Biography

Metallica was easily the best, most influential heavy metal band of the '80s, responsible for bringing the music back to Earth. Instead of playing the usual rock star games of metal stars of the early '80s, the band looked and talked like they were from the street. Metallica expanded the limits of thrash, using speed and volume not for their own sake, but to enhance their intricately structured compositions.

The release of 1983's Kill 'Em All marked the beginning of the legitimization of heavy metal's underground, bringing new complexity and depth to thrash metal. With each album, the band's playing and writing improved; James Hetfield developed a signature rhythm playing that matched his growl, while lead guitarist Kirk Hammett became one of the most copied guitarists in metal. Lars Ulrich's thunderous, yet complex, drumming clicked in perfectly with Cliff Burton's innovative bass playing. After releasing their masterpiece Master of Puppets in 1986, tragedy struck the band when their tour bus crashed while traveling in Sweden, killing Burton. When the band decided to continue, Jason Newsted was chosen to replace Burton; two years later, the band released the conceptually ambitious ...And Justice for All, which hit the Top Ten without any radio play and very little support from MTV.

But Metallica completely crossed over into the mainstream with 1991's Metallica, which found the band trading in their long compositions for more concise song structures; it resulted in a number one album that sold over seven million copies in the U.S. alone. The band launched a long, long tour which kept them on the road for nearly two years. By the '90s, Metallica had changed the rules for all heavy metal bands; they were the leaders of the genre, respected not only by headbangers, but by mainstream record buyers and critics. No other heavy metal band has ever been able to pull off such a trick. However, the group lost some members of their core audience with their long-awaited follow-up to Metallica, 1996's Load. For Load, the band decided to move toward alternative rock in terms of image — they cut their hair and had their picture taken by Anton Corbijn. Although the album was a hit upon its summer release — entering the charts at number one and selling three million copies within two months — certain members of their audience complained about the shift in image, as well as the group's decision to headline the sixth Lollapalooza. Re-Load, which combined new material with songs left off of the Load record, appeared in 1997; despite poor reviews, it sold at a typically brisk pace through the next year.

Garage Inc., a double-disc collection of B-sides, rarities, and newly recorded covers, followed in 1998. In 1999, Metallica continued their flood of product with S&M, documenting a live concert with the San Francisco Symphony; it debuted at number two, reconfirming their immense popularity.
The band spent most of 2000 embroiled in controversy by spearheading a legal assault on Napster, a file-sharing service that allowed users to download music files from each other's computers. Aggressively targeting copyright infringement of their own material, the band notoriously had over 300,000 users kicked off the service, creating a widespread debate over the availability of digital music that raged for most of the year. In January 2001, bassist Jason Newsted announced his amicable departure from the band. Shortly after the band appeared at the ESPN awards in April of the same year, Hetfield, Hammett, and Ulrich entered the recording studio to begin work on their next album, with Hetfield lined up to handle bass duties for the sessions (with rumors of former Ozzy Osbourne/Alice in Chains bassist Mike Inez being considered for the vacated position).

In July, Metallica surprisingly dropped their lawsuit against Napster, perhaps sensing that their controversial stance did more bad than good to their "band of the people" image. In late summer 2001, the band's recording sessions (and all other band-related matters) were put on hold as Hetfield entered an undisclosed rehab facility for alcoholism and other addictions. He completed treatment and rejoined the band and they headed back into the studio in 2002.

Albums

1. 1983 Kill 'Em All Music For 1984 Ride the Lightning DCC
2. 1986 Master of Puppets Elektra
3. 1988 ...And Justice for All Elektra
4. 1990 The Good, the Bad and the Live Vertigo
5. 1991 Metallica Divine
6. 1996 Load Elektra
7. 1997 Reload Elektra
8. 1997 Early Days Outlaw
9. 1999 S&M [live] Elektra
10. 2003 St. Anger [Bonus DVD] Elektra
11. 2003 Frantic [Japan EP] Sony Music Jap

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Biography

The true birth of thrash. On Kill 'Em All, Metallica fuses the intricate riffing of New Wave of British Heavy Metal bands like Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, and Diamond Head with the velocity of Motörhead and hardcore punk. James Hetfield's highly technical rhythm-guitar style drives most of the album, setting new standards of power, precision, and stamina.

