FRANTIC

'Frantic' - Metallica (Single)

I think it's easy to agree when I say 'St. Anger' was definately not a highlight in the history of 'progressive' music, or even music in general. The band was at the verge of splitting up for good. In their anger and hatred for one another, the beast named 'St. Anger' was born. It's one of the worst albums I've ever listened to.

A song from one of the worst albums I've ever listened to should not have it's hopes high for getting a decent scoring here.

'Frantic' however, is actually one of the better tracks on 'St. Anger.' It's one of the songs that I can actually listen to without getting super-bored. That's not to say however, that this is a 'good' song. The performance is terrible (as is the same with all other songs on that god- awful album) with very tinny drums, out-of-tune vocals and a raw guitar tone, but it's definately a step more energetic than alot of the songs on 'St. Anger' and for that reason, it's probably my second most tolerated song on 'St. Anger,' losing only to the title track which isn't actually THAT terrible.

But... gah. Give 'St. Anger' a listen, if you must. You'll see why even the most listenable song can't get more than a single star rating.

I think there's no denying that 2003's 'St. Anger' is hardly a career highlight for Metallica. While certainly a pivotal moment in the bands history, the album itself is probably more a result of a well-documented time of turmoil for the band, than an actual critical success.

Which brings us to any promotional singles that were released, and there were a few. 'Frantic' is arguably one of the better songs from the album, which isn't really saying too much. Especially as this is standard Metallica fare. The title track, accompanied by two generic live recordings, in the case of CD1 of this two-disc set, 'Blackened' and 'Harvester of Sorrow'. Both original studio recordings are Metallica masterpieces... these live recordings... umm... rather forgettable, really.

Nothing overly special or remarkable, the band sounds quite rusty here, no doubt due to having not toured in a number of years at this point. None-the-less, this doesn't make for any notable live recordings, which ultimately makes for a rather mundane single release, which finds itself only worth owning for die-hard fans.