Classic Rock: Is it fair to say "St. Anger" is your worst album?
Lars: I think it's fair to say that some people think that.
Classic Rock: Would you agree with them?
Lars: I can't. The way I view the world, I can't rank them from best to worst. That kind of simplicity just doesn't exist for me. If I was 14, I could probably do it. Now, the way I see the world is nothing but greys, mainly.
Classic Rock: The drum sound on that record was abysmal.
Lars: That was on purpose. It wasn't like we put it out and somebody went, "Whoa! Whoops!" I view "St. Anger" as an isolated experiment. I'm the biggest Metallica fan, you've got to remember that. Once again, as we've been known to do, once in a while these boundaries have to be f**ked with. We'd already done "Ride The Lightning," which I believe is a fine record. It didn't need to be re-done.
Classic Rock: But even the good songs on "St. Anger" go on forever.
Lars: When we heard the record from beginning to end, I felt — and it was mostly me — that the experience was so pummeling, it became almost about hurting the listener, about challenging the listener, so we left the songs unedited. I can understand that people felt it was too long.
Check out the full interview when you pick up the summer 2011 edition of Classic Rock magazine; for more details, click here.
Metallica wrapped up two successful Canadian dates this past week, as the band wailed through Halifax and Quebec City.
There’s a 6-week break in the band’s live schedule before the Bay Area rockers play a corporate gig in their San Francisco hometown for Salesforce.com on August 31; turns out the head of the company, Marc Benioff, is a neighbor of guitarist Kirk Hammett.
Metallica Metallica – St. Anger (2003)
See also:
VIDEO: Metallica rock Quebec City
VIDEO: Metallica rock Milan
VIDEO: Metallica rock Halifax
VIDEO: Metallica tuning room footage from Big 4 show in Sweden
VIDEO: Metallica warm up for Sonisphere UK in back of truck
VIDEO: Metallica – Big 4 jam at Sonisphere UK
VIDEO: Metallica - pro-shot footage of Big 4 jam in Germany
Metallica, Lou Reed to team with Anton Corbijn for album cover
VIDEO: Big 4 jam at Milan show
VIDEO: Big 4 - Watch full Metallica set from Sweden
VIDEO: Big 4 - Metallica, Megadeth and Anthrax jam at Sweden show
