St. Anger is arguably the low point in Metallica‘s recording career. The documentary Some Kind of Monster depicted the disfunction in the group at the time, and the resulting music is among the band’s most derided.
The 2003 album, and Lars Ulrich’s legendarily bad snare-drum tone in particular, has been the butt of many jokes over the years. Now the band appears to have come around to the humorous absurdity of it all.
The self-deprecation came in the form of a social media post announcing the addition of tracks from St. Anger to FenderPlay, an instructional guitar platform that allows aspiring guitarists to play along to licensed recordings.
Posted the band on Instagram: “Everyone’s favorite album is now on @fenderplay! Dust off your guitar (sorry, the snare drums will have to wait for another day) and get started on “Frantic,” “St. Anger,” “Some Kind of Monster,” and “The Unnamed Feeling.”
It’s fun to see Metallica making some harmless self-aware mockery of “everyone’s favorite album” — even if it’s through their social-media team. The snare-drum remark is especially surprising, as it’s been a touchy subject for Lars Ulrich, who still stands behind the tin-y snare tone “a hundred percent” and remains less inclined to jump on the St. Anger bash-wagon.
“I hear St. Anger, that’s a pummeling and a half, and there’s a lot of incredible, raw energy,” said Ulrich back in 2020.
One interesting tidbit is that Metallica’s “No Repeat Weekends” shows saw the band reach back into the St. Anger songbook, exhuming the deep cut “Dirty Window” for some of the band’s 2023 setlists. Will any more St. Anger tracks make the cut for the band’s 2024 shows? Get tickets to the upcoming gigs here.
Below you can see the band’s post mocking St. Anger.