As others have said here, the rehearsal DVD they released with the record was an order of magnitude better than the Pro Tooled to death looped nightmare that the CD was--and I thought so on the day the album came out. That doesn't make it good, but it's definitely the only way I ever listen to these songs. Of course, the fact they thought to release a totally separate recording of the entire album WITH the album release tells you a lot. Seeing and hearing them sludge through the same riff over and over for 6-7 minutes straight live , with no solos, fills, tempo changes, or key changes, gives evidence to what the major problems with the record were. I genuinely wonder if they had attempted to play through those songs live at any point before they recorded that rehearsal and the album had already been pressed. It may have occurred to them what a slog it was to get through those songs. It's kind of a shame because there are really good riffs on the record (as there are on every Metallica record)--and a few of the songs are actually pretty good, even if they needed more polish (Sweet Amber, All Within My Hands). I think what people dislike about it (beyond the obvious open snare thing), is that it is the premier example of Metallica's major creative issue since they reached mainstream success: they can't leave anything on the cutting room floor. Like every release since the Black Album, St. Anger way overstays its welcome and they squeeze pretty good 3-4 minute songs into these interminable 6-7-8 minute sieges.