Monstrously Good

I recently received via Netfilx the 2005 documentary Some Kind of Monster, which chronicles about two years in the life of Metallica as they recorded their album St. Anger.

When this CD was released, it was largely panned by both fans and critics alike. In fact, it was so bad that when I saw them tour for the album, they only performed two songs from the disc!

I'll admit that while I love the band, I didn't think the CD was worth the wait, either. It had a few really good tracks, like "St. Anger," "Amber," and "Dirt Window," but for the most part, it wasn't up to the band's past releases.

Fast forward to now and the documentary. It's an amazing movie and you don't have to be a fan of the band to like it. Followed for almost two years, the film shows how difficult it can be to write an album ... it's not all glamor and glitz, for sure. And Metallica faced even more issues as they didn't have a regular bass player (producer Bob Rock stood in) and lead singer James Hetfield went into re-hab for a year in the middle of writing and recording.

Again, the film was released six years ago and even though you know the band did stay together, it's riveting nonetheless. At one point, the band is in a meeting with their group therapist and you can see that they're on the brink of breaking up. I was literally on the edge of my seat watching this and said aloud (to no one), "Oh my god, they're going to break up! This is the end of the band!" Then I caught myself and realized that this wasn't the case. To me, that tells you how good the film is.

But getting back to the album, St. Anger. Even prior to seeing the documentary, the more I listened to the disc, the more I liked it. Now, after watching the movie about the making of the album, I have a whole new appreciation for what was behind the creative process. Listening to the disc now it sounds totally different ... for the better.

It's too bad more fans don't like this disc because while it's not their best effort (for me, nothing tops ... And Justice for All), St. Anger is an excellent record. The lyrics are incredible introspective given Hetfield's journey to sobriety but without being preachy. And knowing what is behind the lyrics of other songs just makes the music that much better for me.

My all-time favorite part of the album is at about 4:30 into the title track, "St. Anger" when the band kicks into overdrive and Hetfield sings:

and I want my anger to be healthy
and I want my anger just for me
and I need my anger not to "control"
yeah, and I want my anger to be me

Every time I listen to this song, I rewind that part and listen to it over and over again because it gives me chills. As a matter of fact, I got goosebumps just reading those lyrics now because I could hear the song in my head.

I hope this album eventually gets its due because it really is that good. The writing is tight, the band takes some chances musically and for the most part succeeds. Again, it's not their best effort, but it's definitely much better than most fans say it is.