Metallica – Load (1996)

July 19, 2024

Ah, Load, truly you were the death knell for Metallica, right? The warning signs were there with the self-titled, but the songwriting remained strong enough that most did not notice. On Load, the transition to whiskey-drankin yeehaw RAWK had finally completed, and if Load was the death of Metallica then ReLoad was the final nail in the coffin that buried them forever afterwards.

But I like Load. This is entirely because it was one of the first albums I bought from them. I got …And Justice For All whilst on holiday, and a few months later I got both Master Of Puppets and Load together a record store at home. Obviously, even as a snotty 14 year old I could tell the difference between Load and Master Of Puppets. I remember telling one of my friends who got into them through the “I Disappear” single that he would “fucking shit himself” once he got around to the old thrash stuff (sadly, he didn’t).

Anyway, enough about memory lane. I will not be the first person to say that Load, if released by another band, would have been recieved far better. The 90s were a testing time for many in the metalsphere, and Metallica were no different in experiencing an identity crisis (if definitely not a relevancy crisis, what with the success of their previous album). I genuinely think the first half of this thing is pretty enjoyable for what it is. After “Cure” I start to lose my patience, because there is no fucking reason for this to be 80 minutes long. This isn’t Swans.

If you can take it at face value for being RAWK and roll then I’d say fuck it, kick back and enjoy this thing and its weird production. Otherwise I’d stay away from it, personally.