But really, the rest of the band is just as dexterous, playing with tightly controlled fury even at the most ridiculously fast tempos. There are already several extended, multi-sectioned compositions foreshadowing the band's later progressive epics, though these are driven by adrenaline, not texture. A few tributes to heavy metal itself are a bit dated lyrically; like Diamond Head, the band's biggest influence, Kill 'Em All's most effective tone is one of supernatural malevolence — as pure sound, the record is already straight from the pits of hell. Ex-member Dave Mustaine co-wrote four of the original ten tracks, but the material all sounds of a piece. And actually, anyone who worked backwards through the band's catalog might not fully appreciate the impact of Kill 'Em All when it first appeared — unlike later releases, there simply isn't much musical variation (apart from a lyrical bass solo from Cliff Burton).

The band's musical ambition also grew rapidly, so today, Kill 'Em All sounds more like the foundation for greater things to come. But that doesn't take anything away from how fresh it sounded upon first release, and time hasn't dulled the giddy rush of excitement in these performances. Frightening, awe-inspiring, and absolutely relentless, Kill 'Em All is pure destructive power, executed with jaw-dropping levels of scientific precision. An Elektra reissue added the cover songs "Blitzkrieg" and "Am I Evil?" from the European Creeping Death EP, which were deleted and later included on Garage, Inc. — Steve Huey

Album Songs

1. Hit the Lights (Hetfield/McGovney/Mustaine/Ulrich) - 4:17
2. The Four Horsemen (Hetfield/Mustaine/Ulrich) - 7:08
3. Motorbreath (Hetfield) - 3:03
4. Jump in the Fire (Hetfield/Mustaine/Ulrich) - 4:50
5. (Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth - 3:27
6. Whiplash (Hetfield/Ulrich) - 4:06
7. Phantom Lord (Hetfield/Mustaine/Ulrich) - 4:52
8. No Remorse (Hetfield/Ulrich) - 6:24
9. Seek & Destroy (Hetfield/Ulrich) - 6:50
10. Metal Militia (Hetfield/Mustaine/Ulrich) - 6:06

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Biography

Kill 'Em All may have revitalized heavy metal's underground, but Ride the Lightning was even more stunning, exhibiting staggering musical growth and boldly charting new directions that would affect heavy metal for years to come. Incredibly ambitious for a one-year-later sophomore effort, Ride the Lightning finds Metallica aggressively expanding their compositional technique and range of expression.

Every track tries something new, and every musical experiment succeeds mightily. The lyrics push into new territory as well — more personal, more socially conscious, less metal posturing. But the true heart of Ride the Lightning lies in its rich musical imagination. There are extended, progressive epics; tight, concise groove-rockers; thrashers that blow anything on Kill 'Em All out of the water, both in their urgency and the barest hints of melody that have been added to the choruses. Some innovations are flourishes that add important bits of color, like the lilting, pseudo-classical intro to the furious "Fight Fire With Fire," or the harmonized leads that pop up on several tracks.

Others are major reinventions of Metallica's sound, like the nine-minute, album-closing instrumental "The Call of Ktulu," or the haunting suicide lament "Fade to Black." The latter is an all-time metal classic; it begins as an acoustic-driven, minor-key ballad, then gets slashed open by electric guitars playing a wordless chorus, and ends in a wrenching guitar solo over a thrashy yet lyrical rhythm figure. Basically, in a nutshell, Metallica sounded like they could do anything. Heavy metal hadn't seen this kind of ambition since Judas Priest's late-'70s classics, and Ride the Lightning effectively rewrote the rule book for a generation of thrashers. If Kill 'Em All was the manifesto, Ride the Lightning was the revolution itself. — Steve Huey

Album Songs

1. Fight Fire with Fire (Burton/Hetfield/Ulrich) - 4:45
2. Ride the Lightning (Burton/Hetfield/Mustaine/Ulrich) - 6:41
3. For Whom the Bell Tolls (Burton/Hetfield/Ulrich) - 5:09
4. Fade to Black (Burton/Hammett/Hetfield/Ulrich) - 6:59
5. Trapped Under Ice (Hammett/Hetfield/Ulrich) - 4:08
6. Escape (Hammett/Hetfield/Ulrich) - 4:24
7. Creeping Death (Burton/Hammett/Hetfield/Ulrich) - 6:35
8. The Call of Ktulu (Burton/Hetfield/Mustaine/Ulrich) - 8:55

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Biography

Even though Master of Puppets didn't take as gigantic a leap forward as Ride the Lightning, it was the band's greatest achievement, hailed as a masterpiece by critics far outside heavy metal's core audience. It was also a substantial hit, reaching the Top 30 and selling three million copies despite absolutely nonexistent airplay. Instead of a radical reinvention, Master of Puppets is a refinement of past innovations.

