Some Kind of Monster (song)

"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)
Released	July 13, 2004
Format	CD single
Recorded	May 2002–April 2003
Genre	Heavy metal
Length	8:27 (album version) 4:16 (radio edit)
Label	Elektra
Writer(s)	Kirk Hammett James Hetfield Bob Rock Lars Ulrich
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
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

"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.

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.^[2]

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, the sound of Lars Ulrich's snare 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

• A copy of the single is featured in the Criminal Minds episode called "Extreme Aggressor". The song "Enter Sandman" is also mentioned.
• Dean Winchester, a character from the American TV show Supernatural, is heard humming the song in "Phantom Traveler", the series' fourth episode.

Track listing for soundtrack

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

Personnel

Metallica

• James Hetfield – vocals, rhythm guitar
• Kirk Hammett - lead guitar
• Lars Ulrich – drums, percussion
• Robert Trujillo – bass (tracks 2-7)

Additional musicians

• Bob Rock - bass guitar (tracks 1 & 8)

Production, tracks 1 and 8

• Produced by Bob Rock and Metallica
• Engineered and mixed by Bob Rock, assisted by Mike Gillies and Eric Helmkamp
• Digital engineering by Mike Gillies
• Mastered by Vlado Meller
• Track 8 remixed by Randy Staub and Bob Rock, remastered by Ted Jensen

Production, tracks 2-7

• Recorded and mixed by Mike Gillies
• Mastered by George Marino

Packaging

• Illustration by Matt Mahurin
• Design by Kathleen Philpott

Chart performance

References