Metallica’s St. Anger at this point is more internet meme than actual album.
It was (and let’s be honest, still is) a perfect storm of bad decisions, from lame-as-hell lyrics, to mediocre songwriting to… yup, that goddamn snare drum.
At this point in time, certain members of the band seem to be pretty at peace with the fact that it will forever be the black spot of their catalog as far as fans are concerned (and that’s generously discounting Lulu’s existence altogether).
James Hetfield even went so far as to mock the record openly a few months ago at a gig:
“That’s from YOUR favorite album, St. Anger. Oh come on, it’s growing on you now. Just give it a little more time… you’ll get it. OK 8 more songs from St. Anger, ready? Just kidding!
This is the POOR little album, that gets so much shit. What do you think about St. Anger? Don’t lie to me, man.”
While Hetfield can clearly laugh it off, drummer Lars Ulrich still defends his much-maligned snare drum sound decision. Just a few years back, he stood up for the sonic butchering on Eddie Trunk’s show, reaffirming that:
Metallica Refuses To Play This Beloved Song Live Anymore
“I stand behind it [the snare drum] a hundred percent… Because at that moment, that was the truth.”
Describing what motivated him to make such a move in the first place, Ulrich elaborated: “James was playing a riff in the control room. And I ran up. I was, like, ‘I need to put a beat behind that.’
I ran into the tracking room and sat down and played a couple of beats over this riff to not lose the energy of the moment, and I forgot to turn the snare on.
Watch: Metallica Crowd Boos St. Anger, but Hetfield has Great Sense of Humor About It
And then we were listening back to it, and I was like, ‘Wow! That sound kind of fits that riff, and it sounds weirdly odd and kind of cool.’ And then I just kind of left the snare off.”
In the years since its release, that snare has been the victim of countless online memes and jabs. But today, we’re gathered here to share what might possibly be our favorite ‘St. Anger’ ribbing to date. Musician Devin Taylor St. Angerified his kit over on TikTok with a beer keg snare and a baseball bat drumstick. Close your eyes and it’s like Lars himself is on the throne – enjoy!
@fountane St Anger be like… #metallica #stanger #metal #drums #drumcover #larsulrich #snare ♬ original sound – Devin Taylor