They say trends come and go rather quickly. In the case of popular music, however, there remains one bad habit the industry can’t seem to shake.

I wish I could simply ignore it, but the invasion is everywhere. I witnessed it while living in Iowa a month ago, and its presence is even stronger from my viewpoint in Los Angeles. From billboards to bus stops, mainstream media seems to be forcing the new Metallica album and single, “St. Anger,” down my throat.

It started innocuously enough with “MTV Icon: Metallica” (also known as the pre-“St. Anger” infomercial), but the plague grew exponentially from there. Now, when I flip through the channels, the music video for the single is constantly being shown on MTV. When I turn on the radio, KROQ is playing the song for the third time in an hour. And when I shop at the Virgin MegaStore, the in-house DJ is blasting the album from the store PA and boasting its greatness.

If everyone would realize how bad this album is, I’d be fine. But for some unknown reason, every major media outlet has latched onto a desire to bring these burned-out metalheads back to the top, even if the product they’re bringing with them is the most contrived pile of garbage the industry has churned out in years (Avril excluded). And just like every other trend shoved in front of their starving faces, the public is eating it up.

I suddenly understand how Charlton Heston felt in “The Omega Man.” Has the rational world disappeared? Am I the only person left who can see the truth? This is not a good album!

Let’s look at the problems with the first single. Is that rap-rock I hear? Are we stuck in 1999? Apparently, LarsCo is doing its best to capitalize on the trends, but the corporation’s market research is a little dated. I’m pretty sure I drove past Fred Durst’s cardboard box on Sunset Boulevard. the other day, so if you’re trying to make money off of other people’s ideas, you might want to find a more recent and fiscally-sound one to copy.

If the members of Metallica are going to make money from worn-out trends, they might as well cover all of their options. Might I suggest an emo album? I think seeing James Hetfield in pegged jeans and horn rims would be a riot. Or maybe they could change the band name to “The Metallicas” and start playing New York-style garage rock reminiscent of the Ramones. It might not be original, but at least it sells albums. If you can consistently make good music that spans generations, by all means, keep up the good work. The Violent Femmes, Morrissey, Bad Religion and an endless list of others have managed, with only a few bumps along the way, to continue their musical legacies.

Metallica, on the other hand, has done little to take its music to a higher level. Does every album have to sound exactly like “Master of Puppets?” Of course not. But should the music at least be worth listening to? “St. Anger” sales figures will probably disagree, but the answer is no.

Metallica may exemplify the problem, but the list of aging musicians who need to call it quits grows longer each year. If the best you can come up with is a B-grade album that wouldn’t sell a copy without your well-known name behind it, please, for the sake of your image and my ears, pack up the guitars and turn off the mics. There are plenty of fresh, innovative musicians left in this world who would benefit from your absence on the airwaves.