With Metallica’s 10th studio album, Hardwired… to Self-Destruct, mere days away, we complete our album retrospective with a review of their two records from the 2000s. The decade began with the near collapse of the band and ended with them once again at the top of the metal world.
St. Anger
There was a lot riding on 2003’s St. Anger. Six years had passed since Reload, Jason Newsted had ‘left the focking band’, James Hetfield had had a stint in rehab and morale in the group was at an all time low. The musical climate between 1997 and 2003 had shifted, particularly with the nu-metal movement now at the forefront of the mainstream. Metallica needed to come out swinging and prove they were still the leaders of the pack. In the eyes of many however, St. Anger was an embarrassment that cemented the band’s fall from grace. Such is the album’s infamy in the metal scene, you will regularly see a band’s poorest effort referred to as their St. Anger. Whilst I don’t feel the album is as bad as the reputation it gets, it is easy to understand why many see it in such a negative light. The songs are far too disjointed and overlong; a repetitive cycle of downtuned riffs haphazardly thrown together. Save for a small lead passage in “Some Kind of Monster”, there is not a solo in sight, an extraordinary waste of Kirk Hammett’s abilities. A little doodle here, a bit of texture there; any kind of extra dimension would have helped. The production is intentionally raw, leaving the guitars a bit too muddy; Hetfield’s tuneless yelps occasionally testing your patience as Ulrich’s infamous trash can snare provides you with an exercise in tolerance. That aside, there are some glimmers of hope here and there. Each song has at least one passage or idea that is noteworthy, which makes the wasted potential of the album all the more frustrating. A few tracks are actually pretty good though. Opener “Frantic” has some quasi thrash grooves and a number of decent vocal hooks; “Sweet Amber” has a bluesy swagger to compliment the pacy tempo, whilst the brooding “The Unnamed Feeling” shows that the band still knows how to change the dynamics and emotive tone at the flick of a switch. When all is said and done, Metallica was a band in disarray at the time, and this album shows it. This is the sound of a collective group still struggling to overcome the inner turmoil that had almost torn them apart. Hetfield has been quoted saying the album was like the band had put their life at the time on to the disc; you’d struggle to find a more apt description. Their darkest hour, it certainly doesn’t offer the quality you’d expect from the Metallica, but there is a raw, intense honesty that you’d struggle to find on any of their other records. ***
Rating: 5/10
Highlights: “Frantic”, “Sweet Amber”, “The Unnamed Feeling”
*** I feel it’s important to state that watching the Some Kind of Monster docu-film helps you appreciate this album a lot more. It may not make the music better, but you get an understanding of where their heads were at when it was being made.
Death Magnetic
Having plummeted to their nadir with St. Anger, Metallica knew they had to deliver with the follow up. Teaming up with legendary producer Rick Rubin, they spent a number of years working on what would become Death Magnetic. Somewhat of a throwback to their revered 80s material, the band really thrash for the first time in aeons; a modern take on the dependable Ride the Lightning template. Of course, 20+ years of growth and experience will inevitably lead to differences. The song writing is a mixed bag; some songs ebb and flow perfectly, whilst others are like a riff salad just thrown together. This is likely a consequence of the conscious decision to include an idea from every band member in each song; spill over from the therapy sessions that took place during the St. Anger sessions. This wa no doubt good for morale, but it came at the expense of compositional quality. “The Judas Kiss” is the prime example, a song that features some incredible riffs yet somehow manages to be the worst on the album. The other major drawback is the production. The album is brickwalled to hell and back, with little dynamic range. The music distorts constantly, and little nuances and details in the mix are buried by the wall of sound. The poor sound quality cannot detract from the songs here though. “That Was Just Your Life” is the archetypal Metallica opener given a modern facelift, complete with a slow opening buildup, thrashy riffs, twin guitar harmonies and a massive chorus. “The End of the Line” follows with another metallic blast of energy, making for an effective one two punch. “Broken, Beat & Scarred” shows that Hetfield still has plenty of riffing ingenuity left, whilst lead single “The Day That Never Comes” is another spin of the thrash ballad wheel that comes up trumps. The album takes a bit of a nosedive after track four, although the bouncy groove of “Cyanide”, the soul searching melancholy of trilogy closer “The Unforgiven III” and the tightly written instrumental “Suicide & Redemption” reward perseverance. Death Magnetic certainly helped raise Metallica’s stock after St. Anger, and is definitely worth a look from fans who may have strayed following the band’s experimental ventures in the ’90s and beyond.
Rating: 7/10
Highlights: “That Was Just Your Life”, “Broken, Beat & Scarred”, “The Day That Never Comes”
Part two of the retrospective is available here. Part one is available here. A review of Hardwired… to Self-Destruct will be up on release day. Be sure to check it out!
