Reload

Metallica | Format: MP3 Download

Product Details

• Original Release Date: November 7, 1997
• Release Date: November 7, 1997
• Label: Elektra Records
• Copyright: 1997 E/M Ventures
• Total Length: 1:16:01
• Genres:
• ASIN: B001202ROO
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (662 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,121 Paid in MP3 Albums (See Top 100 Paid in MP3 Albums)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Can we stop the whole "sold-out" thing?, June 1, 2001

By 

axeman2081 (Rochester, New York United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Re-Load (Audio CD)

First off, anyone who bashes this album based on past Metallica releases is missing the point. We're not in 1983 anymore. At least in their albums, Metallica have made their stamp on thrash metal and have moved on. They still play all the old stuff live, and play it better than ever.

Anyway, let's get straight to the point here. If you are a hardcore metalhead, and accept nothing but fast and angry music, this album is obviously not for you. If you are just a fan of good hard rock of all kinds from blues to metal, chances are you'll enjoy this. As far as Lars' drumming here, it is simpler than before. Mainly because these Load records are more guitar driven (both Kirk and James play rhythum) than before, and Lars is simply becoming more vibe oriented, rather than being all flashy and show-off. Still, as seen on the songs "Fuel" and "Bad Seed", there are still some good drum fills throughout the album.

Even though its been done 100 times before, I feel its necessary to break this down song by song. I'm even going to listen to them as I write this.

1) Fuel: Fast song, as the title indicates. Almost reminicent of old Motorhead, particularly "Ace of Spades". The fast and simple main rhythum, the guitar fills in between, and Lars' churning double-bass drum during the chours. The best song on the album.

2) The Memory Remains: An old friend of the 'Stones, Marianne Faithful, contributes some vocals here. Again, simple guitar riffs, almost like a darker Iron Maiden. The subject matter deals with famous people fading out of the spotlight. You'll notice here that Kirk's leads are more blues than speed, something he learned from one of his guitar heros: UFO's Michael Schenker. Another great song.

3) Devil's Dance: Funny how the old Metallica never wrote anything about the devil. This is where the heavyness begins. The opening guitar effects are great (especially the crunchy one at about :16). Although it doesn't have the groove of the classic "Sad but True", it holds its own. Basically, this song is about the temptations of the devil. A real hidden gem.

4) The Unforgiven II: Indeed, it does resemble the original song in some ways. James was writing this song one day and realized that the chord progression was similar to "The Unforgiven". Rather than toss it, he tweaked it up enough so that it only became a sequel. The somewhat "country" sound in the clean guitar is just James using the B-bender in his Fender Telecaster. Its interesting how in the original, the verses had heavy music and the chorus had soft, while here its vice versa. Overall, despite the resemblance to the first Unforgiven, this song is good enough to stand on its own.

5) Better than You: A song that wins a Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance can't be that bad. The subject matter deals with something we all can relate to: the desire to be better than your rivals. Hard, driving guitars are the heart of this song.

6) Sliter: Although not a terrible song, its not one of the most memorable. James seems to be telling us something when he says "There ain't no heros here". One thing about all of Metallica's songs is that they are open to a lot of interpretation. This one doesn't seem to have a meaning that's obvious.

7) Carpe Diem Baby: The title pretty much says what this song is all about. Great sense of movement here. If you don't like this, James has two words for you: "Suck it!"

8) Bad Seed: Tuning down to C# gives this song an added element of heavyness. Lars gets a little wild on the drums here, especially in the chours. Cool song.

9) Where the Wild Things Are: You may know a children's story book by the same name. Haunting opening guitars lead to pounding power chords. Indeed, the whole song is very dark and haunting, reminicent of Alice in Chains. Another cool song.

10) Prince Charming: A fun, loose, and dirty song, kinda like "So What". Not too much lyrical or musical depth here, just something to sit back and enjoy.

11) Low Man's Lyric: This song about the homeless seems out of place on a Metallica record. Even though a past song, Nothing else Matters, has the same slow and clean feel to it, it doesn't have the climactic ending of its predecessor. Many people would avoid this song simply because its a pure ballad, but again, that's missing the point. Nevertheless, a cool song.

12) Attitude: The theme of vibe oriented songs continues here. Aggressive in its music and lyrics, its another great song.

13) Fixxxer: Here's where it gets ugly (in a GOOD way). The opening wahs of the guitar are Hendrix-like in their sound. This is one twisted, heavy song, somewhat similar to "The Outlaw Torn". One of the best on the album, and one of the more popular songs among the fans.

This album, along with Load, is a lot more loose than the tightness and speed of '80s Metallica. Still, most modern bands (3 Doors Down, Papa Roach, Blink 182) would crumble under the weight of this album. It might be a weaker Metallica album than others, but its definately not a bad one.

41 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars For all you "real" fans, December 17, 1999

By 

"eliminator428" (earth) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Re-Load (Audio CD)

Okay, there seems to be four Metallica fan groups out there. You have the "I've been the biggest fan since "no life 'till leather" demo came out and they say Metallica sold out with "And justice for all". Next you have the "Master of Puppets" group that says everything that's not "Master of Puppets" sucks. Followed by the "And Justice"/black album crowd, who for some reason don't like the earlier "Kill 'em All" and "Ride the Lightning", yet state that "Reload/Load" were total sell-outs and nothing will compare to the Black album, the album all the other "fans" whined abot years ago when it first came out. Then you've got the new fan base that loves "Load" and "Reload" and are also buying "Garage inc." (cover songs that influeced them) and earlier albums. The funny thing is you don't hear a lot of newer fans complaining about the older albums or all the older songs that they still play at their shows. Some of you so called "die hard fans from back in the day" need to lighten up a little bit and maybe expand your musical horizons some. "Reload" is not a bad album. It is a little different but is still a great effort by four talented musicians. Some other open minded reviewers made reference to "hair swinging" and if thats all you're into don't buy this album, I agree. There are plenty of hair swinging bands,(Exodus, Meliah Rage, Kreator etc.) none have the talent, then or now, that the musicians in Metallica have.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Sellouts of the Century, May 4, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Re-Load (Audio CD)

I cannot say enough about how Metallica has done a 180 turn for the worst. They were everything that metal meant; after all, they were metal'lica. But since they started selling records and got a taste for dead presidents they have lost their integrity. I mean this in the truest sense of the word. With their impending lawsuit against napster, this band has layed the last brick in the wall between them and their fans. Lars says that the band doesn't like their art traded like a commodity. What does that mean, Lars. We aren't talking about a group of starving artists here. Additionally, music being sold by the record companies doesn't qualify as "traded like a commodity"? Oh the days when Burton was playing with the band. They were masters of the trade. He must be turning over in his grave now...