Here’s my dirty secret: until a few days ago not only did I not own a physical copy of Load, the sixth album from arguably my favorite heavy metal band of all time Metallica, but…I had never even listened to the album in its entirety. I knew the singles, wasn’t overly impressed, but that’s only part of the reason. By 1996 I had shifted into other genres and tastes, and both Load and Reload were albums I assumed I would get to in time, but never did (I still haven’t listened to all of Reload). On the event of the band getting their remastered deluxe set ready for next week, I decided now was the time and grabbed the vinyl, just as I did every other remaster the band have released to date. It was the perfect way to grab these on vinyl for the first time, and so far the remasters have all been superb. Since my copy of Load arrived a week early, I finally sat down and listened to the entire album.
Guess what? I’ve got thoughts (long post ahead).
Overall impressions: it’s not terrible. At all. There are some great tracks, and there are some not good at all tracks…kind of like a lot of Metallica from the self-titled aka Black Album onwards. Load is definitely a case of the band wanting to stretch a bit and see what they could do with a more modern sound, something I’m sure hit-maker Bob Rock was pushing like a bandit. Putting aside the glam look they adopted (though honestly Kirk and Jason kinda make it work) which I think turned “fans” off more than the music, a lot of Load sounds like a direct response to the explosion of grunge and hard, emotive rock that was turning the world on its ear. You can definitely hear the influence of bands like Soundgarden and Alice in Chains in songs like “2 x 4” and rather than treating it as selling out (why on earth would a band whose previous album has sold over 20,000,000 albums to date need to “sell out”?), I think of it as the guys wanting to see if this was something they could mold into their own musical vocabulary.
It’s still too long, and the tracks that don’t work are the ones that meander along in search of a vibe that’s never found. Or that capitulate too much to radio hits. They can do it, but with zero filter and a producer egging James and Lars on to their most indulgent solid ideas and nuggets (the bridge of “Hero Of The Day” comes to mind) are folded into lengthy jams and soporific songs that fade as soon as they finish.
And yet…Jason Newsted despite having no songwriting credits here gets his bass nice and loud, rumbling along and adding some much needed weight to the tracks. This might also be Kirk Hammett’s finest hour on lead guitar: his solos are ferocious interesting, getting downright gnarly and nasty all over “The House That Jack Built” (looking online maybe Hetfield did the crazy talk box stuff, or did it in conjunction with Hammett? Doesn’t matter – it kills). It’s a rich and robust production of an album that’s at least 20 minutes too long, but let’s get into the songs themselves and see where we land:
“Ain’t My Bitch” – I like the kick out the gates opener. The riff is simple but immediate, and James’s rhyme lyrics are front and center. Really like the little fast part in the chorus, although I wish Lars would put a little spin on the drumming – this feels like the start of his simple no effort drum beats, something that gets progressively worse over the next 30 years. It not that it doesn’t work, but that it’s so simple and thudding. Hammett to the rescue with that slide guitar solo. I’ll say it again: he slays on this record. A memorable first track, and a strong opener.
“2 x 4” – Things slow down, get down-tuned, and slither like a snake across the ground. This is the first instance of the band sounding like that want to out-grunge the grunge stars, and it’s fine, but it feels like it goes on too long. The solo going in half-time drags this thing under the currents, and it slips into a lethargic gear that remains when it does finally come up for air.
“The House That Jack Built” – I’m not a fan of the opening at all. Just feels like a different song tacked on provide some dynamics that are already there once James finishes the intro. The lurching menace of the verses, though? Love it. This shares DNA with “The Thing That Should Not Be” and when the talk box comes in sure the AiC vibes are strong but it really works in the song, and when the chorus comes in that opening that didn’t work now does. The talk box solos is ugly in the best way, and despite some sluggishness in “2 x 4” I think Load is off to a solid start. Unfortunately…
“Until It Sleeps” – Sorry, but I can’t abide, despite Jason being front and center in the opening. The chorus sounds so precise in its hook like it’s calibrated to get onto radio, and despite some really great guitar effects (I love the tremolo) I really have to work to find the small nuggets of good in it. Sometimes catchy is just catchy – I can bounce along all day to that silly “Apt” song but it’s not a very good song, you know? Same here with “Until It Sleeps” no matter how personal the lyrics might be.
“King Nothing” – I think this is a more successful blend of what Metallica does and what they wanted to get out on the radio. It has some fun interplay in the riffs and it rocks, although this is I think the third time so far in the album James resorts to nursery rhymes in his lyrics. Overall it feels like this is a lighter album, not as suffocatingly dark as the Black Album, but also not as stamped with that patented ‘Tallica sound, if that makes sense.
