"Some Kind of Monster" is a song by American heavy metal band

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/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 ...

from their studio album ''

St. Anger ''St. Anger'' is the eighth studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica, released on June 5, 2003. It was the last Metallica album released through Elektra Records and the final collaboration between Metallica and longtime producer Bob ...

''. 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 Slither may refer to: * Slithering, a form of limbless terrestrial locomotion Film and television * ''Slither'' (1973 film), a comedy directed by Howard Zieff * ''Slither'' (2006 film), a comedy horror film directed by James Gunn * "Slither" ...

". 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.

Information

The name "Some Kind of Monster" came from vocalist/guitarist

James Hetfield James Alan Hetfield (born August 3, 1963) is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, co-founder and a main songwriter of heavy metal band Metallica. He is mainly known for his intricate rhythm playing, but occasionall ...

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 homonymous 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 Lars Ulrich (; ; born 26 December 1963) is a Danish musician best known as the drummer and co-founder of American heavy metal band Metallica. The son and grandson respectively of tennis players Torben and Einer Ulrich, he played tennis in his ...

'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

* A copy of the soundtrack is featured in the '' Criminal Minds'' episode called "Extreme Aggressor". The song " Enter Sandman" is also mentioned. *

Dean Winchester Dean Winchester is one of the two protagonists from the American drama television series ''Supernatural'', along with his younger brother Sam. He is portrayed primarily by Jensen Ackles. Other versions of the character having been portrayed by ...

, a character from the American TV show ''

Supernatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...

'', is heard humming the song in "

Phantom Traveler The first season of ''Supernatural'', an American dark fantasy television series created by Eric Kripke, premiered on September 13, 2005, and concluded on May 4, 2006, after 22 episodes. It focuses on brothers Sam and Dean Winchester as they trac ...

", the series' fourth episode.

Track listing for soundtrack

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

Personnel

;Metallica *

– vocals, rhythm guitar *

– drums * Kirk Hammett – lead guitar * Robert Trujillo – bass (tracks 2-7) ;Additional musician * Bob Rock – bass (tracks 1 & 8) ;Production, tracks 1 and 8 *

Produced Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

by Bob Rock and Metallica *

Engineered Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more specializ ...

and mixed by Bob Rock, assisted by Mike Gillies and Eric Helmkamp * Digital engineering by Mike Gillies * Mastered by Vlado Meller *Track 8

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

ed by Randy Staub and Bob Rock,

remaster Remaster refers to changing the quality of the sound or of the image, or both, of previously created recordings, either audiophonic, cinematic, or videographic. The terms digital remastering and digitally remastered are also used. Mastering A ...

ed by Ted Jensen ;Production, tracks 2-7 *Recorded and mixed by Mike Gillies *Mastered by George Marino ;Packaging *

Illustration An illustration is a decoration, interpretation or visual explanation of a text, concept or process, designed for integration in print and digital published media, such as posters, flyers, magazines, books, teaching materials, animations, vid ...

by Matt Mahurin *Design by Kathleen Philpott

Chart performance

References

{{Authority control Songs about monsters 2003 songs Metallica songs Songs written by Bob Rock Songs written by James Hetfield Songs written by Kirk Hammett Songs written by Lars Ulrich Song recordings produced by Bob Rock Elektra Records singles