Music: Metallica's Load 20 years later

[Unhealthy Scratch]

For the sole purpose of this thread, I just went back and listened to "Load" for the first time in at least a decade.

Something I never noticed before: the very apparent Kyuss influence, particularly on the heavier songs. I believe Kyuss supported them on the Australian leg of their Black Album tour, and they even had Scott Reeder audition to play bass after Jason Newsted left. Interesting.

I think it could have benefited from production less typical of mid-'90s alternative rock, and not being so long and filler-laden just because CDs could hold up to 80 minutes of music. Some of the riffs throughout follow a similar formula that gets predictable, and the rockers that lack a strong hook tend to blend together (I don't think I could hum you any of "Cure", "Poor Twisted Me" or "Thorn Within", even having just listened to them an hour ago).

All that being said, it's nowhere near being offensively bad in the vein of St. Anger, and definitely has some strong moments ("Bleeding Me" and "The Outlaw Torn" are the two longest tracks on the album, and in both cases I was still a little disappointed when they ended). Also, "Mama Said", despite making me cringe as a metal-loving teenager, is much better than I remembered.

If I'm recalling correctly, wasn't "ReLoad" just a compilation of b-sides from the "Load" sessions? Because I think if you combined the best of the two, you'd have a damn good Metallica record rather than one solid-but-unspectacular one, and one mostly-pretty-bad one.

All in all, I'd grade it a C+, maybe a B-. Largely inoffensive-but-unmemorable, with a couple of cringeworthy attempts at pop-rock ("Until It Sleeps", "King Nothing") being more than compensated for by "Bleeding Me", "The Outlaw Torn" and "Hero Of The Day", which I'll always have a soft spot for because of this video:

 

[Hivemind]

My mistake. I guess the band that constantly made their music more and more inoffensive and friendly to middle of the road radio audiences way staying true. Seeking out mainstream producers, hounding fans about payment, toning down elements that were too far fetched for radio, selling their music to video games, producing a feature length movie, and making an abortion of an album with Lou Reed was all part of them being typical, honest musicians. In no way was it a series of publicity grabs aimed at generating revenue.

Got it.

 

[beowulf]

My mistake. I guess the band that constantly made their music more and more inoffensive and friendly to middle of the road radio audiences way staying true. Seeking out mainstream producers, hounding fans about payment, toning down elements that were too far fetched for radio, selling their music to video games, producing a feature length movie, and making an abortion of an album with Lou Reed was all part of them being typical, honest musicians. In no way was it a series of publicity grabs aimed at generating revenue.

Got it.

OMG so ****ing full of BS.

 

[Warden of the North]

I really, really like King Nothing.

The version of Until it Sleeps on S&M is also fantastic

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

My mistake. I guess the band that constantly made their music more and more inoffensive and friendly to middle of the road radio audiences way staying true. Seeking out mainstream producers, hounding fans about payment, toning down elements that were too far fetched for radio, selling their music to video games, producing a feature length movie, and making an abortion of an album with Lou Reed was all part of them being typical, honest musicians. In no way was it a series of publicity grabs aimed at generating revenue.

Got it.

As much as I hate the results, I honestly think Metallica was just aging and trying something more melodious. Being defensive about their intellectual property doesn't change that, and making an album with Lou Reed is in no way a sellout. Who the hell makes an album with Lou Reed in 2011 in order to make money? That makes no sense.

 

[Hammettf2b]

As much as I hate the results, I honestly think Metallica was just aging and trying something more melodious. Being defensive about their intellectual property doesn't change that, and making an album with Lou Reed is in no way a sellout. Who the hell makes an album with Lou Reed in 2011 in order to make money? That makes no sense.

So much this.

 

[Augscura]

Uninspired butt rock. Terrrible

 

[ColePens]

What is an "honest musician" though? Everyone's intention when they start playing a sport or playing music is to make it their living. Metallica switching sounds isn't selling out and taking away from their true ways. That's the music they wanted to create at the time. It's their music. It's their evolution.

Shouldn't the blame be on the fans for their sad response to a slight change in sound?