“Hero Of The Day” – Nope, still completely bounces off me every time I hear it. I do like Newsted’s bass popping and uses octaves underneath the poor man’s singer songwriter fingerpicking going on. Am I crazy or does Lars have a weird snare sound here as well? It’s not as obnoxious as on St. Anger (although I kinda dig how it works in that context), but it’s noticeable. That bridge is still fine…I just wish the rest of the song was anywhere near as invested as that moment was.
“Bleeding Me” – This might be the first of the “unheard” songs for me, and I’m taken with the organ that seeps under the guitars. Is this also where the band started randomly tacking on endings? I think the first five minutes works really well as an entire song, and while I like the riff that kicks off the rest of the song, and how it ramps up the aggression before returning to the chorus in a more anthemic way, I’m not 100% sure it’s necessary. I like it, though, and especially like Kirk’s soloing to close it out.
“Cure” – Definitely a first time listen for me , and I don’t know what to make of James’s spoken word intro, or how it sits underneath once he starts singing. I want to like this: it has some energy but honestly this is a mess of a song. Lars at least seems engaged, and it’s another strong solo from Kirk. But I don’t need this bluesy thing from Metallica; the riff almost seems to collapse and deflate the longer it goes on. and don’t get me started on James’s vocals at the song’s end. Is the second half of Load going to be a slog?
“Poor Twisted Me” – More blues rock. Lots of delay on the opening guitar. Nothing terribly surprising or unique here, and I think that’s the problem with it. I like the slide guitar; the guitars in general sound great. I’ll give this to Bob Rock, the man can make a record sound absolutely massive, and the remastering job is top notch, though admittedly I don’t have much to compare it to being unfamiliar with this half of Load. The circular riff in the bridge leading up to the chorus is a choice, huh? But I dig the change in chords during the solo.
“Wasting My Hate” – With the rote opening I was beginning to think the second half of Load was Metallica just going blues rock, but this manages to inject some bite into the second half. Under four minutes, the verses are better than the chorus, which is kinda forgettable at best. I like the way the guitars mesh for the rhythm; this was the first time Kirk played rhythms instead of James playing it all and it works to give a little more of a band vibe than just the laser precise chugging that was mandatory on the earlier thrash recordings. I don’t hate this.
“Mama Said” – Metallica go pure C&W, and I like it? This is how you commit to the bit, so to speak, and it’s unapologetic in its embrace of outlaw country. The chorus is fantastic, the color and shading of the guitars exquisite. There’s shared DNA with “Nothing Else Matters” in its structure and arrangement, and James sounds fantastic vocally. Lars serves the song instead of resorting to his 1-2 rock beat, and the length is perfect. This is the “ballad” they should have been pushing, a great late track on the album.
“Thorn Within” – Is that more talk box? Or just Kirk’s wah pedal? “I am the thorn within” vaguely reminds me of James screaming “I am the table!” on Lulu, and while it’s not a terrible song, I find it hard to grasp anything tangible on the song. I like that little palm-muted but in the verse riff, and Kirk’s solo is again fine. Lost in the bloat of 14 songs, this feels like a nothing of a song, the substance dissipating as soon as it ticks over to…
“Ronnie” – The award for the oddest Metallica song title ever. More outlaw country, Lars ecstatic he doesn’t have to do much except keep the beat. James would re-use some of the vocal cadence next time on the superior “The Memory Remains” but here it just sounds a little bit silly. I’m sure it was the story structure of the lyrics that appealed to James, and I guess it achieves what it sets out to do, but I’d be lying if I said this was a great song, or that it fit in the sequence of Load. Makes sense it was pushed to the end, I suppose.
“The Outlaw Torn” – Supposedly the remastered version gives us the “complete” version of this song, adding in an extra minute of…what? This really feels like an extended jam/vamp that simply meanders, in search of some direction. For a nearly 10-minute track I would think some dynamics, tempo changes…anything would liven this up. And it’s a shame, because what’s here is pretty damn good. Had the guys sat with it, maybe trimmed and added some real surprises this could have been an epic closer. As it is all I hear is squandered potential.
Load. Not quite its title, but it’s a slog to get through some of it, particularly the second half. I’ve heard a lot of folks say there’s a great album if you take the best here and off of Reload and turn it into one album. I dunno – I’ve never heard Reload in its entirety either…but maybe when that gets the remaster treatment I’ll get around to it and make that 1-disc album a reality for myself.
As it stands, I’d drop “Hero of the Day”, “Cure”, and “Ronnie” at a minimum…maybe “Until It Sleeps” as well. Rework “The Outlaw Torn” and I think as an album this would work rather well.
Consuming the Tangible 