Lars hasn't played a decent drum since "Justice", I don't see them getting any better.(Saw them in concert twice for that tour, Lars couldn't pull off the little double bass thing in "one", both times!)
You can't blame age either, (see; Nile:Tombs of Nefrencaa, that Drummer was 40 during the recording & still does it to this day!!)
St. Blowhard was a horrible recording of self indulgance. (See;musical masturbation)
If Hetfield can keep from trying (and failing) to sing old Irish folk tunes, then MAYBE the album might be worth the plastic it's recorded on. I doubt it.
Dare I say it, but they were a better band back when they were a bunch of drunks pounding out tunes.
Unfortunately, that brand of metal has fallen out of favor with the masses....so now we're stuck with watered down crap like "Korn" & "Slipknot".
Simply because there's no money in innovation.
Hell, I've started listening to Jazz, at least they don't give it up for a dollar.
Modern music corporations have come full circle;
Create the product, package the product, sell the product.
This is what they were doing in the 50's. Nothing new there, accept the musicians didn't have unlimited tracks, digital processed recordings & tone & time sync capability that the modern hack does.
Kind of makes you wonder what RR's "Dee" would have sounded like if it was recorded this year. Probably mind blowing.
It also makes you wonder if the crap we now accept & ingest as music was created by people, or machines.

Now THAT is how you rant about metal, as an old, haggard & bitter diehard metalhead!!!
I miss my band!!:D