"Frantic" is the second single and opening track from American heavy metal band Metallica's 2003

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

'' St. Anger''.

Content

This song, like many others on ''St. Anger'', is about the band's past struggles with addictions, particularly

lead singer The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

James Hetfield's alcohol problem, for which he spent many months in rehab. The lyrics also draw on

Zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...

axioms An axiom, postulate, or assumption is a statement that is taken to be true, to serve as a premise or starting point for further reasoning and arguments. The word comes from the Ancient Greek word (), meaning 'that which is thought worthy or f ...

, most notably the

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

concept of dukkha brought up by Kirk Hammett: "''Birth is pain. Life is pain. Death is pain. It's All The Same.''"

Music video

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

, directed by

Wayne Isham Wayne Isham (born December 2, 1958) is an American film director and music video director who has directed films and music videos of many popular artists. Early life and education Isham was born in December 2, 1958. He attended the Univers ...

, was made to go along with ''Frantics release as a single. The video, featuring a shortened version of the song, depicts a man looking back on his life (in which he is constantly drinking, having sex, and smoking) at the instant that he crashes his rotisserie delivery pickup truck into an RV at an intersection. Intercut with those clips are scenes of the band performing the song in front of a pile of scrap metal (Hetfield and Hammett) and a set of rocks (Ulrich and Trujillo). At the end of the video, although the man's truck is upside-down, he finds himself still alive and laughs loudly until a car crashes into the side of the truck, tipping it over and presumably killing him. The video was shot in Montreal, Canada.

Track listing

Chart positions

References

{{authority control 2003 singles Metallica songs Songs written by James Hetfield Songs written by Lars Ulrich Songs written by Kirk Hammett Songs written by Bob Rock Music videos directed by Wayne Isham 2003 songs Elektra Records singles Song recordings produced by Bob Rock