Customer Reviews

Load

5 star:		(199)
4 star:		(164)
3 star:		(76)
2 star:		(76)
1 star:		(128)

 

 

LOAD, it appears, is the true litmus test of Metallica's career. This is the album where it was tremendously popular with a lot of the grunge listeners, dominated the charts in 1996, and had heavy radio rotation. LOAD brought in a lot of new fans for Metallica (this reviewer included), but is still highly controversial as it abandoned much of Metallica's earlier trademark sound from the 1980s, and a lot of people stopped caring about the boys after this one. But this album is not without precedent in the Metallica canon.

The BLACK ALBUM, LOAD's predecessor from 1991, is often seen as the true turning point in Metallica's career. Taking their progressive metal and incredibly complex songwriting (to the point it was difficult to replicate the music on stage) to its breaking point or zenith on the masterpiece ... AND JUSTICE FOR ALL, Metallica pared back their sound, and ultimately became more commercial sounding. MTV picked up on the BLACK ALBUM's songs, and featured them in heavy rotation. While the BLACK ALBUM disappointed some of the band's fan base, without a doubt the album helped move the band into the mainstream of rock, and ultimately greatly added to Metallica's fanbase.

While some of Metallica's long time fans were somewhat uneasy with this subtle change in the band's musical direction, by the time 1996 came around the unease metamorphosed into full-blown hostility. And it's all due to this album.

LOAD completely changed Metallica's sound, and, for a lot of long time fans, for the worst. Gone are the pyrotechnic solos, complex songwriting, and thrash metal mentality that carried their first four albums into the annals of rock and roll legend. The band cut their hair, started writing songs more like alternative rock, and reached out to a new fan base. LOAD's songs got heavy radio rotation (something that did not happen with their earlier albums), and they had several singles that charted quite high. Still, a lot of Metallica's fans were not only disappointed but just flat-out angry with the band and quit following them after this record.

And why? That's a good question. I grew up with grunge, and love the early 1990s sound. When LOAD came out in 1996, I knew I had to get that. It was the first Metallica album I ever bought (though my brother had the BLACK ALBUM which I listened too frequently). Those two were the first Metallica records I ever listened too

Listening to it, and without knowledge of their earlier albums, I never could understand why people hated it as much as they did. The songs are great, and while the album is a little on the long side (79 minutes). [ In fact, for the longest time whenever anyone asked me to name a Metallica song the first one I would name "Until It Sleeps"]. In fact, "Until It Sleeps" was for a long time the one song I always thought of when I thought of Metallica. For me, it was their definitive song (though this has changed since then). Without the context of their career, and responding to the music itself, I loved the music and thought it had a lot of their best material. I still think so.

Having since gone thru the rest of their albums, I now understand why people have such a hard time with this record. While it's a great mid 1990s record, sounding very much of the grunge era, I understand now how much of a departure from their previous work it really is. Their tempos have always been fast and furious, thrash all the way. And now they release LOAD, and it's all this bluesy alternative metal sounding crap, and they cut their hair, and oh my God aren't they the sellouts?

Well, Jason Newsted said it best when he did admit Metallica did sell out. They sell out every seat for every concert on their tours. They rock the house. And that's what counts.

While LOAD may not appeal to a lot of Metallica's fanbase, for this listener it's got some of my favorite songs from the 1990s. The album plays like a greatest hits list of 1996, the songs were that big and that popular. And fortunately, this is the "popular=bad" equation most people think of. It has the epics ("Bleeding Me," "Outlaw Torn"), the radio staples ("Until It Sleeps," "King Nothing," "Hero of the Day"), an almost country sounding (!!) song ("Mama Said), and just some flat out great rock songs (though not necessarily great metal).

Being part of the new fan base the album helped bring it, I shook my head at the Metallica purists who hated it. Now, going thru the other records, now I understand the purists' frustration at Metallica for such a radical departure that this record represents. It really is Metallica doing alternative. And for those who love thrash and speed metal, to have one of the best metal bands ever turning away from that avenue can be discouraging.

Metallica has such a successfully realised metal sound, and their four 1980s albums are all fantastic. Those records are masterpieces. LOAD, and its sequel, are not the masterpieces the early albums are. But that doesn't mean they bad. Far from it. To be fair, it's hard to do a follow up to an album like MASTER OF PUPPETS, one of the definitive metal records of the 1980s. Though LOAD and RELOAD are not as good as the four, there's not very many records that are that good, they set such high standards.

In the ensuing years since its release, my esteem for the album has very slightly lessened, but this has more to do with their success on their earlier records than anything critical about this one. While their earlier work are unequivocal masterpieces, the LOAD era is a different animal altogether, and Metallica were trying to find a new sonic identity. They still feeling their way into the new artistic direciton.

While the purists may be right their earlier work is better, it does not change the fact LOAD is one of the best hard-rock albums of the 1990s, and is still probably my sentimental favorite, if not my critically favorite anymore, of all of Metallica's albums.

Chart Positions
Album: #1
Ain't My Bitch: #15
Hero of the Day: #1
Until It Sleeps: #1
Mama Said: #24
Bleeding Me: #6
King Nothing: #6

Let us start from the beginning. The question is not whether or not Metallica "sold out" because they changed their music style. The issue in a review like this is if the album was good or if it , instead, sucked royally.

To give an album one star means it sucked royally. While "Load" may not have met the expectations of some, it was at least a decent album. No, it was not thrash or speed metal. Like its previous effort, "Metallica" (commonly known as the "Black" album) "Load" had a more rock oriented sound to it. (No, it was not an alternative album, if anything "Load" at least represents a good hard rock album.)

Load did not suck royally. So, in my opinion, it deserves three stars. It did not meet the same level as an album like "Black," which would be a four or five.

As for earlier albums, this album is different. Understandably people buying this album expecting to see Metallica's thrash-metal roots (see "Master or Puppets" or "Ride the Lightning") clearly are disappointed. The reason for such disappointed is well founded.... "Load" is not a thrash metal album. It is, instead, a clear progression from earlier albums. Go ahead, listen to them in order and see if you can't expect an album like "Black" or later "Load."

Face it. James Hetfield and company aren't angry 18 year olds. If they were, they would be pumping out more albums like "Kill `Em All." And, no doubt, we'd be sick of them and complaining that all they can do is create copies of the same thing. Let Metallica evolve. Give them a bit of slack, and see where things take them. If you don't like where things are when, god forbid, Metallica is no more, then you can complain about where they ended up. But right now, they are still a work-in-progress (like any band still playing), so let's just see where evolution takes them.

What I have noticed in every Metallica album since Load all the way up to St. Anger is that ALL of them are pretty decent albums. But, all of them take a lot of listening to appreciate. I have all the albums and my favorite one by FAR is Master of Puppets, NO questions asked. So when I first listened to Load I hated it. The only good songs at first were Ain't my Bitch, Until it Sleeps, King Nothing and Cure. I HATED Hero of the Day at first but, slowly but surely the song grew on me. Some of the other songs like 2 x 4, Poor Twisted Me, and Thorn Within didn't really appeal to me at first. So when I first bought the album and listened to it, I discarded it for the longest time. Finally I was bored so I decided to listen to the album again just to see what I would think, and I still didnt like it. Finally after listening to it a third time, SOME of the songs mentioned above I started to nod my head to. Then listening to it a fourth time I actually started to really enjoy the album. Now I LOVE it! My point that all the newer Metallica albums like Load, Reload, Garage Inc. (1st album anyways) and St. Anger (S and M doesnt count), they all take a good 4 or 5 listens before you like it. They are easy to discard after the first listen, but you really need to give them a chance, and give it a good 4 or 5 listens and by then, if you still dont like it, sell it.

Those that buy this CD and instantly return it when they don't hear another "Enter Sandman" or "One" should question whether they ever were fans to begin with. Load was six years after the Black album, and it is unreasonable to expect no changes to a band's music over such a period of time. Those avid fans of "Justice" that frown on "Load" should compare their favorite album to "Bay Area Thrashers" and "Kill 'Em All." The differences in style over time are evident. Metallica has not "sold out." That's a pejorative explanation for those who need some sort of conspiracy theory to explain why Metallica would do this vicious thing to their fans by not writing fourteen of the same songs they've already written. "Load" doesn't sound like anything Metallica has done before, but does that make it bad, just because it wasn't what you were expecting? (In fact, the one song that is like the previous albums, "King Nothing," is among the worst on the album because it is unoriginal and uninspired.) Once you notice what the songs are like, instead of what they're not like, you realize they are memorable, original, and full of the same guitar wizardry that put Metallica on the map. I say, if they're writing the kind of music that they want to write, that's the exact *opposite* of "selling out."

This is the album Metallica would have made in 1993 if Cliff was still alive. Sacrilege comes the cry from the bemulleted crowd at the back, but did all you so-called Metallica fans know that Cliff was as much into blues and Mozart as Black Sabbath and Slayer? The prog rock in Metallica is now gone, in the respect that 3 minute, 30 scale solos are now gone. The blues and Black Sabbath are surfacing. How many of you complained about War Pigs having a harmonica? How many of you complained when the boys in Sepultura and Pantera cut their hair? You all just wanted an excuse to hate Metallica. And yet they still swept the rug away from under your feet by releasing this, their most profound and diverse work yet. Hetfield has never sounded better, and the lyrics to Outlaw Torn and Bleeding Me are the finest he has ever written. Yes, they aren't as heavy, nor angry as they were. Maybe when you get older you too will recognise the balls it took to release this. They knew they were going to lose a lot of fans with this. What is all this talk of selling out? They knew that if they released an album like before, it would sell well. They took a huge risk in releasing this, as it could have ended up that they would be too light for the elitists, and too heavy for the mainstream. Why all the criticism of Mama Said? No-one so much as blinked when Pantera did Suicide Note part 1, or when Sepultura did Jasco or Kaiowas. Metallica are starting to explore the areas that they couldn't go before, and in so doing they have made some great music which deserves to be listened to and judged, rather than hated just because everyone else does. Fair enough, why they wanted to put a song like `Poor Twisted Me' on the album totally escapes me, but when you have songs like `Thorn Within' and `Until It Sleeps' to compensate, it matters little. It may not be as heavy as the bone-heads wanted, but if a song does not have distortion on it, does that make it a bad song? No. This is an album for every mood, and it is a rock album. They never said it was going to be as heavy as Master of Puppets, and if you bought it expecting that, then die. I personally would have preferred `Justice For All' part II, but this does the job just fine. And it's better than the indulgent toss on Reload. And don't give me that guff about 'sell-out'. They were taking a risk with this, because they knew the mainstream were already scared of big, ugly Metallica, and that the old 'Metallibangers' (sorry to use that word, but you get the idea who I'm Talking about) would destroy them for going 'light'. If they had have done Master of Puppets part 2 then that would have been selling out, as it would have sold by the bucket-load, and htey knew it.

Did you know that out there in the world somewhere, there is someone who hates Metallica solely because James stopped drinking? And for that, they have succeeded in ensuring themselves a place in history...as a total f**king moron...

I think, while I sit eating a chimichanga and some vegetable soup, that there are a lot of people who have severely limited themselves, and themselves alone, with their defiance to this album.

I always thought it ridiculous that people took it as a strike against them personally that Metallica would go in any other direction. The only crime I find these men have comitted with regards to their direction (and this goes for ANYONE who wishes to assert ANY individuality at all) was trying to justify it.

"Metallica sold out!"
"How do you figure?"
"They cut their hair and went soft!"
"Number one: given; number two: HOW DO YOU FIGURE!"

