Metallica
St. Anger

THE REVIEW

Describing "St. Anger" by Metallica is not difficult, yet not easy either. No matter: the reason I'm doing this is mainly to revisit the career of the Californian quartet in tribute to the great albums they have given us in their golden era. I wanted to review some of their historic albums, and I probably will sooner or later, but since they have already been analyzed dozens of times, perhaps no one would have read me... Better to judge everything as a whole, without going into too much detail and while waiting for the release of the new album. Because believe me, the Metallica of the roaring years are nothing short of monumental for fans of the genre, and the recent lackluster albums should not tarnish the mythological aura that certain works have managed to create.

"KILL'EM ALL" was the origin of it all, one of the most powerful propellants of thrash metal: Metallica give their best in terms of aggression and frenzy, churning out authentic shots like "Whiplash", "Seek & Destroy", "The Four Horsemen", "Metal Militia", and so on. The technical quality and production are not excellent, but the energy generated by the album is exceptional. The subsequent "RIDE THE LIGHTNING" marks a technical improvement and the introduction of more melodic songs ("Fade To Black"), and in my opinion, it reaches its best point in "For Whom The Bell Tolls". In 1986, the masterpiece was released, the gigantic "MASTER OF PUPPETS": fast, powerful, rich in songs each more spectacular and gripping than the last... The album immediately makes history, in thrash, in heavy, and in music in general. Don't say no. The title track in particular is an incredible ride, capable of ranging from raging anger to spectacular solos, which in some ways even verge on the progressive. In the album, every emotional state is treated viscerally, from anger ("Damage Inc.") to sadness ("Welcome Home-Sanitarium"). Metallica with "...AND JUSTICE FOR ALL" reach the pinnacle of their technical evolution, while the 1991 self-titled "BLACK ALBUM" marks the abandonment of thrash, setting the band on a more classic, yet still driving and energetic heavy metal. "Enter Sandman" above all, but not alone, enters the gallery of the band's best songs. Then, the incredible turning point: "LOAD" and "RELOAD" split the fans, but I believe that anyway, Metallica had given it all and continuing to produce predictable and repetitive thrash albums just to please the fans would have been detrimental. It was interesting to hear them experimenting with different sounds, and if it's old metal you're looking for, there's nothing else needed than to pop one of the "classics" into the stereo! "GARAGE INC." and "S&M" are equally curious experiments. And now we come to "ST. ANGER".

 Very strange, "St. Anger". It's a return to harder, rough sounds, but there is a total absence of any minimal melodic musical technique. The drums are omnipresent and always very rough, it almost sounds like Lars is hammering on a tin drum, but overall it creates a very powerful, strong sound. It's not a great album, but I don't fail it. It's better than "Load" and "Reload," it knows how to charge, especially at the start: "Frantic" and the title track are very good tracks. Then begins a series of similar, repetitive songs, which only partially manage to deliver an engaging jolt. "Some Kind of Monster", "Invisible Kid", "Shoot Me Again", and "The Unnamed Feeling" stand out, but I wouldn't throw the others away either. I repeat, the most fitting adjective for the album is "strange". The real Metallica, though, are others. It is said that the next album will mark a partial return to the old style, something halfway between "And Justice..." and the Black Album. It would be positive, but I’m not sure how feasible this is... the discussion is much simpler, and it connects to what I said in a review of "United Abominations" by Megadeth: these bands have already made history, it’s foolish to expect more masterpieces from them and thus time spent criticizing them is wasted: let's take their latest works, but let's allow their weight to remain minimal in the curriculum of these "sacred monsters", and if you want to enjoy the real successes of metal, listen to the stuff from the roaring years!