A retrospective feature revisits the DVD that accompanied Metallica's 2003 album St Anger, arguing that its rehearsal footage helps explain why the band made such a divisive record. The album followed a turbulent period for the band, during which frontman James Hetfield entered rehab in July 2001 to treat alcohol and other addictions, returning to the group early the following year to help create an album stripped of the guitar solos and melodic polish of their earlier work in favour of raw, unfiltered aggression.

The piece situates St Anger within a wider crisis for Metallica between 2001 and 2003, a period that also saw the band embroiled in a damaging lawsuit against the file-sharing service Napster and the departure of longtime bassist Jason Newsted, which reopened old wounds within the group. The article suggests that the candid rehearsal-room footage on the accompanying DVD captures the band's rawer, more vulnerable state at the time, offering context that makes the album's unconventional sound easier to understand.