In fact, it's possible to compare Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets song for song and note striking similarities between corresponding track positions on each record (although Lightning's closing instrumental has been bumped up to next-to-last in Master's running order). That hint of conservatism is really the only conceivable flaw here. Though it isn't as startling as Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets feels more unified, both thematically and musically. Everything about it feels blown up to epic proportions (indeed, the songs are much longer on average), and the band feels more in control of its direction. You'd never know it by the lyrics, though — in one way or another, nearly every song on Master of Puppets deals with the fear of powerlessness.

Sometimes they're about hypocritical authority (military and religious leaders), sometimes primal, uncontrollable human urges (drugs, insanity, rage), and, in true H.P. Lovecraft fashion, sometimes monsters. Yet by bookending the album with two slices of thrash mayhem ("Battery" and "Damage, Inc."), the band reigns triumphant through sheer force — of sound, of will, of malice. The arrangements are thick and muscular, and the material varies enough in texture and tempo to hold interest through all its twists and turns. Some critics have called Master of Puppets the best heavy metal album ever recorded; if it isn't, it certainly comes close. — Steve Huey

Album Songs

1. Battery (Hetfield/Ulrich) - 5:10
2. Master of Puppets (Burton/Hammett/Hetfield/Ulrich) - 8:38
3. The Thing That Should Not Be (Hammett/Hetfield/Ulrich) - 6:32
4. Welcome Home (Sanitarium) (Hammett/Hetfield/Ulrich) - 6:28
5. Disposable Heroes (Hammett/Hetfield/Ulrich) - 8:14
6. Leper Messiah (Hetfield/Ulrich) - 5:38
7. Orion [instrumental] (Burton/Hetfield/Ulrich) - 8:12
8. Damage, Inc. (Burton/Hammett/Hetfield/Ulrich) - 5:08

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Biography

The most immediately noticeable aspect of ...And Justice for All isn't Metallica's still-growing compositional sophistication or the apocalyptic lyrical portrait of a society in decay. It's the weird, bone-dry production. The guitars buzz thinly, the drums click more than pound, and Jason Newsted's bass is nearly inaudible. It's a shame that the cold, flat sound obscures some of the sonic details, because ...And Justice for All is Metallica's most complex, ambitious work; every song is an expanded suite, with only two of the nine tracks clocking in at under six minutes.

It takes a while to sink in, but given time, ...And Justice for All reveals some of Metallica's best material. It also reveals the band's determination to pull out all the compositional stops, throwing in extra sections, odd-numbered time signatures, and dense webs of guitar arpeggios and harmonized leads. At times, it seems like they're doing it simply because they can; parts of the album lack direction, and probably should have been trimmed for momentum's sake. Pacing-wise, the album again loosely follows the blueprint of Ride the Lightning, though not as closely as Master of Puppets.

This time around, the fourth song — once again a ballad with a thrashy chorus and outro — gave the band one of the unlikeliest Top 40 singles in history; "One" was an instant metal classic, based on Dalton Trumbo's anti-war novel Johnny Got His Gun and climaxing with a pulverizing machine-gun imitation. As a whole, opinions on ...And Justice for All remain somewhat divided: some think it's a slightly flawed masterpiece and the pinnacle of Metallica's progressive years; others see it as bloated and overambitious. Either interpretation can be readily supported, but the band had clearly taken this direction as far as it could. The difficulty of reproducing these songs in concert eventually convinced Metallica that it was time for an overhaul. — Steve Huey

