Nope, kicks ass. Especially when I get other metal-heads' reactions to it. I love it when they splutter and gurgle in indignation when I inform them of how much I liked the album.
Amazingly heart-felt vocals, great lyrics (always one of Metallica's best and most overlooked attribute), improved drumming (Lars goes back to playing like an over-excited not-too-talented teenager), decent musical structure (although some riffs become a little redundant), and Kirk finally stops playing solos!
Damn his leads sucked after the Black Album.
Oh, and as for the production, no use bashing Bob Rock and the boys. They were quite overt about the fact that they put very minimal effort in the actual production of the album. And name one rock group that even approaches Metallica's popularity and influence that has the balls to put out an album featuring a snare that has no expander on it
Mind you, it has decreased in replay value due to the quality of recordings released after St. Anger, i.e. Enemies of Reality (Nevermore) and Death Cult Armageddon (Dimmu), Train of Thought (Dream Theater)...
But still, Metallica kicks all our asses again
Hail the Ultimate Pisser-Offers