Shadow, Thief of the Sun
June 7th, 2003, 02:26 PM
I apologize if anyone think that there are way too many topics about Metallica, but i think that i should post this review, which says it all:
Taken from "Satan Stole my Teddybear" website:
"No one even remotely into music could have escaped the media blitz surrounded Metallica's new album, St. Anger. Rave after rave advance review poured in, proclaiming it to be a return to their metal glory, the greatest thing since Master Of Puppets, the sole reason to live for music fans, and the surefire way to get out those tough stains.
My story is not unique. Metallica was the band that introduced me to true heavy metal, and I listened to the first four albums religiously. Post-Black Album I felt betrayed and my love turned to hatred. I scoffed whenever they were mentioned, thought my friends and I were oh-so-witty when we referred to them as Topfortyica and Selloutica, and almost pissed myself laughing when I heard "Until It Sleeps". But deep inside I wanted to love them again. I didn't have any hopes that it would actually happen, but I really did want my Metallica back. So even though I was leery of the hype, I really wanted it to be true. And that is what disappoints me most about this album: they got my hopes up just to spit in my face again.
Is St. Anger heavier? Yes, but contrary to the millions of lemmings who will defend this abortion to the end, heaviness isn't everything. If the Black Album was dumbed down, St. Anger is clinically retarded. In the past their wimpy radio fodder had some hooks; now the hooks have been removed and replaced with nu-metal stop-start guitars and some pointless double bassing which can barely be heard over the annoying and ever-present tin can sound of Mr. Ulrich's snare. The lyrics have been no great shakes since ...And Justice For All, but now they round the bend from silly cock rock to embarrassing. The "personal" lyrics seem like they were cribbed from self-help books and dittos handed out at therapy sessions, except of course when Mr. Hetfield gets "extreme" and comes up with such classic lines as "Kill, kill, kill" in "All Within My Hands". Speaking of therapy, band therapist (yes, that's right) Phil Towle receives one of the two thank yous (the other being Bob "Bon Jovi" Rock). How sweet.
Despite all their talk of editing themselves, the songs drone on and on for an average of seven minutes when in most cases there is only two minutes of material present. This album would be stretching it at thirty minutes, so imagine what trying to sit through seventy-five minutes is like. Metallica Inc. was obviously going for a dirty production sound here; perhaps this is what they meant when they talked about an Entombed influence. Nice thought, but it doesn't fit the music. Nu-metal is supposed to be shiny and studio fresh, and despite all protests to the contrary that is what this is: a bloated, self-important nu-metal album made by a bunch of guys going through a midlife crisis.
If Metallica had wanted to make a punk album and cut down the song length by one-fifth, this might have been an interesting distraction. As it is, St. Anger is just long, dumb, and boring. I don't know what else to say, except to congratulate James, Lars, and Kirk (not Robert, because I'm sure he doesn't get a cut of the album) on receiving my money. You fooled me guys...well done."
http://www.ssmt-reviews.com/db/searchrev.php?artistID=730&showReview=true#R2966
Taken from "Satan Stole my Teddybear" website:
"No one even remotely into music could have escaped the media blitz surrounded Metallica's new album, St. Anger. Rave after rave advance review poured in, proclaiming it to be a return to their metal glory, the greatest thing since Master Of Puppets, the sole reason to live for music fans, and the surefire way to get out those tough stains.
My story is not unique. Metallica was the band that introduced me to true heavy metal, and I listened to the first four albums religiously. Post-Black Album I felt betrayed and my love turned to hatred. I scoffed whenever they were mentioned, thought my friends and I were oh-so-witty when we referred to them as Topfortyica and Selloutica, and almost pissed myself laughing when I heard "Until It Sleeps". But deep inside I wanted to love them again. I didn't have any hopes that it would actually happen, but I really did want my Metallica back. So even though I was leery of the hype, I really wanted it to be true. And that is what disappoints me most about this album: they got my hopes up just to spit in my face again.
Is St. Anger heavier? Yes, but contrary to the millions of lemmings who will defend this abortion to the end, heaviness isn't everything. If the Black Album was dumbed down, St. Anger is clinically retarded. In the past their wimpy radio fodder had some hooks; now the hooks have been removed and replaced with nu-metal stop-start guitars and some pointless double bassing which can barely be heard over the annoying and ever-present tin can sound of Mr. Ulrich's snare. The lyrics have been no great shakes since ...And Justice For All, but now they round the bend from silly cock rock to embarrassing. The "personal" lyrics seem like they were cribbed from self-help books and dittos handed out at therapy sessions, except of course when Mr. Hetfield gets "extreme" and comes up with such classic lines as "Kill, kill, kill" in "All Within My Hands". Speaking of therapy, band therapist (yes, that's right) Phil Towle receives one of the two thank yous (the other being Bob "Bon Jovi" Rock). How sweet.
Despite all their talk of editing themselves, the songs drone on and on for an average of seven minutes when in most cases there is only two minutes of material present. This album would be stretching it at thirty minutes, so imagine what trying to sit through seventy-five minutes is like. Metallica Inc. was obviously going for a dirty production sound here; perhaps this is what they meant when they talked about an Entombed influence. Nice thought, but it doesn't fit the music. Nu-metal is supposed to be shiny and studio fresh, and despite all protests to the contrary that is what this is: a bloated, self-important nu-metal album made by a bunch of guys going through a midlife crisis.
If Metallica had wanted to make a punk album and cut down the song length by one-fifth, this might have been an interesting distraction. As it is, St. Anger is just long, dumb, and boring. I don't know what else to say, except to congratulate James, Lars, and Kirk (not Robert, because I'm sure he doesn't get a cut of the album) on receiving my money. You fooled me guys...well done."
http://www.ssmt-reviews.com/db/searchrev.php?artistID=730&showReview=true#R2966