For the record - I'm not a heavy metal fan at all. Not my genre. But I was a kid in the 90s (born 1985) and loved And Justice For All, Black album, Load, and Reload. I also really liked Master of Puppets and Ride the Lightning, too. Only one I didn't care for was Kill 'em all. I never personally understood why fans thought they sold out. IMO, the crazy heavy metal diehards refuse to adapt and blame everyone else because they refuse to adapt in life.

 

[BonMorrison]

What is an "honest musician" though? Everyone's intention when they start playing a sport or playing music is to make it their living. Metallica switching sounds isn't selling out and taking away from their true ways. That's the music they wanted to create at the time. It's their music. It's their evolution.

This is how I see it as well. I suppose fans think its selling out when the change in styles seems like a non-genuine change that wasn't done for artistic purposes but because we're not actually the artist/band - how are we to know if its genuine or not? I give most bands the benefit of the doubt when they choose to change sounds but that's just me. I know from personal experience as a musician that wanting to change your style is natural; you get bored and want to expand creatively.

 

[Hivemind]

What is an "honest musician" though? Everyone's intention when they start playing a sport or playing music is to make it their living.

This is blatantly false. Many play music or sports as a hobby. Some do it as a passion. Neither of which are automatically done with the intention of making it living.

Further still, you can make a living from music without becoming a corporate shill like Metallica. Metallica is basically one step away from being KISS, in terms of selling the brand over selling the music.

Metallica switching sounds isn't selling out and taking away from their true ways. That's the music they wanted to create at the time. It's their music. It's their evolution.

Sure, they can do what they want. Nobody is saying they can't. But writing the music they want doesn't mean that their motivations weren't driven by money (or the advice of the producers and record labels that aimed to make money off of them).

Shouldn't the blame be on the fans for their sad response to a slight change in sound?

Slight change in sound? What?

Listen to Kill 'Em All or Ride the Lightning then listen to Lulu or Load and tell me the change in sound was "slight."

For the record - I'm not a heavy metal fan at all. Not my genre. But I was a kid in the 90s (born 1985) and loved And Justice For All, Black album, Load, and Reload. I also really liked Master of Puppets and Ride the Lightning, too. Only one I didn't care for was Kill 'em all. I never personally understood why fans thought they sold out. IMO, the crazy heavy metal diehards refuse to adapt and blame everyone else because they refuse to adapt in life.

So, in other words, you're talking out of your element and don't understand what you're talking about? Got it.
Plenty of the "crazy heavy metal diehard" have "adapted" to changes in sound that were organic and well suited. Few genres are as wide-spanning as metal, which spans from blues-laden Black Sabbath to the spastically fast and progressive Vektor to nihilistic noise and texture-driven Gnaw Their Tongues. Plenty of metal fans have continued to adapt to the growth and changes in the genre (and sub-genres) of metal, and the growth and changes of particular bands. Black Sabbath reinvented themselves multiple times, and you'll find diehard who love the Dio albums more than the doomy Ozzy ones, for instance. Take Celtic Frost as another example. Morbid Tales, To Mega Therion, and Monotheist all have very distinct sounds from one another, yet are all heralded as terrific albums (or even classics). Meanwhile, Cold Lake is panned as crap because it wasn't an evolution of what they had done, but rather a sappy radio metal album. Even specifically speaking about Metallica, most of the metal community supports the change in direction the band took after the firing of Mustaine, when they shifted towards a more melodic/progressive approach to thrash metal on Master of Puppets and ...And Justice for All. There are definite evolutions in the band between each of the first four albums, and metal fans stuck with them through each of those (and many stuck with them for their S/T album as well).

 

[ColePens]

I guess my question to you, Hivemind, is why do you take it all so personal?

I actually think diehard heavy metal fans are interesting. They are the absolute most passionate music fans. But.. 1980 isn't coming back. Heavy metal isn't popular and that era is far from coming back around. That's okay, though. It's the evolution of music. In the 90s, heavy metal music was really losing steam. Some of most interesting sounds became alternative and grunge. Metallica put out one of the best albums of all time. No matter if the person has listened to heavy metal or not, they know Metallica's black album. That should be something we celebrate. A heavy metal band totally took over the music world. That's something to celebrate - not hate on.

But ultimately why do you take their changes so personally? If they tried to make every album like Kill 'Em All, they wouldn't be nearly as good as they are. But why does that actually affect you?

