Kill 'Em All | Ride the Lightning | Master of Puppets | Metallica | Load and ReLoad | St. Anger
- Critical Backlash: The album is widely regarded as Metallica's worst (unless if you count Lulu), but it does have a handful of defenders on the basis that it's not as bad as its unanimously negative reception suggests, most commonly citing its earnest attempt at being a raw and cathartic release of honest emotion that the band had rarely expressed before. This has become such a common approach on /r/metallica that they even come with a tag flair for the "Weekly st anger is underrated post
". - Critical Dissonance: Audience reception was negative of nuclear proportions on release, and even after years of cooling off (including Death Magnetic helping wash the bad taste away... well, before Lulu rears its ugly ass), it's widely considered their worst album. This is in contrast to critics, which received a more polarized reception but generally leaned towards the positive side of lukewarm, criticizing its messy production and inconsistent performances, but praising the band's energy and raw immediacy.
- Fanon Discontinuity: Most Metallica fans consider it their weakest album and try to forget it even exists, as a failed experiment in chasing Nu Metal trends.
- Memetic Mutation: Metallica songs but the drums are trash cans.Explanation
- "It's a little stock."Explanation
- Vindicated by History: While "vindicated" is way too strong of a term, the collaboration album with Lou Reed, Lulu, with an even more negative fan reception, does take some steam from St. Anger.