Album Songs

1. Blackened (Hetfield/Newsted/Ulrich) - 6:40
   
2. ...And Justice for All (Hammett/Hetfield/Ulrich) - 9:44
   
3. Eye of the Beholder (Hammett/Hetfield/Ulrich) - 6:25
   
4. One (Hetfield/Ulrich) - 7:24
   
5. The Shortest Straw (Hetfield/Ulrich) - 6:35
   
6. Harvester of Sorrow (Hetfield/Ulrich) - 5:42
   
7. The Frayed Ends of Sanity (Hammett/Hetfield/Ulrich) - 7:40
   
8. To Live Is to Die (Burton/Hetfield/Ulrich) - 9:48
   
9. Dyers Eve (Hammett/Hetfield/Ulrich) - 5:12
   

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Album Songs

1. Corrosion of Conformity: Blind
2. Coroner: Mental Vortex
3. Clockhammer: Klinefelter
4. Carnage: Dark Recollections
5. Broken Hope: Swamped in Gore
6. Carcass: Necroticism: Descanting the Insalubrious
7. David T. Chastain: For Those Who Dare
8. Cabaret Voltaire: Living Legends
9. Bitter End: Harsh Realities
10. Atrocity: Hallucinations
11. Danzig: Danzig II: Lucifuge
12. Carry Nation: Carry Nation

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Biography

After the muddled production and ultra-complicated song structures of ...And Justice For All, Metallica decided that they had taken the progressive elements of their music as far as they could and that a simplification and streamlining of their sound was in order. While the assessment made sense from a musical standpoint, it also presented an opportunity to commercialize their music, and Metallica accomplishes both goals.

The best songs are more melodic and immediate, the crushing, stripped-down grooves of "Enter Sandman," "Sad But True," and "Wherever I May Roam" sticking to traditional structures and using the same main riffs throughout; the crisp, professional production by Bob Rock adds to their accessibility. "The Unforgiven" and "Nothing Else Matters" avoid the slash-and-burn guitar riffs that had always punctuated the band's ballads; the latter is a full-fledged love song complete with string section, which works much better than might be imagined.

The song- and riff-writing slips here and there, a rare occurrence for Metallica, which some longtime fans interpreted as filler next to a batch of singles calculated for commercial success. The objections were often more to the idea that Metallica was doing anything explicitly commercial, but millions more disagreed. In fact, the band's popularity exploded so much that most of their back catalog found mainstream acceptance in its own right, while other progressively inclined speed-metal bands copied the move toward simplification. In retrospect, Metallica is a good, but not quite great, album, one whose best moments deservedly captured the heavy metal crown, but whose approach also foreshadowed a creative decline. — Steve Huey

Album Songs

1. Enter Sandman (Hammett/Hetfield/Ulrich) - 5:29
2. Sad but True (Hetfield/Ulrich) - 5:24
3. Holier Than Thou (Hetfield/Ulrich) - 3:47
4. The Unforgiven (Hammett/Hetfield/Ulrich) - 6:26
5. Wherever I May Roam (Hetfield/Ulrich) - 6:42
6. Don't Tread on Me (Hetfield/Ulrich) - 3:59
7. Through the Never (Hammett/Hetfield/Ulrich) - 4:01
8. Nothing Else Matters (Hetfield/Ulrich) - 6:29
9. Of Wolf and Man (Hammett/Hetfield/Ulrich) - 4:16
10. The God That Failed (Hetfield/Ulrich) - 5:05
11. My Friend of Misery (Hammett/Hetfield/Ulrich) - 6:47
12. The Struggle Within (Hetfield/Ulrich) - 3:51

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Biography

Delivered five years after their eponymous "black" album in 1991, Load captures Metallica settling into an uneasy period of maturation. Under the guidance of producer Bob Rock, Metallica have streamlined their sound, cutting away most of the twisting, unpredictable time signatures and the mind-numbingly fast riffs.

What's left is polished — and disappointingly straightforward — heavy metal. Metallica's attempts at expanding their sonic palette have made them seem more conventional than they ever have before. They add in Southern boogie rock, country-rock, and power ballads to their bag of tricks, which make them sound like '70s arena rock holdovers. Metallica's idea of opening up their sound is to concentrate on relentless mid-tempo boogie — over half the album is dedicated to songs that are meant to groove, but they simply don't swing. Metallica sounds tight, but with the material they've written, they should sound loose.

