Metallica - The Band That Will Never Die (Load - Metallica)

Member Name: Dregg

Product:	Load - Metallica
Date:	16/09/06 (178 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Different... but different is good.

Disadvantages: Really angered some fans (not me, though).

--- SECTION 1 - WHAT THEY SAID ---
Four years after the release of the chart-busting self-titled "Black Album", Metallica released its long awaited follow up, Load... and got some pretty shocked reactions. This was NOT what people were used to. There were no more skull-crushingly heavy thrash riffs or dark, gravelly lyrical pieces that could give little kids nightmares or... well, honestly, ANYTHING that can truly be filed as "heavy metal". Metal fans went insane. They unfairly claimed that the album 'blew chunks' or 'sucked' or some other vile participle. The album also earned the band a few nicknames, like "Alternica" or even just "Lica" because the "metal was gone". Most fans chose to just overlook the improved song structure and overall quality and decide, "Hey, they're selling out!" Whereas many other fans consider this their best album, and (along with ReLoad) the only one worth listening to. Honestly, I can't say I agree with either one of these "sides". There is really no bias in this review, just personal opinions and analogies. I swear.



--- SECTION 2 - WHAT I SAY ---
Well I really have to say I like their heavy stuff a lot more. I guess the album is heavy in its own way, but not in the way most fans were used to. It's different... but different can be good. And even though I think it pales in comparison to Master of Puppets or Ride the Lightning, I still rather enjoyed this album. I hadn't expected it to be... well, you know, how it was, for lack of better words, but the change in style surprised me - in a good way. The lyrics are clearer and easier to understand. Most of the songs have been cut down to decent lengths. And the wacky sort of screeching the guitars give off is pretty cool (the good kind of screeching, not the annoying, high-pitched, Avril Lavigne kind of screeching). I also kind of like the way you have to think about the lyrics to fully understand what each song is about. Vocalist / rhythm guitarist James Hetfield's voice is a lot more "refined" in this album as well, as can be heard in songs like "Mama Said" and "Until it Sleeps", and lead guitarist Kirk Hammett is, in my humble opinion, at one of his peaks. Not speed-wise, but... well, he's at a peak because I said so, damn it. And as for the cover photo... well, there's an interesting history behind that. Just trust me, you don't wanna know what it is. This is the album that proved to people that Metallica couldn't care less what people thought of them. Their style has never changed. "Metallica" is a style in itself, that nobody will EVER be able to replicate. Bands like this never, never die.



--- SECTION 3 - THE SONGS ---

1. Ain't My Bitch - 5:04
Wow, already? Yeah, as the title suggests, this is one of Metallica's more profane songs. Actually, I think it IS their most profane song. Now, before you activists go all 'sexist court case' on James Hetfield, let me say that this song is NOT about that. Hetfield has already specified that the 'bitch' in this song isn't a woman, but instead a metaphor that stands for a problem. This quickly became a staple track in the band's "Poor Touring Me" world tour. It is enjoyable to listen to (if you don't mind the language) and one of the better tracks on the album.

"Draggin' me down, why you around?
So useless
It ain't my fall, it ain't my call,
It ain't my bitch."


2. 2 x 4 - 5:28
The second track on the album, "2 x 4", is, as far as I know, about resorting to unneeded violence in situations. This was the first song from Load to be played live. The song has a lot of the good screeching I mentioned earlier in it, and is a little groovier than its predecessor. Probably my third or fourth favorite song on the album.

"I'm gonna make you
Shake you, take you
I'm gonna be the one who breaks you
Put the screws to ya
Yeah, my way - so come on, come on
Come and make my day!"


3. The House Jack Built - 6:39
Not one of their better songs, "The House Jack Built" deals with, much like their 1996 album, Master of Puppets, the topic of drug abuse and the ways it can screw you up. Just another song to say, "Drugs suck. Trust us, we've been there." The "temple" in the song is actually refering to the drug-user's mind, and how it's only safe if you keep it that way (in other words, it's only safe if you don't do drugs. Yeah, you know it). It's a little more melodic than some of the stuff on the album, definetly not the best, but still a good listen.

"Opens door, so I walk inside
Close my eyes
Find my place to hide
And I shake as I take it in
Let the show begin."


4. Until It Sleeps - 4:30
I think I can appreciate this song simply because of what it's about. The lyrics go over how cancer killed both of Hetfield's parents, who sought no medical help at all, believing that God would save them. It got a lot of radio play and defenetly showed that something new was going on, although it does have a darker, more mysterious feel to it. The heavier guitar work is a little lame, but it comes in at the perfect times. Nice melodic guitar solo. Overall, a pretty good song.

"So tear me open, pour me out
There's things inside that scream and shout
And the pain still hates me
So hold me... until it sleeps."


5. King Nothing - 5:28
My favorite song on the album and one of my all-time favorite Metallica pieces. Hammett's guitar fades in, followed by an ominous bass intro by Jason Newsted (R.I.P. Cliff), and then the main riff kicks in. This is, by far, the "heaviest" song on the album, and a shining example of the band's old hard rock genius. Brilliant lyrics and a short but kick-ass guitar solo make this song a force to be reckoned with, as Metallica songs are often described. It deals with how you can spend your whole life collecting money and treasure, but greed stops you from ever using it. It also states that you may realize you do NOT want something you've coveted all your life once you actually get it.

"Wish I may, wish I might...
Have this wish I wish tonight...
I want that star
I want it now...
I want it all, and I don't care how
Careful what you wish... careful what you say
Careful what you wish, you may regret it
Careful what you wish, you just might get it!"


