h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Well. After all these years, all those brilliant creations and an army of loyal fans. Metallica, the gods of Rock, make St Anger. A sell out 'nu metal', trendy, hip, now thats its popular lets do it piece of rubbish that is their new album..

I'm so gutted that a band that had no rivals has done something so pointless...

Still haven;t heard it but reports are along the lines of what you say. Mind you, haven;t bought anything of theirs since the Black album.

What I heard I didn't like and the video at San Quentin was boring as can be.

Good grief. People still take them seriously after their *despicable* behaviour over Napster?

I've been told that the St Anger songs were really good played live at Reading. As for the actual album, I'm just glad I didn't pay for it.

There is indeed that as well Blues.

Although in the case of Metallica, if the album had been good enough I would still have got it. Honest

Ummm.
I actually quite like it.
It's completely different to anything else they've ever done though. It's not "Master of Puppets" but it's still cool, just in a different way.

I just don't understand why they changed so much- I mean, no freakin' solos? Why?

I think St Anger is great!

I don't have much time for nay-sayers (no disrespect to everyone gathered here) - but if you can't respect a band for trying new directions, even when it's not always ouright success, then why continue to support them? Better some orinality than stagnantion or worse - harking back to the 'good old days'

Decrying their napster opposition. Please. I've downloaded enough mp3's in my time, but I don't hate anyone for fighting their corner. (Besides by that point I already owned the albums so there was no point.

There's plenty to enjoy of both Load and Re-load ('until it sleeps', 'outlaw torn', 'fuel', 'memory remain' and 'devils dance' - to name but 5). S+M was another great album some of the ochestral combinations are stunning to listen too ('Kathulu' and 'one' are absolutly standouts in this respect) and their new material "- human" amongst others.

St Anger is again different and new. Aside form the title track and the single "Frantic", I love "Shoot me Again" and
"The Unnamed Feeling."

As to solos - well yeah but so what? I enjoy the songs on St Anger enough without them, they are not interegal to my liking them impressive though they have always been. In fact given the songs on St anger, I'm pressed to wonder where they would have fitted the solos in. Still a minor nigle and one I can live with quite frankly.
How long till we have to hear someone complain that Lar's drums don't sound right on the CD mix? I couldn't care less - Just listen to how damn fast they are in St Anger's opening.

Word has reached me they are playing in the U.K in December...I for one am waiting for my opportunity to buy a ticket!

Clive

Fighting their corner? Really, that takes some naivete to beliebve. Anybody who wanted to own a Metallica album already had it by the time they brought their law suit. The one thing they weren't losing through Napster was sales - for example, if I did want to download any other Metallica song other than 'Enter Sandman' (a cold day in hell indeed) then i would have bought the album. Simple as that.

Besides, how many Rolls Royce's can each of them drive? Perhaps they'd have done better to do what Annie Lennox and dave Stewart did and stick to the record companies instead and insist that their album was brought out at a lower price. Might actually have done some emerging bands some good as well rather than just shutting of another place where they could be heard...

I suggest a trip to Chumbawumba's web site and a down load of their hilarious 'Pass It Along (MP3 Mix)' which lampoons Lars and co with rather deadly accuracy. Legal too.

December?

I'm there.

Don't get me wrong- I like the album. Shoot me Again rules (i ain't dead yet ), and I've got a soft spot for Sweet Amber. The songs just sometimes seem a bit overdone- eg St Anger itself. Seems like the last chorus is just there because it can be- like it's been repeated once too often.

Does that make any sense? To anyone?

Well okay you got me there.

but I still think St Anger is a good album

i've got the album, but i don't really like it that much. St. Anger itself is good, but apart from that and a couple of other songs, it sounded very repetative to me.

I'm all up for a band trying something new but it sounds like 'nu metal, we can still play for the younger generations' rubbish. The songs sound all the same. The other albums had songs you could really listen to but St Anger is just backround noise.
I'll still support everything they did before this (Even though I'm more of a fan of the early stuff) but if another album comes out i just pray its nothing like this one.
Oh, and that whole downloading songs from the net thing. I think its fair enough that people get p*ssed at it. I mean regardless of how you coat it, its still stealing...

Some would say that the eventual price of a cd at £16-17 when the production costs are about £3-4 (and that includes royalty was legalised theft and that bands like Metallica are ideally placed to take the record companies on and persuade them to reduce the price of new cd's.

However, they found it mote attrctive to represent the antithesis of rock and roll and side with the corporate suits, who are now suing 12 year olds. Pathetic.

Hey Blues,

Reminds me of the CRASS and CONFLICT stuff that went on. Punk bands that printed on their Album Sleeves ONLY PAY £2.00 for this Album and stuff like that. Then as time went by the pension demon reared it's ugly capitalistic head and lo it cam to pass ... CRASS - Greatest Hits.

To quote a Conflict song ...

PUNK SHOP! ROLL UP!
Buy Rebellion Here.
Bages, posters, bondage, books
and colours for your hair.
Like sheep they flocked to buy Punk Rock
as part of the new threat.
The country laughed and screamed Punk Flop
and now it seemed Punk was dead.

I understand that the members of Crass got quite upset coz they couldn't go on holiday without being told that by doing so they were selling out. It all got quite ridiculous.

Metallica best album to date has to be Master of Puppets with Damage Inc being the best song. In the days of Burton before he pegged it in a bus crash (I think)

If you want some real class then you need to listen to Napalm Death or even better, the Bonzo Dog Doodah Band. All hail Vivien Stanshaw.

This has to be the longest post I've done in a while.