10 Hard Rock Albums That Are Hated By The Fans

There's been an ongoing petition going ever since the '90s for Metallica to go back to their heavy metal roots. Even though they may have become the kings of the underground, the alternative decade had them setting their sights much bigger, turning into one of the biggest metal acts in the world by going for a more radio friendly sound, which sent purists up the wall. If you thought that Metallica sounded bad during the Load era though, you might want to tread lightly when you hear them trying to go heavy again.

As the '00s turned a corner, Metallica were already rough around the edges after losing bassist Jason Newsted and undergoing group therapy, all leading up to the primal scream that is St. Anger. You could call this album heavy if you wanted to, but most fans had an instant negative reaction to practically every song here, with James Hetfield sounding like he is in no shape to be singing like he is and Lars Ulrich having the "brilliant" idea of unhooking his snare and making it sound like an industrial garbage can throughout most of the record.

Outside of the millions of memes that have been made about this record since it came out, the band has always stood by it, saying that it was a healthy way for them to let out their anger at each other and some crediting it for keeping the band afloat during those dark times. It may have been therapeutic for them at the time, but for the rest of us, it just feels like we're listening to songs that are blatantly unfinished.