That becomes apparent as the songs drag out over the album's nearly 80-minute running time — there are only so many times that a band can work the same tempo exactly the same way before it becomes tedious. It isn't surprising to hear Metallica get stodgier and more conservative as they get older, but it is nonetheless depressing. — Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Album Songs

1. Ain't My Bitch (Hetfield/Ulrich) - 5:04
2. 2 X 4 (Hammett/Hetfield/Ulrich) - 5:28
3. The House Jack Built (Hammett/Hetfield/Ulrich) - 6:39
4. Until It Sleeps (Hetfield/Ulrich) - 4:30
5. King Nothing (Hammett/Hetfield/Ulrich) - 5:28
6. Hero of the Day (Hammett/Hetfield/Ulrich) - 4:22
7. Bleeding Me (Hammett/Hetfield/Ulrich) - 8:18
8. Cure (Hammett/Hetfield/Ulrich) - 4:54
9. Poor Twisted Me (Hetfield/Ulrich) - 4:00
10. Wasting My Hate (Hammett/Hetfield/Ulrich) - 3:57
11. Mama Said (Hetfield/Ulrich) - 5:19
12. Thorn Within (Hammett/Hetfield/Ulrich) - 5:51
13. Ronnie (Hetfield/Ulrich) - 5:17
14. The Outlaw Torn (Hetfield/Ulrich) - 9:52

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Biography

Metallica recorded so much material for Load — their first album in five years — that they had to leave many songs unfinished, otherwise they would have missed their deadline. During the supporting tour for Load, they continued to work on the unfinished material, as well as write new songs, and they soon had enough material for a new album, Re-Load.

The title suggests that Re-Load simply is a retread of its predecessor, and in many ways that's correct — there's still too much bone-headed, heavy southern rock for it to be anything other than the sequel to Load — but there's enough left curves to make it a better record. Marianne Faithfull's backing vocals on "The Memory Remains" complements the weird, uneasy melody and "Where the Wild Things Are" has a eerie menace that Metallica never achieved on Load.

There are also a couple of ballads and country-rockers that don't work quite so well (it's never a good idea to have an explicit sequel, as on "The Unforgiven II"), and that, along with a few plodding Metallica-by-numbers, is what keeps Re-Load from being a full success. Still, the towering closer "Fixxxer," along with handful of cuts that successfully push the outer edges of Metallica's sound, make the record worthwhile. — Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Album Songs

1. Fuel (Hammett/Hetfield/Ulrich) - 4:29
2. The Memory Remains (Hetfield/Ulrich) - 4:39
3. Devil's Dance (Hetfield/Ulrich) - 5:18
4. The Unforgiven II (Hammett/Hetfield/Ulrich) - 6:36
5. Better Than You (Hetfield/Ulrich) - 5:21
6. Slither (Hammett/Hetfield/Ulrich) - 5:13
7. Carpe Diem Baby (Hammett/Hetfield/Ulrich) - 6:12
8. Bad Seed (Hammett/Hetfield/Ulrich) - 4:05
9. Where the Wild Things Are (Hetfield/Newsted/Ulrich) - 6:52
10. Prince Charming (Hetfield/Ulrich) - 6:04
11. Low Man's Lyric (Hetfield/Ulrich) - 7:36
12. Attitude (Hetfield/Ulrich) - 5:16
13. Fixxxer (Hammett/Hetfield/Ulrich) - 8:15

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Album Songs

1. Hit the Lights [live] performed by Metallica Bay Area Thrashers - 4:37
2. Seek and Destroy [live] performed by Metallica Bay Area Thrashers - 5:01
3. Motorbreath [live] performed by Metallica Bay Area Thrashers - 3:21
4. Phantom Lord [live] performed by Metallica Bay Area Thrashers - 3:40
5. The Mechanix [live] performed by Metallica Bay Area Thrashers - 4:35
6. Jump in the Fire [live] performed by Metallica Bay Area Thrashers - 3:52
7. Metal Militia [live] performed by Metallica Bay Area Thrashers - 5:12

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Biography

After 1988's ...And Justice for All, Metallica pared down its progressive, heavy metal sound. During the '90s, the band's studio releases grew slicker and more produced, resulting in mostly radio-friendly, good ol' boy metal. By the end of the decade, Metallica was established as the pioneer of modern metal, but the band hadn't done anything innovative, arguably, in ten years. In April 1999, the group performed two concerts with the San Francisco Symphony, and the result was S&M, a two-disc collection of the concerts.

Overall, the album successfully pairs violin strings with guitar strings, but it's no surprise that the best tracks here are the older songs; their multi-layered, compositional style works well with symphonic arrangements. "Master of Puppets," "Call of the Ktulu," "One," and "For Whom the Bell Tolls" sound richer and fuller with violin, trumpet, clarinet, harp, trombone, and flute accompaniments, but "Sad but True," "Devil's Dance," and especially "Of Wolf and Man" range from haphazard and melodramatic to uninspired. S&M definitely has its moments, and not just with the pre-Black Album material: "Fuel" surpasses the furious pumping energy of the studio version, "Hero of the Day" stays poignant throughout, and "Until It Sleeps" has a wonderfully sinister feel. James Hetfield maintains his madman persona from beginning to end, laughing maniacally and grunting and growling at all the right moments.

