St. Anger
by Metallica
  • Record Label: Elektra
  • Release Date: Jun 10, 2003
User Score
5.5

Mixed or average reviews- based on 413 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 190 out of 413
  2. Mixed: 87 out of 413
  3. Negative: 136 out of 413

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  1. Glock_
    Oct 27, 2005
    9
    An album close to what Metallica wanted it to be: raw, savage, in-your-face, ugly, and intimate. An artistic masterpiece, by a band who has definitely grown up over the years to release its most disturbing effort ever.
  2. jackv
    Mar 16, 2005
    7
    i love metallica to death.. but mesa "so 80s" is where metallica came out of.. so dont dis the 80s. metallicas solos arent like steve vai, satriana etc they are deep and heartfelt, and they brought rhythem and balance to songs. thru all of this, watching some kind of monster truly helped to boost my opinion of the album, seeing where they are coming from. at least live they add in solos i love metallica to death.. but mesa "so 80s" is where metallica came out of.. so dont dis the 80s. metallicas solos arent like steve vai, satriana etc they are deep and heartfelt, and they brought rhythem and balance to songs. thru all of this, watching some kind of monster truly helped to boost my opinion of the album, seeing where they are coming from. at least live they add in solos and licks.. ROCK ON TALLICAAAA!… Expand
  3. JessicaK
    Mar 28, 2005
    1
    I was rooting for them. But this album sounds like a band trying to sound like Metallica. The singing is too emotional and the music is muddy and splattered. It was therapy for our boys and I am willing to forget this ever happened so long as they get it together and do better next time.
  4. carlyp
    May 10, 2005
    10
    love metallica! they absoutly rock! no one can beat them..Seen them live as well! oh yeah baby...rock on
  5. JamesD
    May 5, 2005
    0
    the flight of icarus describes this album so well!
  6. LouD
    Sep 21, 2005
    8
    Although a much different sound from their previous work, its vicious and powerful, and gets their point across very cleary. They aren't going anywhere.
  7. Brian
    Dec 20, 2006
    7
    Dude, Metallica Rocks, Master Of Puppets isn't on anybodys top 5 list of greatest rock albums of all time, and if it is, its a wank list. As for Black Album, it's meh.
  8. CrossieA
    Dec 29, 2006
    7
    1. Master Of Puppets 2. Ride The Lightning 3. Kill Em All 4. ...And Justice For All 5. St. Anger These 5 albums in this order so much better than anything else they have ever done. 'Black' ok but not for Metallica 'Load' and 'Reload' utter garbage St Anger best album since Justice
  9. Spawn
    Jul 31, 2006
    9
    Super Album have everithing !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  10. JoshA
    Sep 14, 2006
    3
    This album may have had a few plusses but overall it well...sucked. They were obviously trying to recreate the past with this album yet they failed. First of all, if they wanted to recreate the past, then Kirk needs to stop playing rhythm guitar and become that lead man that made him 11th best all time in Rolling Stones top 100 guitarists. Second, Lar's drumset is a problem. It This album may have had a few plusses but overall it well...sucked. They were obviously trying to recreate the past with this album yet they failed. First of all, if they wanted to recreate the past, then Kirk needs to stop playing rhythm guitar and become that lead man that made him 11th best all time in Rolling Stones top 100 guitarists. Second, Lar's drumset is a problem. It literally sounded like he was building a shed. Either that or his neighbor woke up one morning to discover his trash can lids missing. I mean really! The last glitch to an ok album is James' voice. If he wasnt angry it sounded god awful. Sorry but it did. This album had a few good songs such as Sweet Amber and The Unnamed Feeling but I mean they could've done a better job and on future albums I hope they do.… Expand
  11. RicardoS
    Sep 9, 2006
    9
    It´s a really good album and a strong and "full of anger" comeback to Metallica!
  12. MattF
    Feb 11, 2007
    8
    First of all, if you post a comment about the whole downloading fiasco, your an idiot. i can sense some of you morons posting 0's simply b/c you didnt like what they did. This is about the music, so lets get to it. i like all of Metallica's music, except Reload, which sucked it hard. But this album i thought was hard and angry. i disliked only 3 songs, Sweet Amber, My World, and First of all, if you post a comment about the whole downloading fiasco, your an idiot. i can sense some of you morons posting 0's simply b/c you didnt like what they did. This is about the music, so lets get to it. i like all of Metallica's music, except Reload, which sucked it hard. But this album i thought was hard and angry. i disliked only 3 songs, Sweet Amber, My World, and Purify. Everything else i enjoyed. But this album isnt for everybody. And yes Ulrich's snare drum sounds retarded but i didnt mind it too much. Frantic St.Anger, Shoot Me Again, Invisible Kid, and The Unnamed Feeling, are my favs.… Expand
  13. redf
    Feb 16, 2007
    0
    complete and utter crap from a band that used to be ok
  14. Clay
    Mar 24, 2007
    9
    I'll probably get some flack here, but this is my favorite Metallica album.
  15. MichelleK
    Apr 13, 2007
    0
    Tripe, absolute...tripe. Its a shame Metallica have fallen from their former grace
  16. JohnS.
    May 20, 2007
    0
    Absolutely terrible. Metallica is dead.
  17. JoaoM.
    Jun 14, 2007
    3
    Well, it's pretty poor.
  18. Tic-tic-toc
    Jun 27, 2007
    0
    fukin crap. if u like this album u r a wanker
  19. Oliver
    Jul 5, 2007
    9
    A dense, raw, no compromise record that traduce a powerfull statement from the band! They have this genius to always push further and to destabilize their fans like only Legends can do...They will certainly loose fans with this album, but they will also have new ones: like it always been since debut album Kill'em all.
  20. Landon
