Three energetic—not to mention inquisitive—musicians have re-recorded Metallica's much-debated, often-criticized 2003 album, St. Anger.
And, if you believe the Internet chatter that's making the rounds as I type these words, the 2015 version is considered (by some) to be "better" than the original.
We'd like you to listen to the new version of the album below and tell us what you think.
St. Anger was the product of an unusually turbulent period in Metallica's history. Tensions came to a head after bassist Jason Newsted left the band; frontman/guitarist James Hetfield soon entered rehab amid a confrontation with drummer Lars Ulrich. Anyone who has seen the Some Kind of Monster film has an idea of the conditions under which the album came to be.
It often has been wondered, would the album have sounded completely different—better, perhaps—if it were conceived and recorded under different circumstances?
Metallica Fans Daryl Gardner (guitar, bass, drums), Dave Cox (vocals) and Chris Dando (production, backing vocals) set out to find out exactly that—so they recorded the entire St. Anger album themselves and released it via YouTube, dubbing the project #stanger2015.
“#stanger2015 is for the listeners who weren’t so fond on the record when it was released in 2003,” Gardner wrote. “Recorded from the ground up, the album has been shortened by 16 minutes, yet every riff and lyric is intact, resulting in a more concise and focused record.
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“The production is also more conventional, and we hope Metallica fans appreciate this new version of an album that is always looked at as an anomaly in the incredible career of the world’s biggest metal band, Metallica.”
Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.