 

[Hivemind]

The only thing I took even mildly personally was the shot at "heavy metal diehards" (as I viewed that as a thinly veiled shot at me). And even that I took with a grain of salt. Just because I have a strongly held opinion on the matter doesn't mean I take it personally that Metallica changed their style. I'm just a person who enjoys debating things on the internet (as most forum-goers are).


Metal diehards don't give a rat's behind about what's popular. Metal did not lose steam in the 90s. The 90s were a brilliant period for the metal underground. That's when sludge, grindcore, death metal, and black metal really became their own incarnations. And even those had plenty of popularity (or minimally notoriety) internationally. It wasn't until the late 90s and early 2000s that metal had a stagnation period.

I dispute that Metallica's self-titled is one of the greatest albums of all time. It's rare you'll even find a Metallica fan that cites that as their favorite Metallica album. It's just a radio hit that casual fans know because they heard "Enter Sandman" on the radio every few hours. The only people who consider it the greatest are those who base greatness on record sales.

Here's the rub. Metal fans would rather have another album that suits their tastes than a "metal" band watering down their music and finding mainstream success. Why should metal fans celebrate a formerly metal band that finds success playing butt rock? Black Sabbath is massively popular and they kept playing heavy metal the whole time. Iron Maiden has "taken over" much of the music world*, and they stuck to their guns. Metallica watered down their sound, that's why diehard metal fans turned their back on them.


*And before anyone tries to dispute this point, the music world is much larger than the US. Iron Maiden sells out stadiums all over Europe, and draws crowds of up to 250,000-300,000 in Latin America.

 

[Lost Horizons]

I'm an Iron Maiden fan but they have released the same record virtually over and over and over again.The 6-4-5 chord progression has worked very well for them over the years. They've been living off the past on a lot of their tours.

Metallica sells out stadiums and festivals all over the world too as well

 

[SirPaste]

I haven't listened to it in over a decade but I'm pretty confident that it's still terrible

 

[Riggins]

I actually got into Metallica around the time of Load as a young teenager. So I guess I'm the type they sold out to appeal to.

I got all their CDs, possibly as part of one of those classic Columbia House CD "deals". I only liked a song or two on Kill Em All, Master of Puppets and Ride the Lightning. And Justice for All had more appeal to me.

I could pop on the Black Album and listen to the whole thing. Same with Load. Reload was ok but I didn't get that into it. Something about that old lady on The Memory Remains crept me out and threw me off. St. Anger was straight garbage and I lost all interest in any other new material they put out.

 

[Habsfunk]

As much as I hate the results, I honestly think Metallica was just aging and trying something more melodious. Being defensive about their intellectual property doesn't change that, and making an album with Lou Reed is in no way a sellout. Who the hell makes an album with Lou Reed in 2011 in order to make money? That makes no sense.

Bingo. The only redeeming thing about Lulu is the fact it was made and released. As a concept, it's kind of amazing. As music, it's unlistenable.

I don't think Metallica sold out, they just got mellower with age. It happens, and you move on to the next young, upcoming band that captures the energy your former favourites once had.

 

[Nemesis Prime]

What is an "honest musician" though? Everyone's intention when they start playing a sport or playing music is to make it their living. Metallica switching sounds isn't selling out and taking away from their true ways. That's the music they wanted to create at the time. It's their music. It's their evolution.

Shouldn't the blame be on the fans for their sad response to a slight change in sound?


For the record - I'm not a heavy metal fan at all. Not my genre. But I was a kid in the 90s (born 1985) and loved And Justice For All, Black album, Load, and Reload. I also really liked Master of Puppets and Ride the Lightning, too. Only one I didn't care for was Kill 'em all. I never personally understood why fans thought they sold out. IMO, the crazy heavy metal diehards refuse to adapt and blame everyone else because they refuse to adapt in life.

This is the realest thing I ever read.

I love Load, it's probably my second favourite album behind Justice. There was actually a thread on another forum I visit where it was like combine Load/Reload into one solid album and it produced some interesting results.

 

[PBandJ]

This is the realest thing I ever read.

I love Load, it's probably my second favourite album behind Justice. There was actually a thread on another forum I visit where it was like combine Load/Reload into one solid album and it produced some interesting results.

