Submit a post about an older album that you feel deserves a second look using modern eyes...it can be loved or hated by you or in general, either defend it or attack it
For example, Metallica's oft-lambasted St. Anger from 2003...
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMT3ltwbd5s[/ame]
When I first started getting into music and playing guitar, there was a brief time in which Metallica were my favorite band...loved Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets, and most of ...And Justice For All and the "Black Album"...I almost wrote off the band entirely after hearing they were going to work with Ja Rule on a side project (this was during my "I despise everything popular" phase, but it turned out to be moot point anyway as it never ended up happening)...shortly thereafter I got into alternative/indie rock so I figured I had "outgrown" the band
When St. Anger was announced though, I was excited as it would be the first music by the band I'd ever heard new (I didn't start listening to music until 2000)...and then upon release, the album was almost immediately dragged through the mud for many things, from its lack of solos to James' almost cartoonish lyrics/lyrical delivery to the rather hollow snare drum sound...it became a laughing stock in the metal community and the few who said they liked it were dismissed as apologists
Over the years, I've heard various songs off the album but until I saw the above video I'd never heard the album as a whole...I'm much more familiar with Death Magnetic as far as 2000s Metallica goes
My opinion is that while most of the songs off the album are good (not great, mind you), listening to all of them as a whole is a chore...but that having been said, in retrospect it all makes sense:
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCgrCMda4x8[/ame]
Perhaps it would've made a good hidden track, either after a bit of silence following "All Within My Hands" or as an unlisted interlude sort of like what Depeche Mode did with "Crucified" on Violator...or better yet, in lieu of one of the weaker tracks (my vote is "My World")...it could've added some much-needed variety
TL; DR: Metallica's St. Anger is better in parts than as a whole, but in retrospect it was a product of its time, both for the band in particular and for metal in general
BTW I don't except anyone else to post a long blogpost-ish analysis like I did, unless maybe Roberteaux or Malikon want to say something
For example, Metallica's oft-lambasted St. Anger from 2003...
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMT3ltwbd5s[/ame]
When I first started getting into music and playing guitar, there was a brief time in which Metallica were my favorite band...loved Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets, and most of ...And Justice For All and the "Black Album"...I almost wrote off the band entirely after hearing they were going to work with Ja Rule on a side project (this was during my "I despise everything popular" phase, but it turned out to be moot point anyway as it never ended up happening)...shortly thereafter I got into alternative/indie rock so I figured I had "outgrown" the band
When St. Anger was announced though, I was excited as it would be the first music by the band I'd ever heard new (I didn't start listening to music until 2000)...and then upon release, the album was almost immediately dragged through the mud for many things, from its lack of solos to James' almost cartoonish lyrics/lyrical delivery to the rather hollow snare drum sound...it became a laughing stock in the metal community and the few who said they liked it were dismissed as apologists
Over the years, I've heard various songs off the album but until I saw the above video I'd never heard the album as a whole...I'm much more familiar with Death Magnetic as far as 2000s Metallica goes
My opinion is that while most of the songs off the album are good (not great, mind you), listening to all of them as a whole is a chore...but that having been said, in retrospect it all makes sense:
- No solos: At the time, metal was focusing on riffs and raw aggression and soloing was out of fashion...the band was trying to sound more "modern" by tuning lower, and James and Lars telling Kirk he had to stick to rhythmic layering was just part of that...but Metallica's fanbase (and fans of old-school metal in general) hated that newer metal bands weren't playing solos, so this ended up being seen as a betrayal...ironically enough, shortly after St. Anger, New Wave of American Heavy Metal bands like Lamb of God and Mastodon showed that solos could have a place in thoroughly modern-sounding aggressive music and perhaps sound even more aggressive because of it...not surprisingly, Metallica's followup to St. Anger, Death Magnetic, had solos galore
- Songs too long for musically basic they are: One of the complaints abouts everything the band had done since the "Black Album" was that they were writing songs that were more compact than the more epic-feeling songs they'd made a name for themselves with...so superficially, the solution should be to write longer songs, right? Wrong...a more minimalist sound meant that any long song would just drone...and Metallica aren't the kind of group that can pull off droning songs...a few solos/or maybe some more prominent lead work could've helped, but so could some editing...the band themselves must've realized this as many of the songs were shortened and had some more lead work when played live
- Hetfield's over-the-topness: It's obvious from Lulu that poetically deep emotions aren't something James Hetfield is good at articulating without sounding like a madman (and not in a good way)...but at the same time, having such unintentionally hilarious vocals juxtaposed against such miserable sounding music makes for a very yin-yang kind of sound...that having been said, it's hard to take someone ending a song with "KILL...KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KIIILLL!!!!" and letting out a cowboy-ish cackle during "Dirty Window" (though that sounded like it might've been Kirk Hammett, now that I think about it) very seriously, though I can appreciate the slight cleverness of having a song titled "Sweet Amber" (a play on "St. Anger", get it? Though it was probably unintentional)
- The snare drum sound: OK, all I have to say about this (and all I've really ever had to say for 13 years now) is "SERIOUSLY?!" I actually really liked the "banging on a sewer pipe" sound...it's raw and unique and underlines the aggressive songwriting
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCgrCMda4x8[/ame]
Perhaps it would've made a good hidden track, either after a bit of silence following "All Within My Hands" or as an unlisted interlude sort of like what Depeche Mode did with "Crucified" on Violator...or better yet, in lieu of one of the weaker tracks (my vote is "My World")...it could've added some much-needed variety
TL; DR: Metallica's St. Anger is better in parts than as a whole, but in retrospect it was a product of its time, both for the band in particular and for metal in general
BTW I don't except anyone else to post a long blogpost-ish analysis like I did, unless maybe Roberteaux or Malikon want to say something
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