Released July 13, 2004 Recorded May 2002–April 2003 | Format CD single Genre Heavy metal | |
B-side "The Four Horsemen" (Live)
"Damage Inc." (Live)
"Leper Messiah" (Live)
"Motorbreath" (Live)
"Ride the Lightning" (Live)
"Hit the Lights" (Live) Length 8:27 (album version)
4:16 (radio edit) | ||
"Some Kind of Monster" is the fourth single from the American heavy metal band Metallica's eighth studio album St. Anger. It was released on July 13, 2004 through Elektra Records.
Contents
The live B-sides are all taken from the previous single release "The Unnamed Feeling" EP. "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".
A documentary of the same name was released on January 25, 2005 and the single served as the film's soundtrack.
Information
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 very fitting 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 eponymous documentary as well. It was one of the first songs put together for the album. It would later be released as the final single and music videos of St. Anger, and would be 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.
In popular culture
Track listing for soundtrack
All live tracks recorded live on June 11, 2003 in Paris, France.