Music: Metallica's Load 20 years later

Whiplash27

Quattro!!
Jan 25, 2007
17,343
66
Westchester, NY
Load is a solid album. People hate on it because "Metallica Sold Out," but if you look at it on its own it's definitely an above average hard rock album.
 

BonMorrison

Registered User
Jun 17, 2011
33,989
10,296
Toronto, ON
Casual Metallica listener here - always though Load and Reload were pretty great. Bands change their sound as time goes on, whatever.
 

Xelebes

Registered User
Jun 10, 2007
9,048
624
Edmonton, Alberta
Pretty much my first exposure to Metallica. Did not enjoy it then and still do not enjoy it now. To think that Nickelback copied that sound. . . *shudder*
 

themightyquinn

Registered User
Jun 10, 2007
580
13
Toronto
It's okay. It just confirmed the move away from metal that started with the Black Album. If you listen to Master of Puppets and then ...And Justice For All and then skip the Black Album and put this on after Justice, it does feel like a let down.

That being said, I think Bleeding Me is one of the best songs they ever wrote from any album in any era.
 

TNT87

Registered User
Jun 23, 2010
21,682
8,393
PA
King Nothing is absolutely my favorite song off the album and one of my ten favorite from the band. Other songs I like on the album are Hero of the Day, Until it Sleeps, and Poor Twisted Me. I don't mind it.
 

Buckets and Gloves

klaatu barada nikto
Aug 14, 2011
7,578
175
It's funny, when I was younger I didn't like Metallica because I thought them as "too mainstream"... I found though just before Death Magnetic came out... I started to embrace and love Metallica.

It's just solid **** ya rock... one of my fav bands now.

Have no issue with load, it was an evolution of sound... again, talking about someone who didn't fully embrace Metallica so I didn't see the change organically or was infuriated by it.

Bands change and evolve, staying the same is boring.
 

Mrb1p

PRICERSTOPDAPUCK
Dec 10, 2011
91,719
58,815
Citizen of the world
It's a good album and would be heralded as one of the best album of any other band if it wasn't metallica. People like to hate on succesful people.

None of their albums are bad. Bad songs like I disappear, sure.

The drums on St anger are horrible, but the album is good. Sue me.

I like St. anger more than Reload, and i love load.
 

Captain Bowie

Registered User
Jan 18, 2012
27,139
4,414
King Nothing and Until It Sleeps are great tracks, forgettable album otherwise.

EDIT: Forgot about Hero of the Day, good song too.
 

Philly85*

I Ain't Even Mad
Mar 28, 2009
15,845
3
definitely one of their weakest albums and a signal it really was all downhill from there for them. Sure the Black Album was their official mainstream pivot to the public, but even it is still much better than Load. I like a couple songs, mostly just King Nothing, but it is pretty average if not downright poor by their standards.

Nothing to celebrate or commemorate at all. Odd thread.
 

Bobby Orrtuzzo

Ya know
Jul 8, 2015
13,148
10,405
St. Louis
I'm one of those people who preferred 80's (and the black album) Metallica over anything else they've done, so I'm still not a fan of it. Don't hate it, but don't love it either. And I get bands change (I usually applaud bands that do), but this is one band I wish would've stayed relatively the same.
 

Zodiac

Registered User
Jul 6, 2003
21,135
672
the Black album was their last good album, imo ...although the change to a more mainstream sound was very evident. everything else after that was pretty 'meh' ...with the odd okay tune sprinkled here and there.

a tremendous fall from grace and so disappointing as i feel their first 4 albums are some of the best metal ever written. damn that was a long time ago.
 

SniperHF

Rejecting Reports
Mar 9, 2007
42,821
22,199
Phoenix
Probably my 3rd favorite Metallica album and their best writing.

Don't like Poor Twisted Me, Mama Said, and Thorn Within very much but the rest are good - great.
 

PBandJ

If it didn't happen in the 80's, it didn't happen
Jan 5, 2012
13,107
4,329
Edmonton, Alberta
I love Load. Great, gritty hard rock album, with Mama Said as more of a country ballad. Love that song too.

If you took the best of Load and the best of ReLoad, you'd have one brilliant album.
 

Eisen

Registered User
Sep 30, 2009
16,737
3,104
Duesseldorf
It still stinks. Until it sleeps is the only song I liked somewhat. Still a far cry compared to the first four albums.
 

beowulf

Not a nice guy.
Jan 29, 2005
59,652
9,187
Ottawa
Been listening to Metallica since the mid 80's with my first album being Master of Puppets. I really like most of the songs on Load though it is not my favorite album. I commended them back in the day and again today for trying something different. It didn't work out perfectly but still gave us some good songs.
 

hototogisu

Poked the bear!!!!!
Jun 30, 2006
41,189
80
Montreal, QC
I feel like Load and Reload look better now only because Metallica have released things since then that have been so, so much more awful (St. Anger, Lulu).
 

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