"Today there was a Pre-Listening Session at the Universal Headquarter in Switzerland. Besides members of record companies and journalists, our loyal Metcamp-visitor Amar was lucky enough to take a listen of the new album:
Today, I've been to Zurich where I participated in a St. Anger listening session at Universal-Switzerland. After a short film about Metallica, that you can also watch on St-Anger.de, the real thing started. They said we should prepare to hear something fuckin' hard and brutal.
The first Song "Frantic" hammered out of the speakers at a brutal volume. After this violent opener, everyone was surprised, stunned and shocked. 'Tallica are back.
Then came St. Anger, the title track, which is, in my opinion, the best track of the album from the ones I've heard so far. It's difficult to describe this album, you have to hear it yourself.
Everything went on without any breaks, so I wasn't really able to comprehend the whole stuff. These songs are real Monsters, with 1000 Riffs, Double-Bass-Attacks and Chaos. There are several clean parts, where Jaymz and Kirk play melodies that will knock you out of your socks. Furthermore there are lots of Temp-changes that will make you lose your orientation. The guitars have been tuned down as hell and there are no solos. At first I thought I'd miss Kirk's solos, but the songs are constructed in a way that they are perfect without solos. But don't worry, it doesn't sound like Nu-Metal because of that fact.
There are a few parts that sound like solos, but they are somehow different. You can hear lots of melodies in the background. Jaymz and Kirk composed really cool Riffs and melodies. Jaymz is better than ever before. He sings aggressive, brutal and melodious better than ever. "Some Kind Of Monster" is, as far as I remember, the most complex song so far and at end the of "All Within My Hands", Jaymz screams "KILL KILL KILL KILL..." about 1000 times into the mic, while his voice keeps changing.
The sound is totally rough and when you close your eyes it sounds like you're in the studio while the guys are playing there live.
As I said, i'm still in a state of shock at the moment, so I can't recall everything 100% accurate and don't wanna tell you bullshit. If you wanna have more detailled information, read the 5 song-reviews in the new Hammer-mag or visit Allmetallica.com to read reviews for all the songs included on the album (in english language).
Metallica have created something totally new that doesn't sound like anything they've done so far. Theoretically, there are elements of the earlier albums (the tempo-changes), but it's something absolutely new. For me St. Anger is the best thing I've ever heard. I for myself haven't heard anything like this before, it's simply a killer.
Metallica-Fans will love St. Anger and everyone who hates Metallica will hate them even more, 'cause they're the best band on this planet.
THE HORSEMEN ARE BACK, A STORM IS COMING!!!"