Some Kind of Monster (song)

"Some Kind of Monster" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica from their studio album St. Anger. The song was released as a single on July 13, 2004. "Some Kind of Monster" was Nominated for Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 2005 but lost to Velvet Revolver for the song "Slither".

"Some Kind of Monster"
Single by Metallica
from the album St. Anger
B-side
  • "The Four Horsemen" (Live)
  • "Damage Inc." (Live)
  • "Leper Messiah" (Live)
  • "Motorbreath" (Live)
  • "Ride the Lightning" (Live)
  • "Hit the Lights" (Live)
ReleasedJuly 13, 2004
RecordedMay 2002 – April 2003
Length8:27 (album version)
4:16 (radio edit)
LabelElektra
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Bob Rock
  • Metallica
Metallica singles chronology
"The Unnamed Feeling"
(2004)
"Some Kind of Monster"
(2004)
"The Day That Never Comes"
(2008)
Music video
"Some Kind of Monster" on YouTube
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]

The Metallica documentary of the same name – Metallica: Some Kind of Monster – was released in 2004, and the single appeared in several developing forms on the film's soundtrack, along with other songs.[2]

Information

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The name "Some Kind of Monster" came from vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield describing the lyrics to producer Bob Rock being about a Frankenstein creature or "some kind of monster". Thus, it was also used as a title for the 2004 documentary about the recording of St. Anger and the turmoil surrounding it. Hetfield has previously described the entity that is Metallica - the burden of fame and life in general - as monstrous.

The song's birth and development are well detailed in the 2004 documentary. It was one of the first songs put together for the album. It was later released as the final single and music videos of St. Anger, and was shortened considerably from the album version. The video contains old footage of Metallica concerts as well as a performance of the song in Metallica's San Francisco headquarters which is included in its entirety on the St. Anger DVD. In some regions, such as the US, the EP was bundled with a T-shirt featuring the artwork.

During the "clean" intro, Lars Ulrich's snare drum can be heard rattling in the background.

On the documentary's DVD extras there are a couple of sections entitled "Tough Riff", that show Hetfield teaching one of the song's main riffs to Kirk Hammett, who appeared to have trouble figuring it out.

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Track listing for soundtrack

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All live tracks recorded live on June 11, 2003, in Paris, France.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Some Kind of Monster"James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, Bob Rock8:27
2."The Four Horsemen" (Live)Hetfield, Ulrich, Dave Mustaine5:21
3."Damage Inc." (Live)Hetfield, Ulrich, Cliff Burton, Hammett5:00
4."Leper Messiah" (Live)Hetfield, Ulrich5:56
5."Motorbreath" (Live)Hetfield3:20
6."Ride the Lightning" (Live)Hetfield, Ulrich, Burton, Mustaine6:41
7."Hit the Lights" (Live)Hetfield, Ulrich4:14
8."Some Kind of Monster" (Edit)Hetfield, Ulrich, Hammett, Rock4:16

Personnel

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Metallica
Additional musician
Production, tracks 1 and 8
Production, tracks 2-7
  • Recorded and mixed by Mike Gillies
  • Mastered by George Marino
Packaging

Chart performance

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Chart (2004) Position
Billboard 200 37
Top Canadian Albums 8
Top Soundtracks 4

References

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  1. ^ https://www.allmusic.com/album/r698355
  2. ^ "Some Kind of Monster (Movie)". Metallica. Archived from the original on January 22, 2013. Retrieved January 25, 2013.