metallica filed a lawsuit against music streaming service Napster after they leaked the unreleased “I Disappear” demo intended to be used in Mission: Impossible 2. Additionally, Napster had been illegally distributing music for about 10 months. The manner in which Lars Ulrich testified and how Metallica went about the process made the event seem like a cash-grab. NetPD, a firm hired by Metallica, released a massive list of IP addresses of Napster users including their fans. As a result, over 300,000 users were banned and many fans were enraged. In Some Kind of Monster, clips were shown of fans stomping on CDs, vinyls and other merchandise in various locations during the Napster boycott protests. Lars’s testimony can be found on c-span.org.

Years later, the lingering effects of the Napster controversy didn’t improve the band’s status, and crowned Ulrich as the most controversial drummer in history. Often criticizing James’s songwriting and taking control of the album’s production, he and Bob Rock created St. Anger’s infamous snare sound. Lars and James also decided that no guitar solos would be present in the album, further confusing and infuriating fans at this new direction. Lars’s frequent arguments with James persisted, and all the pent-up anger, strenuous events during the era and haphazardly strung together production were released in St. Anger.

With time, therapy and eventual healing, Metallica slowly recovered. Feeling that Bob erroneously considered himself part of the band and had gotten too comfortable with being in it in a sense, he and the rest of Metallica parted ways. Bass auditions were held in January to February of 2003. One bassist stood out in particular. The band picked up on his carefree, laid-back demeanor, virtuosity and improvisational ability. For these reasons, on March 14, Robert Trujillo, formerly in Suicidal Tendencies and Ozzy Osbourne’s band, was selected as Metallica’s new bassist. His presence was an emotional anchor, creating stability in the chaos the band was suffering from. Around that time, Jason took up Robert’s role as Ozzy Osbourne’s bassist. It was a win-win scenario, and with a greatly improved and stable environment, St. Anger was released on June 5, 2023.

St. Anger Tracklist

1. Frantic

2. St. Anger

3. Some Kind of Monster

4. Dirty Window

5. Invisible Kid

6. My World

7. Shoot Me Again

8. Sweet Amber

9. The Unnamed Feeling

10.  Purify

11. All Within My Hands

Additional Facts

• Initially, Metallica began producing and recording St. Anger in army barracks, aiming to go for a rawer, “garage” kind of feel.

• Phil Towle charged Metallica $40,000 a month for the roughly two and a half years he was with them.

• The music video for St. Anger’s title track was shot in San Quentin State Penitentiary.

• Sweet Amber is a metaphor for James Hetfield’s struggles with addiction.

• Shoot Me Again is a response to backlash and heavy criticism from fans and the industry.

• The Unnamed Feeling reflects the conflicts Metallica went through during the St. Anger era.

• St. Anger was released 5 days early. It was intended for release on June 10, 2003, but Metallica suspected unauthorized leaks.

• Robert Trujillo’s full name is Roberto Agustín Miguel Santiago Samuel Trujillo Veracruz.

Metallica’s logo wasn’t included in the initial St. Anger album cover.