Metallica's 2003 album St. Anger is a divisive one for the metal world. Born from rehabilitation, infighting, and the pressure of being metal's biggest band, the record saw the Bay Area legends throw their own textbook out the window, cut guitar solos, and use drop C tuning liberally. It is as close to nu metal as Metallica ever got, but even over two decades later, it does have its defenders.
Among them is Eicca Toppinen of the symphonic metal band Apocalyptica, who got their start covering Metallica songs on cello. Hell, they're even touring off the back of their second cover compilation dedicated to the iconic band. In a new interview with Pipeman Radio, Toppinen has plead his love of St. Anger, stating (transcription by BLABBERMOUTH.net):
"I think it's a great album. It's a really great album. I got to know the songs before I heard the album, because when the album was coming out, we did some stuff with METALLICA. They came to Europe first time with [then-new METALLICA bassist] Rob [Robert Trujillo], and we were scheduled [to appear at the U.K.'s] Download [festival] to play on the tent. It was an APOCALYPTICA slot. But the secret plan was that it's actually METALLICA who would play there, but we would start, and then they take over… We rehearsed with the guys there [but] we didn't end up doing it… But at that time, I heard [the METALLICA songs] 'Frantic' and 'St. Anger' live many times. And I was, like, 'Oh, these are awesome songs.' And then, of course, the album was difficult to approach. But now, for example, three years ago, when we were working on the ['Apocalyptica Plays Metallica, Vol. 2'] album, I really listened [to 'St. Anger'] because I knew that there is something, that there's something on the 'St. Anger' album that we should record [for our album], and I really listened to it a lot. And once I got used to the sound, I was, like, 'Fuck, this is awesome stuff.' It's so angry. It's so passionate. It's so honest and true."
Later in the talk, Toppinen praised the band's ability to adapt and change their approach, ultimately crediting that as part of their legacy, noting (transcription by BLABBERMOUTH.net):
"That's what I always appreciated in METALLICA so much, that the guys have been always honest to themselves. They changed the style, the direction, because they felt that they had to, for their sake, taking the risk that people will not follow them.
Check out the full interview with Pipeman Radio below:
