Good load (Load - Metallica)

Member Name: mo79

Product:	Load - Metallica
Date:	23/06/00 (34 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fresh and experimental; something different from the 'tallica boys

Disadvantages: Produced by Bob (Bon Jovi) Rock - he's liquidising the heavyness of the guitars and bloating the drums

After reaching a peak with their succesful commercial metal, eponymous album in '91; the band it seems had problems finding a direction, and so the band decided to venture in other areas of the rock genre and take another bold step into making a bold daring album, but this time to much more controversy than the last.
Five years after the 'black album', the band returned with a new image and a fresh new sound, that in fairness would be boo'd by nearly all of Metallica's fans including myself. It was only after lots of subsequent listens that I found that the album was compelling (obviously as I listened to it a lot), and was a wise move for the band, and that they had not sold out. They were being fresh and innovative, and didn't want to be pidgeon-holed into making another metal album that they didn't have the enthusiasm for after 15 years (and everyone must respect that), and one that would've been really conformist and selling out. The band got a lot of flack, but I admire the band's desire to experiment with various styles and although 'Load' is slightly patchy, it is a good album, and standouts in an unusual way to their back catalogue. Compared to it's watered-down carbon copy successor 'Reload', 'Load' is the best album Metallica could've made in the mid 90's, especially with neo-metal having killed old metal pretty much, and so their old style of metal would have only been ridiculed too *sigh*; they can't win.
The album as I said is patchy, as I think that during the album the quality of the songs goes down. I.e., most of the best songs are in the first half such as 'The House Jack Built', the bluesy 'King Nothing' and the epic 'Hero Of The Day', elsewhere, things become a bit redneck with 'Poor Twisted Me', and the country song 'Ronnie'. They can be slightly forgiven, as they're old dogs learning new tricks...but their old tried and
tested tricks are still the best!
'Wasting My Hate' is probably the most metal sounding track on here, and the 10 minute closer 'The Outlaw Torn' retains the metal attitude; so you see, they didn't just abandon the whole metal thing totally. 'Mama Said' is a heart warming country ballad, and 'Thorn Within' is a gritty song of guilt and punishment; and basically all in all, it's a good album, give it a chance. Ignore the imagery and just close your eyes and listen to the album and you'll realise Metallica made the best album they could for that time. Though like every pre-'Load' Metallica fan, I still long for them to make atleast one more 'metal album', until they sleep...

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