Overall, the symphony adds a macabre, ghoulish atmosphere — it all sounds like a Broadway freak show or a revved-up Danny Elfman nightmare. Which is exactly what a Metallica album should sound like, even if every song isn't the best (or most appropriate) in the band's catalog. — Gina Boldman

Album Songs

1. The Ecstasy of Gold (Morricone) - 2:30
2. The Call of Ktulu (Burton/Hetfield/Mustaine/Ulrich) - 9:34
3. Master of Puppets (Burton/Hetfield/Mustaine/Ulrich) - 8:54
4. Of Wolf and Man (Hammett/Hetfield/Ulrich) - 4:18
5. The Thing That Should Not Be (Hammett/Hetfield/Ulrich) - 7:26
6. Fuel (Hammett/Hetfield/Ulrich) - 4:35
7. The Memory Remains (Hetfield/Ulrich) - 4:42
8. No Leaf Clover (Hetfield/Ulrich) - 5:43
9. Hero of the Day (Hammett/Hetfield/Ulrich) - 4:44
10. Devil's Dance (Hetfield/Ulrich) - 5:26
11. Bleeding Me (Hammett/Hetfield/Ulrich) - 9:01
12. Nothing Else Matters (Hetfield/Ulrich) - 6:47
13. Until It Sleeps (Hetfield/Ulrich) - 4:29
14. For Whom the Bell Tolls (Burton/Hetfield/Ulrich) - 4:52
15. Human (Hetfield/Ulrich) - 4:19
16. Wherever I May Roam (Hetfield/Ulrich) - 7:01
17. Outlaw Torn (Hetfield/Ulrich) - 9:58
18. Sad But True (Hetfield/Ulrich) - 5:46
19. One (Hetfield/Ulrich) - 7:53
20. Enter Sandman (Hammett/Hetfield/Ulrich) - 7:39
21. Battery (Hetfield/Ulrich) - 7:24

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Biography

Metallica's first new material in over five years arrives after a flurry of non-musical activity that included a much-publicized spat over Internet file sharing, the departure of bassist Jason Newsted, and a lengthy stay in rehab for James Hetfield that suspended the recording of a new album indefinitely. Hetfield returned to the fold in late 2001. Still without a bass player, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, and their newly sober frontman recruited longtime producer Bob Rock to man Newsted's spot, and creation of the album commenced in May 2002.

St. Anger arrived a year later as a punishing, unflinching document of internal struggle — taking listeners inside the bruised yet vital body of Metallica, but ultimately revealing the alternately torturous and defiant demons that wrestle inside Hetfield's brain. St. Anger is an immediate record. Written largely in the first person, it never warns of impending doom, doesn't struggle with claustrophobia, and has care neither for religion's safety nor its hypocrisy. (The religious symbolism of its title and artwork seems only to function as a metaphorical device.) Lacking the heavy metal baggage of these past themes, Metallica is left to ponder only itself and its singer's psychosis, and delivers its diagnosis on slabs of speed metal informed with years of innovation and texture.

The record exists as it ends. As the lockstep thrash of the eight-plus minute "All Within My Hands" tumbles toward its final gasp, Hetfield is explicit in his aims. "I will only let you breathe my air that you receive," he seethes. "Then we'll see if I let you love me." Ulrich's drums sputter in fits and starts, but the guitars are already dying, shutting down as Hetfield stabs at the microphone. "Kill Kill Kill Kill Kill," he screams, and you have to check the wall for a splatter radius. It's a brutal, ugly end to an album that switches on like a bare light bulb in an underground cave.

It blasts each corner with harsh, unfiltered light for 75 minutes, until the bulb is shattered with a combat boot, leaving disquieting after-images exploding on the backs of your eyelids. "Frantic" is driven forth by a snare drum that just may be made of iron, Hammett and Hetfield's guitars eschewing separate parts in favor of a roaring tag-team approach. A hint of the band's mid-'90s nod to alternative drifts in during a bridge, but it's quickly swallowed alive by the song's muscular groove, never to be heard from again. "St. Anger," the single, marks the first appearance of a vocal technique that lurks in the shadows throughout the album. As Hetfield groans, "I feel my world shake/It's hard to see clear," he seems manipulated by an unseen force, flickering like bad reception.