"Fuel"
"The Memory Remains"
"Until It Sleeps"
"King Nothing"
"Low Man's Lyric"
"Hero of the Day"
"Bleeding Me"
"Wasting My Hate"
"Mama Said"
"Bad Seed"
"The Outlaw Torn"

IMO, those are the strongest songs on both albums and put together would make a great single album. Instead, you get a good album (IMO) in Load and a generally awful album outside of some highlights in ReLoad.

 

[Ouroboros]

Uninspired butt rock. Terrrible

This applies to every Metallica release.

 

[Hivemind]

This applies to every Metallica release.

Incorrect.

 

[2faded]

Garbage.

 

[67 others]

It was a school day and I asked my parents to get me the cassette during lunch.

Everyone who saw I had the new album was mad and could not wait to go get it themselves.

I could not get into it. I listened to it over and over trying to. But it did not catch me the way their old albums did. Back when you listened side to side, the whole albums. I found myself fast forwarding through multiple songs by weeks end.

 

[beowulf]

The only thing I took even mildly personally was the shot at "heavy metal diehards" (as I viewed that as a thinly veiled shot at me). And even that I took with a grain of salt. Just because I have a strongly held opinion on the matter doesn't mean I take it personally that Metallica changed their style. I'm just a person who enjoys debating things on the internet (as most forum-goers are).


Metal diehards don't give a rat's behind about what's popular. Metal did not lose steam in the 90s. The 90s were a brilliant period for the metal underground. That's when sludge, grindcore, death metal, and black metal really became their own incarnations. And even those had plenty of popularity (or minimally notoriety) internationally. It wasn't until the late 90s and early 2000s that metal had a stagnation period.

I dispute that Metallica's self-titled is one of the greatest albums of all time. It's rare you'll even find a Metallica fan that cites that as their favorite Metallica album. It's just a radio hit that casual fans know because they heard "Enter Sandman" on the radio every few hours. The only people who consider it the greatest are those who base greatness on record sales.

Here's the rub. Metal fans would rather have another album that suits their tastes than a "metal" band watering down their music and finding mainstream success. Why should metal fans celebrate a formerly metal band that finds success playing butt rock? Black Sabbath is massively popular and they kept playing heavy metal the whole time. Iron Maiden has "taken over" much of the music world*, and they stuck to their guns. Metallica watered down their sound, that's why diehard metal fans turned their back on them.


*And before anyone tries to dispute this point, the music world is much larger than the US. Iron Maiden sells out stadiums all over Europe, and draws crowds of up to 250,000-300,000 in Latin America.

Waa waa waa your post just make it sound like you have a personal hate for Metallica. You look for anything and everything to validate in your mind that they "sold out". Metallica sold out but Iron Maiden is flying around in a jet they bought just like Metallica and they didn't? hmmmm

 

[ColePens]

I don't see it as a personal hate towards Metallica. I see it as a personal love to the idea of what "metal" was all about, and an irrational hate that the metal culture lost steam and evolved with time. It created such a culture and there were a mass amount of people who believed that culture was real. The heavy metal culture really was quite an amazing thing, but like every era in music... it's not forever. So when bands adapted or left that overall genre, fans felt cheated.. for which i'll never understand.

Music is subjective. This guy that I play hockey with still won't leave the 80s/90s and loves Pantera to death. He irrationally hates all music because it's not that music. He won't even listen to new-age music with the perceived notion that it's anti-metal. He believed in the metal culture and absolutely refuses to change.

I think it's cool. If music moved you that much, then who cares? It's all subjective anyway. Live/die by what moves you the most and don't let anyone tell you different. But on the flip side, if a band decides to change or adapt with the times, don't call them "sellouts" or hate on them for it. Just appreciate what moves you the most and continue on. There was never some lifelong contract that Metallica promised to their fans that they'd only produce albums such as Kill 'em All, Ride the Lightning, and Master of Puppets. That never happened. So why is any negativity focused on Metallica's new style of music?

 

[SniperHF]

The version of Until it Sleeps on S&M is also fantastic

That's one of my least liked S&M versions. They sped it up too much. Loses some of the punch of the vocals.

They always do that with Fuel too, drives me nuts.

Something about that old lady on The Memory Remains

I used to think this song was okay but now I kinda hate it for irrational reasons and I'm not sure why