Corey Taylor Admits He Likes Metallica’s ‘St. Anger’: ‘A Lot of the Stuff’s Really Good’

“There are some grooves on it that I think are really underappreciated.”

When it dropped in 2003, Metallica’s “St. Anger” was met with overwhelming hatred by the band’s fanbase, who thought the band was at its lowest at that point (until “Lulu” proved them wrong).From unwise production choices to long, repetitive song structures and a weird no-solos approach that was seen as flirting with the massive nu metal aesthetic of that era, “St. Anger” was doomed from the start.

However, nostalgia has played its part and the record has by now amassed a dedicated cult following that considers it a worthy addition to Metallica’s catalog, especially as the band seems to have stopped experimenting in the last few releases.

One of those changed minds belongs to Slipknot and Stone Sour frontman Corey Taylor, who recently recalled his complex relationship with “St. Anger” in an interview with Revolver.

The singer said:

“First of all, when it came out, I was a raging alcoholic prick. And when I listened to it, the mix kind of threw me off, and I wasn’t paying attention to the songs. I was kind of following the herd on that.

“But then [Stone Sour guitarist] Josh Rand, who was a massive Metallica fan, he got the deluxe version that had the companion DVD where they played the whole album in their rehearsal space. And watching that, I could hone in on the songs. I wasn’t stuck on how it sounded. I could listen to what was going on, and it immediately gave me a better appreciation of what it was.

“So now when I listen to it, I think a lot of the stuff’s really good, and there are some good grooves on it that I think are really underappreciated. I mean, that title track is a motherfucker, you know?”

Corey is preparing the release of his sophomore solo album, “CMF2”, which is due for release on September 15.