St Anger (2003)

Five and a half years elapsed between the release of the band's previous studio album, Reload, and the recording of St. Anger, which began in 2002. Many factors contributed to this delay, including the departure of bassist Jason Newsted, the band's feud with file-sharing service Napster, and vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield's several months in rehab for alcoholism and other unspecified addictions.

The band began initial writing for the album in January 2001, when they rented out and converted an army barrack in The Presidio in San Francisco, California, into a makeshift studio. Uncomfortable with the idea of bringing in an immediate replacement for Newsted, the band opted to have producer Bob Rock play bass guitar for the recording of the album, with plans to find a fulltime bass player upon the record's completion. Recording came to a halt in July 2001 when the band announced via its website that James Hetfield had entered a rehab center for treatment of alcoholism and other addictions.

When Hetfield returned on December 4, 2001, the band returned to the recording studio and Hetfield was required to work four hours a day, noon to 4 PM, and spend the rest of his time with his family.

In June 2003, Metallica's eighth studio album, St. Anger, debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, and drew mixed reaction from critics.

St. Anger

1)Frantic

2)St. Anger

3)Some Kind Of Monster

4)Dirty Window

5)Invisible Kid

6)My World

7)Shoot Me Again

8)Sweet Amber

9)The Unnamed Feeling

10)Purify
11)All Within My Hands