General Article name: Load
Genre: Pop/Rock Product type: LP (Vinyl) Label: Blackened / Rhino Number of tracks: 14 Tracklist LP - 1 1. Metallica - Ain't My B*tch 2. Metallica - 2 X 4 3. Metallica - House Jack Built 4. Metallica - Until It Sleeps 5. Metallica - King Nothing 6. Metallica - Hero of the Day 7. Metallica - Bleeding Me   Tracklist LP - 2 8. Metallica - Cure 9. Metallica - Poor Twisted Me 10. Metallica - Wasting My Hate 11. Metallica - Mama Said 12. Metallica - Thorn Within 13. Metallica - Ronnie 14. Metallica - Outlaw Torn   Description Description

The kings of speed metal have never been keen on being labeled, and LOAD, which follows up the 1991 mega-hit METALLICA, is a surprising pastiche of sonic fury. Metallica still rocks hard. James Hetfield's lyrics are still full of venom and anger, and the music still could scare small children. But the band is ready to show off other sides of its craft. "Hero Of The Day" sounds like an R.E.M. song, albeit a heavy one, with its tender beginning and ending confluence of harmonized vocals and catchy guitar riffs. A dose of the blues can be heard in the slow-burning "Bleeding Me," and a downright country twang pervades "Mama Said." Still, this is a metal album, and there are headbanging riffs o'plenty. LOAD may seem like a departure from the Metallica "norm," but it's actually what the band has been doing all along: writing well-crafted songs without a regard for what others think. The only difference is that the one-time denizens of the underground now have the world's rapt attention.

Description

Delivered five years after their eponymous "black" album in 1991, Load captures Metallica settling into an uneasy period of maturation. Under the guidance of producer Bob Rock, Metallica have streamlined their sound, cutting away most of the twisting, unpredictable time signatures and the mind-numbingly fast riffs. What's left is polished -- and disappointingly straightforward -- heavy metal. Metallica's attempts at expanding their sonic palette have made them seem more conventional than they ever have before. They add in Southern boogie rock, country-rock, and power ballads to their bag of tricks, which make them sound like '70s arena rock holdovers. Metallica's idea of opening up their sound is to concentrate on relentless midtempo boogie -- over half the album is dedicated to songs that are meant to groove, but they simply don't swing. Metallica sound tight, but with the material they've written, they should sound loose. That becomes apparent as the songs drag out over the album's nearly 80-minute running time -- there are only so many times that a band can work the same tempo exactly the same way before it becomes tedious. It isn't surprising to hear Metallica get stodgier and more [Load was re-released on LP in 2014.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Contributors Artist: Metallica Record Label: Blackened Record Label: Rhino