6. Hero of the Day - 4:21
Song number six is about those who search for people with fame or money or power to look up to, not realizing that the true heroes in their lives are around them all the time. The intro is fairly simple, and the main riffing is pretty quiet. The heavy stuff doesn't start for a really long time. The guitar solo is very melodic and the lyrics are somewhat "softer" than they are in the rest of the album. In the music video, it features a drunk guy watching a bunch of television shows that are about Load in one way or another.

"Still the window burns
Time so slowly turns
And someone there is sighing
Keepers of the flames
Do you feel your names?
Can't you hear your babies crying?"

7. Bleeding Me - 8:18
Average song. Not particularly good in any way, one of the one's you may want to avoid. Although it was never confirmed, bassist Jason Newsted believed that it was about someone undergoing some perverted brand of mental torture. The S&M version was better, I think.

"I am the beast that feeds the beast
I am the blood
I am the release
Come make me pure
Bleed me a cure
I'm caught under."


8. Cure - 4:54
Average song, still better than "Bleeding Me". They use a chorus effect on the guitar in the intro if I remember right, which makes it sound pretty cool. But that doesn't last long. Personally, I think it should be called something like "I Do Believe" or "Believe", just because that line appears a whole bunch. It's short, repetitive, and somewhat boring.

"Uncross your arms and take
And throw them to the cure, say...
I do believe
Uncross your arms now
Take 'em to it, say...
I do believe..."


9. Poor Twisted Me - 4:00
This song has kind of a funny meaning to it. It's about the type of idiot that will purposely launch themself into a really bad situation simply to get pity from... well anyone, I guess. Not much to say here. The instrumental parts are pretty cool. Kinda makes you wanna dance. Well, no it doesn't.

"Poor mistreated me
Poor mistreated me
I drown without a sea
Lung fills with sorrow, lungs fill with misery
Inhaling the deep dark blue
Oh woe is me
Such a burden to be
The poor mistreated me"


10. Wasting My Hate - 3:57
The shortest song on the album, "Wasting my Hate" is all about, if you can imagine, wasting your hate. Yeah, Hetfield based the idea for this song on a line he got from his friend Waylon. Waylon was in some diner when he noticed a man sitting in a car, "staring" right at him. Waylon stared back, attempting to express as much hate as he could. The man would not stop staring. When Waylon decided to get out and talk to this man, he discovered that he was asleep. Thus, Waylon had "wasted his hate". Hetfield liked the line so much that he wrote a song about it. It had to be edited from its origninal state, which included a guitar solo.

"Ain't gonna waste my hate
Ain't gonna waste my hate on you
I think I'll keep it for myself
Ain't gonna give no more
Ain't got the time to help you score
I think it's time you pleased yourself!"


11. Mama Said - 5:20
I'm sorry, but ANY rock band that is bold enough to come up with a beautiful country piece like this is just brilliant. This is, next to "King Nothing" my second favorite song on the album and one of the best I've heard. It even got me listening to actual country artists. The lyrics deal with a boy who lived with his mother, and ran away from home at a very young age. After a while, he realizes what a loser he is. When he attempts to return home and apologize, he discovers that his mother has passed away. Hetfield's mother was taken by cancer, as was mentioned earlier, so he could have based this one on real events.

"Mama now I'm coming home
I'm not all you wished of me
But a mother's love for her son
Unspoken, help me be
I took your love for granted
And all the things you said to me
I need your arms to welcome me
But a cold stone's all I see...
Let my heart go, let your son grow
Mama, let my heart go... or let this heart be still."


12. Thorn Within - 5:52
This is a pretty cool song. Bassist Jason Newsted says that it's his favorite song on the album. From what I've gathered, it's about a woman that gets pregnant and has to confess to her father. The child is the "thorn". Guitar and drum parts are average. The lyrics are the real highlight of the song, I think.

"Forgive me father
For I have sinned
Find me guilty of the life I feel within
And when I'm branded
This mark of shame
Should I look down disgraced
Or straight ahead
And know that you must blame."


13. Ronnie - 5:17
This song just rocks like a bitch. It starts off with one of the coolest riffs in Metallica history and kicks off into this whole story about a kid who hates everyone and kills stuff. The palm-muted intro makes sort of a "clinking" noise that I've never heard on any other guitar before. A lot of that good screeching as well. No real guitar solo in this song, but there's a TON of lead melodies and patterns, most noticably in the bridge right before that little chant.

"Yeah, well all the green things died
When Ronnie moved to this place
He said, 'Don't ya dare ask why I'm cursed to wear this face!'
Lord, now we all know why the children call him Ronnie frown
When he pulled that gun from his pocket...
And they'd all fall down, DOWN, DOWN!"


14. The Outlaw Torn - 9:49
The album closes with the longest song the band has ever written. The slightly creepy intro fades in and then shoots off into a whole bunch of bass guitar riffs. The lyrics speak of losing someone very close to you, and, as Hetfield put it, "longing to find a replacement that will never come". This song also had to be edited, it was originally almost eleven minutes. The full version can be heard on "The Memory Remains" single (part 2) disc.

"To take back what you left me
I know I'll always burn to be
The one who seeks so I may find
And now I wait my whole lifetime."



--- SECTION 4 - CONCLUSION ---
Well that's all for now. Hope you found the review helpful! Please, I encourage comments and wouldn't say no to a few pointers, either. Remember, it's my first time trying this. Be gentle.

Summary: Great album! Metallica lives on.