"St. Anger" is a song by American heavy metal band

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

. It was released on June 23, 2003, as the lead single from their eighth studio album of the

same name ''Same Name'' is an American reality television series in which an average person swaps lives with a celebrity of the same first and last name. It premiered on July 24, 2011 on CBS. The series received low ratings, and CBS pulled it after four-ep ...

. It won

Best Metal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards to recording artists for works (songs or albums) containing quality performances in the heavy metal music genre. The Grammy Awards is an annual ceremony, where ...

at the

46th Grammy Awards The 46th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 8, 2004, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California honoring the best in music for the recording of the year beginning from October 1, 2002, through September 30, 2003. It recognized acc ...

and was also nominated for Best Rock Video at the

2003 MTV Video Music Awards The 2003 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on August 28, 2003, honoring the best music videos from June 1, 2002, to June 9, 2003. The show was hosted by Chris Rock at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The ceremony is best remembered for ...

, but lost to "

Somewhere I Belong "Somewhere I Belong" is a song by American rock band Linkin Park. It was released to US radio on February 24, 2003, as the lead single from their second studio album, ''Meteora'' (2003), and is the album's third track. It entered the top ten o ...

" by

Linkin Park Linkin Park is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Agoura Hills, California, in 1996. The band's current lineup consists of vocalist/rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Mike Shinoda, lead guitarist Brad Delson, DJ/turntablist Joe Hahn, bass ...

. This song provided the theme for

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

's SummerSlam 2003; the music video was also included in the

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program ...

DVD. The

lyric Lyric may refer to: * Lyrics, the words, often in verse form, which are sung, usually to a melody, and constitute the semantic content of a song * Lyric poetry is a form of poetry that expresses a subjective, personal point of view * Lyric, from t ...

"Fuck it all and fuckin' no regrets, I hit the lights on these dark sets" may be a reference to two other Metallica songs, "Damage, Inc." (''

Master of Puppets ''Master of Puppets'' is the third studio album by the American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Metallica, released on March 3, 1986, by Elektra Records. Recorded in Copenhagen, Denmark, at Sweet Silence Studios with producer Flemming Rasmu ...

'') and "

Hit the Lights Hit the Lights is an American pop punk band from Lima, Ohio. It is named in allusion to the '80s skateboarding film, '' Gleaming the Cube'', and has sold over 120,000 albums in North America. History Formation and ''Until We Get Caught'' EP (2 ...

" (''

Kill 'Em All ''Kill 'Em All'' is the debut studio album by the American heavy metal band Metallica, released on July 25, 1983, through the independent label Megaforce Records. After forming in 1981, Metallica began by playing shows in local clubs in Los A ...

'').

Music video

The "St. Anger" video, directed by

The Malloys The Malloys is the working name of music video and film directors and brothers Emmett Malloy and Brendan Malloy. They have been with Superprime Films since 2010. Videography *" DANCE WITH ME" by blink-182 (2023) *"Holiday" by Vampire Weekend ...

, was shot in

San Quentin State Prison San Quentin Rehabilitation Center (SQ), formerly known as San Quentin State Prison, is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men, located north of San Francisco in the unincorporated area, unincorporated place ...

, California. The band played at various locations in the area to hundreds of enthusiastic inmates, except for the death chambers and the death row cells. It is also the first Metallica video to feature bassist

Robert Trujillo Roberto Agustín Miguel Santiago Samuel Trujillo Veracruz (; born October 23, 1964) is an American musician who has been the bassist for heavy metal band Metallica since 2003. He first rose to prominence as the bassist of crossover thrash band ...

, who joined just prior to filming. The video begins with Metallica drummer

Lars Ulrich Lars Ulrich (; ; born 26 December 1963) is a Danish musician who is the drummer and a founding member of American heavy metal band Metallica. Along with James Hetfield, Ulrich has songwriting credits on almost all of the band's songs, and the ...

starting the beat saying "En, to, tre, fire!" (taken from the live in studio performance of " The Unnamed Feeling") which translated from Danish means "One, two, three, four!" At the end of the video, a sentence appears on a black background, reading: "For all the souls impacted by San Quentin, your spirit will forever be a part of Metallica." It won a 2003 ''

Metal Edge ''Metal Edge'' was a magazine covering heavy metal music published by Zenbu Media. The magazine was founded in the summer of 1985, during the height of glam metal's success. While its sister publication, ''Metal Maniacs'' focused more on extreme ...

'' Readers' Choice Award for Video of the Year.Metal Edge, June 2004

Track list

Chart positions

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Anger 2003 singles Metallica songs Songs written by James Hetfield Songs written by Lars Ulrich Songs written by Kirk Hammett Songs written by Bob Rock Music videos directed by The Malloys Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance 2003 songs Song recordings produced by Bob Rock Elektra Records singles Alternative metal songs