I would like to say to anyone out there willing to listen (or read), I suggest you try the album again. Because if you honestly think tunes like "Outlaw Torn" or "Ain't My Bitch" aren't among this band's heaviest efforts, you need to give your head a shake.

It is almost painful to admit, but I must (shudder) agree with Lars Ulrich. He was the first to tell people to pack it if they don't appreciate Metallica's music. It's among your inalienable rights, if you don't like it, don't listen to it. Goes the same for them: if they like it, they'll record it. If you don't like it, don't buy it. I think it is important to clear up this little misconception about Metallica "Selling out to their fans". They didn't right the album for any of you, or me; neither did they do so on any other recording before or after. Actually, dare I say it (I do), the older stuff was by far less against the grain (to the effect that "the grain" exists) than their newer stuff is.

All these statements apply to their efforts after Load as well. They wrote what they wanted and continue to do so. Next time they role through your town, and you want to tell 'em what's what. Better get a ticket quick (sale lasts about an hour) and scream louder than the sold out audience is.

Load got me into Metallica. I can say that, and bite me if you don't like it. Ever since that point, I stopped listening to whatever everyone else is listening to.

Oh, update for anyone who needs it: Rick Rubin is producing album no. 10. So be prepared to have a fire lit up under you.

Catch y'all on the flip side.

The direction Metallica went on Load shows EXACTLY what they stood for since the beginning. Going with their instinct, doing what THEY felt they felt necessary to express themselves, regardless of what backlash some people may give. This album brought Metallica on a level above the entire genre of metal. They showed that unlike most metal bands, they can write beautiful, melodic music, and try new things. In fact, this album may be more metal than most, due to its heavy blues influence. After all, blues was one of the biggest influences on the formation of heavy metal. Now onto the album itself.

Load has a great variety of styles. You have powerful, up-tempo rockers like 'Wasting My Hate' 'Ain't My Bitch' and 'Cure'. A soft rocker with an intense bridge/outro in 'Hero Of The Day', and one of the biggest surprises of the album, the country-esque tune 'Mama Said'. Which is an absolutely beautiful tribute from James to his deceased mother, and anybody with a heart should be able to appreciate. Yet the highlights of Load in my opinion, are the epic rock classics 'Bleeding Me' and 'Outlaw Torn'. The lyrics, the solos, the riffs, the beats, everything about these songs is perfect and brilliant. Metal or not, these songs will go down in history as pieces of amazing artwork.

In summation, although the average metalhead will tell you they only like 'old Metallica', the MUSIC fan will be able to appreciate Load for what it is. Just because it isn't metal, doesn't mean it isn't good. Metallica took a daring risk that most metal bands would be scared to death of taking in their careers. And it pays off, as the music on this album comes from the heart, and shines with brilliance that only Metallica has been able to deliver.

I was VERY apprehensive about load to begin with. It was the last studio album that I bought, after having acquired all the earlier 80's MEtallica, and the Black album. THe reason? All the negative press from many of the people that loved 80s Metallica; mainly hardcore bogans.. The advice was usually 'don't buy it, its crap'. But when I inquired as to why it was crap, most people couldn't give me much of an answer. 'Its too mainstream' 'not heavy enough' 'sell out' was about as profound as the reasons came. Anyway I had faith in Metallica back then (before St Anger), so I bought Load because it couldn't possibly be 'that bad'.

My instincts proved me correct. There's no reason that I can see to justify viewing load as 'absolute crap' or anything close to that. On the contrary, it has lots of good songs on it. I don't want to be one of those fence sitters who says 'its just different' without accepting that something can be 'different and yet still bad'. Yet this is perhaps the best way to describe this album. Load isn't like older Metallica. It has a lot in common with the Black Album in style, with some more progressive elements and stylistic changes. (eg Mama Said - all acoustic 'country esque' tune)

THere's a lot to like on this CD for the open minded fan. Aint My Bitch, House that Jack Built, Until it Sleeps, Hero of the Day, Outlaw Torn, Thorn Within, to name a few. I'm not really that keen on 2x4 but hey its not bad. THere's nothing on this album that pains me to listen to it, unlike the HORRIBLE St Anger. My personal favourite is the beautiful 'Bleeding Me'.