    Feb 24, 2008
    5
    This shit ROCKS my socks, and that is what Metallica is supposed to do.
  21. Stormwatch
    Apr 3, 2008
    0
    I think Metallica got confused with the meanings of the word "drum", because the drums in St. Anger sound like metal barrels. The sound is insanely compressed, there are no dynamics, no music -- just a wall of noise. This is not only Metallica's worst album, but also one of the worst metal album ever.
  22. Janee
    May 11, 2008
    10
    If you feel what the band felt at the time they made the album, you'll realize: this is not about the great solos of the past, or something like this. this album is about releasing the anger from the pain and kickin' out of the crisis the band got through cause of James etc. each song has a meaning. u just don't realize it! haters suck, METALLICA FAN FOR LIFE!!!
  23. DaleK.
    Jun 17, 2008
    1
    A one because that's how much percent of integrity Lack-of-Metal-lica, has left. HAHAHA It's funny how SPIN magazine gave this garbled garbage 91/100, yet Mudvayne a 0. Sad that people would ever buy according to their reviews. probably the same critics who gave the so called movie "The Village" good ratings. Stupid religious garbage.
  24. ColinG.
    Jul 17, 2008
    8
    A strong set of songs.
  25. PauloG.
    Aug 16, 2008
    7
    Is a good disc, but a just don´t understand why it hasn't one little solo!
  26. BryanH
    Apr 8, 2009
    1
    This is by far the worst peice of crap metalliica ever produced. It's so bad I can't even believe it's a studio allbum. The recording quality? There isn't any. Distorted, choppy, and painful to listen to. Lars is so off beat on the drums, and for the love of god, loosen up the snair! It sounds like a tin can! James stop trying to sing so much dude, you don't have This is by far the worst peice of crap metalliica ever produced. It's so bad I can't even believe it's a studio allbum. The recording quality? There isn't any. Distorted, choppy, and painful to listen to. Lars is so off beat on the drums, and for the love of god, loosen up the snair! It sounds like a tin can! James stop trying to sing so much dude, you don't have good range. Not to mention you're way off key buddy. Lost your voice after the black album and sadly have never sounded like the hetfield of the old "badass". Hammett!!!! WTF are you doing here?!!! No leads, just riff after riff, with no "awe" in the middle. Tick, Tick, shut the hell up. What I don't understand is how people can hear this and go, this kicks ass! I don't think it is a matter of this pleasing their ears, it can't be. It's just simply that it is Metallica. So I guess it's "cool" to like whatever they produce. As an old school metallica fan I have to say it's embarassing to listen to. Because this used to be my favorite band in the world. Metallica was so lost on this album when newstead left that bob rock actually played bass in the studio. It's a joke, it's actually quite sad considering what metallica used to be. To those that favor this I say you are all musically impaired. Your like the people that like the C rate movies on the Sci Fi channel. St. Anger=St. We are so angry that we forgot how to make music.… Expand
  27. PetriU
    Nov 30, 2003
    9
    This record is that kind of CD that you just have to listen to it, and you are going to start to like it. I know i did :)
  28. LeandroB
    Oct 15, 2003
    9
    Pure , fast and clean , what the f.. else do you want ?
  29. Kenshiro
    Dec 9, 2003
    5
    Being the big Metallica fan that I am, I was one of the first to buy this album. If you go in expecting the old Metallica sound, you will be very disappointed. If you are a newer fan, you will probably enjoy this. I went in there expecting the old sound. And no, I'm not going to start talking about that whole suing business. I'm supposed to be talking about the music. Being the big Metallica fan that I am, I was one of the first to buy this album. If you go in expecting the old Metallica sound, you will be very disappointed. If you are a newer fan, you will probably enjoy this. I went in there expecting the old sound. And no, I'm not going to start talking about that whole suing business. I'm supposed to be talking about the music. That's what counts. I will admit that the boys have a renewed sense of energy that is refreshing to see after Load and Reload. However, all this energy is not being channeled properly, and comes out sounding like a mess. All this aggression, but nowhere to place it - - and so it is all over the place, with no aim or direction. At least Load (which I liked better) had more sense of melody than this. Despite a few good tracks (Frantic, St. Anger, All Within My Hands), this album goes nowhere with its new sound. A somewhat decent album, if it wasn't Metallica. It sounds more like Metallica doing Nu-Metal, which they shouldn't be trying at all. To see the boys at their finest, go and buy all their albums up to the Black Album, or see them live. This CD certainly does not do their reputation any justice.… Expand
  30. JeffL
    Jun 11, 2003
    4
    This album is rhythmically interesting in some sections. James singing is awful - lots of intonation problems. I'm not too thrilled with Lars' set on this album. Hammet's solos are non-existent. Very disappointing. St.Anger could lead Metallica to a new type of song writing, but this attempt is upsetting. The album just doesn't work.
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Awards & Rankings

3
#3 Most Discussed Album of 2003
9
#9 Most Shared Album of 2003

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
65

Generally favorable reviews - based on 20 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 20
  3. Negative: 5 out of 20
  1. Mojo
    80
    This is miffed and exemplary metal. [Jul 2003, p.108]
  2. Uncut
    80
    Against all odds, St. Anger constitutes the cutting edge of commercial yet aggressive heavy rock in 2003. [Aug 2003, p.106]
  3. CultureDose.net
    60
    The production on St. Anger is abysmal.
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See all critic reviews »