This is also Metallica's only album as an official trio, as bassist Jason Newsted left the band prior to the recording sessions.

Rock played bass in Newsted's place, and Robert Trujillo joined the band following its completion.

Recording began in April 2001 but was postponed after rhythm guitarist and vocalist James Hetfield entered rehabilitation for alcoholism and various other addictions, and did not resume until May 2002.

Metallica rented an old United States Army barracks on the Presidio of San Francisco, and converted it into a makeshift studio in January 2001.

[1] As plans were being made to enter the studio to write and record its first album in nearly five years, the band postponed the recording because of the departure of bassist Jason Newsted on January 17, 2001, with Newsted stating his departure was due to "private and personal reasons and the physical damage I have done to myself over the years while playing the music that I love".

[2] Due to the difficulty in immediately finding or auditioning for a replacement for Newsted to write and record with so close to the rescheduled sessions, Metallica accepted an offer from Bob Rock to play bass on the album in Newsted's place, and stated they would find an official bass player upon the album's completion.

This, and the recording of the album, was documented by filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky and released in 2004 as the film Metallica: Some Kind of Monster.

"[9] The album represented Bob Rock's first ever all-digital project, even though analogue was used for mastering, he said: "The digital just sounded good," he explains.

[12] Guitarist Kirk Hammett commented on the lack of guitar solos on St. Anger, a departure for Metallica: "We wanted to preserve the sound of all four of us in a room just jamming.

Originally, according to Metallica's official website, four different limited color variations of the cover were planned, but the idea was eventually scrapped.

[21][22] A special edition of the album was released with a bonus DVD, featuring live, in-the-studio rehearsals of all of the St. Anger tracks.

The first leg was the U.S. 2003 Summer Sanitarium Tour with support from Limp Bizkit, Deftones, Linkin Park, and Mudvayne.

After Summer Sanitarium, the band began the Madly in Anger with the World Tour with support from Godsmack, Lostprophets, and Slipknot (both on certain European dates), which lasted until late 2004.

"[39] Talking about the album, Greg Kot of Blender said, "It may be too late to rehabilitate Metallica's image, but once again, their music is all about bringing the carnage.

"[30] Writing for NME, Ian Watson said that, "the songs are a stripped back, heroically brutal reflection of this fury.

There's no space wasted here, no time for petty guitar solos or downtuned bass trickery, just a focused, relentless attack.

"[33] Johnny Loftus of AllMusic praised the album and described it as a "punishing, unflinching document of internal struggle—taking listeners inside the bruised yet vital body of Metallica, but ultimately revealing the alternately torturous and defiant demons that wrestle inside Hetfield's brain.

The kit's high-end clamor ignored the basic principles of drumming: timekeeping," he added, "Hetfield and Hammett's guitars underwent more processing than cat food.

"[34] Phil Freeman of Houston Press characterized the album as having, "stolen Helmet riffs and lyrics that sound co-written by Hetfield's AA sponsor.

"[41] Playlouder reviewer William Luff cited the album's 75-minute length and sound ("a monolithic slab of noise") as reasoning that St. Anger was "just too dense and daunting to be truly enjoyable.

"[42] PopMatters reporter Michael Christopher said "St. Anger dispenses with the recent spate of radio friendly pleasantries in favor of pedal to the floor thrash, staggered and extended song structures, quick changes and a muddled production that tries to harken back to the Kill 'Em All days.

"[45] All tracks are written by James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett and Bob Rock.Metallica Additional personnel