It's unsettling, and startlingly effective. Hetfield's psyche is on trial throughout, and though he often expresses confusion and anger over his struggle ("Some Kind of Monster" and especially "Dirty Window," in which he becomes both judge and jury), the mechanistic rhythms of the band seem to give him strength. "Shoot Me Again" — another seven-minute epic — becomes Hetfield's sneering answer to himself. It lurches into gear, juxtaposing a deceptively soothing verse with a dirty guitar line that explodes in the song's titular money shot. The resonating cymbal cracks during its stops and starts are particularly satisfying, as you can imagine the members of Metallica facing each other in a circle, jamming the song's jagged melody down the throat of a solitary microphone. (The image comes to life in St. Anger's bonus DVD edition, which captures Hetfield, Hammett, Ulrich, and new bassist Robert Trujillo in their headquarters compound, shredding through each song on the album in its entirety.)

St. Anger isn't a comeback, and it's not a throwback. The album is exactly what Metallica needed to make at this point in its career, after clawing its way to the top of the metal scrap heap, reeducating a generation of bands, and popularizing its genre beyond anyone's expectations. St. Anger looks inward with a hard eye, and while it finds some grinning demons in that pit, it also unearths some of the sickest grooves of Metallica's 20-plus year lifespan. — Johnny Loftus

Album Songs

1. Frantic (Hammett/Hetfield/Rock/Ulrich) - 5:51
2. St. Anger (Hammett/Hetfield/Rock/Ulrich) - 7:21
3. Some Kind of Monster (Hammett/Hetfield/Rock/Ulrich) - 8:26
4. Dirty Window (Hammett/Hetfield/Rock/Ulrich) - 5:24
5. Invisible Kid (Hammett/Hetfield/Rock/Ulrich) - 8:31
6. My World (Hammett/Hetfield/Rock/Ulrich) - 5:45
7. Shoot Me Again (Hammett/Hetfield/Rock/Ulrich) - 7:10
8. Sweet Amber (Hammett/Hetfield/Rock/Ulrich) - 5:27
9. The Unnamed Feeling (Hammett/Hetfield/Rock/Ulrich) - 7:10
10. Purify (Hammett/Hetfield/Rock/Ulrich) - 5:14
11. All Within My Hands (Hammett/Hetfield/Rock/Ulrich) - 8:49
12. Frantic (Hammett/Hetfield/Rock/Ulrich)
13. St. Anger (Hammett/Hetfield/Rock/Ulrich)
14. Some Kind of Monster (Hammett/Hetfield/Rock/Ulrich)
15. Dirty Window (Hammett/Hetfield/Rock/Ulrich)
16. Invisible Kid (Hammett/Hetfield/Rock/Ulrich)
17. My World (Hammett/Hetfield/Rock/Ulrich)
18. Shoot Me Again (Hammett/Hetfield/Rock/Ulrich)
19. Sweet Amber (Hammett/Hetfield/Rock/Ulrich)
20. The Unnamed Feeling (Hammett/Hetfield/Rock/Ulrich)
21. Purify (Hammett/Hetfield/Rock/Ulrich)
22. All Within My Hands (Hammett/Hetfield/Rock/Ulrich)

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Biography

The Japanese EP release of Frantic, the second single from Metallica's 2003 album, St. Anger, features the album mix plus four live tracks. The songs were recorded during the band's U.K. tour and are all versions of songs from classic Metallica albums. "Blackened" and "Harvester of Sorrow" are from ...And Justice for All, "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)" is from Master of Puppets, and "No Remorse" is from Kill 'Em All. If you one of the fans who thought the band sounded great on St. Anger but was lacking in the song department, this disc is tailor-made for you. It is also good for new fans to find out more about the august history of the group. — Tim Sendra

Album Songs

1. Frantic (Hammett/Hetfield/Rock/Ulrich) - 5:53
2. Blackened [live] (Hetfield/Newsted/Ulrich) - 6:37
3. Harvester of Sorrow [live] (Hetfield/Ulrich) - 6:41
4. Welcome Home (Sanitarium) [live] (Hammett/Hetfield/Ulrich) - 6:39
5. No Remorse [live] (Hetfield/Ulrich) - 5:16