So whats all the negative press about? I'm not going to justify my view by saying 'bands evolve - this is an evolution so its good.' Evolution can be a BAD thing if the music suffers. St Anger was an 'evolution' again (or more of a devolution) but it was absolute TOSH. Just because Metallica changed again didn't make the album not rubbish. WHats the difference then, between their change to that, and their change from the more complex, 80's style Metal into the style we hear on load? THe answer is simple - on Load, Metallica still demonstrate good songwriting

Ask yourself this - what do you want from Metallica? If you're only interested in really complex instrumentation, then load may not deliver for you. Go and buy music that caters for that; Steve Vai/Victor Wootton etc. Lars has downsized his drumkit and has dispensed with lots of pretty/extravagent tom fills in favour of keeping a tighter grip on things. But there's still a lot of creative drum work, its just more subtle. Listen to all the variations with the kick pedal/splash in Outlaw Torn and you'll see what I mean.

Load wasn't meant to emulate 80's Metallica, this much is clear. The band was evidently comfortable with what they'd done prior to load and wanted to keep themselves interested in music. They'd shown what they could do, technically speaking, they probably just wanted to write songs and try and stay relevant in the different climate of the mid 90's.

Load isn't Master of Puppets, and it never pretends to be. It doesn't try to be technically complex. That being said, Metallica really does deliver on this album as far as music is concerned. The boys still deliver some great songs that are easy to like. Again - this is why Load is good and St Anger isn't. Load was an evolution, but Metallica still produced good music and good songs. You'll still see some great songwriting on Load. St Anger was also an evolution, but Metallica decided to attempt to appease all the 'I dont like it if its not heavy' crowd, and so dispense with melody/rhythm and good songwriting in favour of white noise and tin can drumming.

I know what I'd rather listen to....

So overall, be open minded. Don't expect another Master of Puppets/And Justice for All. Expect an album full of great songs that you enjoy listening to. Don't expect heaviness for heaviness' sake (*Cough* St Anger) - expect to hear good music, and you may just find that you love this album.

Delivered five years after their eponymous "black" album in 1991, Load captures Metallica settling into an uneasy period of maturation. Under the guidance of producer Bob Rock, Metallica have streamlined their sound, cutting away most of the twisting, unpredictable time signatures and the mind-numbingly fast riffs. What's left is polished - and disappointingly straightforward - heavy metal. Metallica's attempts at expanding their sonic palette have made them seem more conventional than they ever have before. They add in Southern boogie rock, country-rock, and power ballads to their bag of tricks, which make them sound like '70s arena rock holdovers. Metallica's idea of opening up their sound is to concentrate on relentless mid-tempo boogie - over half the album is dedicated to songs that are meant to groove, but they simply don't swing. Metallica sound tight, but with the material they've written, they should sound loose. That becomes apparent as the songs drag out over the album's nearly 80-minute running time - there are only so many times that a band can work the same tempo exactly the same way before it becomes tedious. It isn't surprising to hear Metallica get stodgier and more conservative as they get older, but it is nonetheless depressing.

Ya know what, I'll admit that this album is nowhere close to the Horsemen's first five. There are a grand total of....5 or 6 good songs on this CD: (Bitch maybe), King, Hero, Bleed, Mama, and Outlaw. People wonder why bands like Megadeth still play thrash music with no meaning, and Metallica turned into heavy alternative rock. I believe it's because Metallica is a band that is no slave to routine. If a band puts out one thrash album after another, the music eventually all sounds the same. But a variety of records are like periods in a painter's life. Metallica had their young and angry period, Kill-Puppets, their political period, Justice, and then their bluesy period, Black-Reload. I respect the horsemen for not staying in the thrash era, because otherwise I think they wouldn't be as popular. Although I personally think this album is not good, it just doesn't appeal to me.