Metallica

"St. Anger"

A hot summers night and the city has yet to fall asleep. There's still a lot of people out and about. Aalborg By Night is the occation which has gotten people up from their couches. A big arrangement that has ended with a big fireworks much like the one ending the carnival earlier this year.

At midnight it starts, thunder and lightning while the normally dark sky are illuminated by all colors of the rainbow

A fireworks which not only marks the end of Aalborg by Night, but also another important happening. All the stores are open after hours in the anticipation of the release and long awaited album from Metallica, St Anger. St Anger is the first studio album in 5 years, which in itself makes for great excpectations. But the band has also gotten a new base player. We're not talking about a John Doe, but about someone who certainly knows his craft and has done it with the godfather of heavyrock, Ozzy Osbourne.

Knowing that the process of production is complicated I doubt that it's a technical error which makes the drums sound like they do. It has to be by choice and then it's up to the individual whether they like it or not. I'm more and more thinking that  the album's got a undefinable jungle sound, which doesn't miss tempo or energy. It's just so very different and the jump from releases like Load and Reload are worlds apart. It can happen and wouldn't surprise me, if Metallica loses fans on this one. On the other hand they could attract a different listener which normally wouldn't normally pick up one of their albums.

While thinking and taking notes about this new album we've reached  the fifth track - Invisible Kid and I've yet to hear something which I'd call the best of the crop. I'm not yet half way through, there's still 6 more tracks to go so there's still hope. It could be that, the track which drags it all a couple of notches shows up. Right now it's needed...badly.

Robert Trujillo is the name. But the new base player is not the only thing which has happend since Metallica released Reload in 1997. I know they've released both S&M and Early Days since then, but the first one is a live album and Early Days mostly contains material from when Dave Mustaine was a part of Metallica so it doesn't really count.

For a while we've known where the quality and style of the music would be, because of the music video St Anger where Metallica are giving a concert for some of the citizens of San Quentin.

Let me say it right off, that St Anger doesn't sound like anything Matallica has done before. Not because they're getting old or have started slacking. The music is just different. The heavy and fast style which you'd expect after having listened to Master of Puppets and Ride the Lightning is no more and I cannot find Kill em all or And Justice for all. I'm almost tempted to say that Metallica is a different band. The voice of James Hatfield or the lack thereof is more pronounced and the drums has gotten a different more steeldrum like sound. Wonder if they're supposed to sound like that or if the skins are defect. All I know is that something is not right.

They've done a lot of pampering of the buyer. You get the ordinary CD with 11 tracks, lasting 75 minutes, but you also get a DVD. Supposedly they have recorded all the songs live. It could be interesting and a live album always gives the music a little extra spice, a bir audience, lots of light and special effects. Who knows, maybe the new album is actually worthwhile if you'd experience the music live instead.

I don't think I'm far out in this review and please don't tell me to listen to this album a couple more times. St Anger is not an album I'll listen to very often. I still love Metallica, but I think they've done it better in the past. Right now I could stand listen to Master of Puppets with both volume and base. However it's somewhere on a shelf I cannot find right now and it's too late at night for me to feed the stereo with real food.