[Merth]

I consider myself to be a pretty big Metallica fan. I didn't even start listening to them until the mid 90's, yet I absolutely love their old stuff. So naturally, I ran out to check out their latest St. Anger album. Little did I know the magnitude of disappointment I would find.

This album ranks among the worst I have ever listened to - of any band. I haven't found single bit of the album worth listening to. I am nearly ashamed to call myself a Metallica fan. It's not that it lacks entertainment value - it is actually painful to listen to.

For me, a metal band should carry at least one of two "talents": good metal or a power voice. The ones that carry both are the really good ones - and Metallica certainly used to fall into that category. This latest album lacks both.

The power voice of Hetfield is gone. I no longer hear the raw energy in his voice. It's as though he started taking singing lessons and has lost the cutting edge he alone once held. His voice used to be so powerful and commanding. In this latest, his voice is just painful to listen to.

The metal is totally lacking as well. I am not a musician, so I don't know how to describe it with the right jargon.. But there's nothing catchy about the guitars in this one. There's no rhythm, no head banging moments, nothing. It's more like a bunch of guitars that showed up in a studio for a tuning session.

When it comes to metal, I think I have a pretty broad range of music that I would consider good. It's hard to find music that I actually don't like. Therefore, it's a really big statement when I find something that sucks. So it's really disappointing to say that Metallica finally falls into this category.

St. Anger SUCKS!