June 4, 1996 - Load

A week after my last release and nearly five years since "The Black Album" Metallica finally released their sixth album "Load" on June 4, 1996. This album sees Metallica almost entirely abandoning their thrash metal roots in favour of a more traditional hard rock style. I do not like this change one bit; the thrash-y, speedy goodness of their 80s stuff is what makes Metallica so awesome. It still went to #1 on the charts, but this is a new brand of Metallica. Let's see how it sounds!

The album kicks off with "Ain't My Bitch" and it has a pretty catchy main riff that still hits pretty hard, but it's definitely a far cry from thrash metal. James Hetfield gives us our first taste of his slightly different vocal style: "it ain't my bitch-AH!" This pronounced AH at the end of words becomes a new favourite for James, and I'm not a big fan of it: it sounds like it's meant for emphasis, but I think it's a little lame. Kirk Hammett plays a short guitar solo, but considering it's speed and simplicity it's hard to call it a solo since we know how awesome Kirk can play. This will be a theme for this album for me: it's not like this was a bad song at all, it was pretty catchy, but it's just a much different style that I like less. Up next is "2 X 4" and it has another toe-tapping main guitar riff but Lars Ulrich's drums sound so boring and basic. Hetfield's vocals in the chorus are not his best and this song takes everything I summed up at the end of the last song to another level. It's not bad at all, but this is Metallica? It doesn't sound anything like their 80s stuff at all. Even lesser Metallica is still solid though! Track 3 is "The House Jack Built" and Hammett plays some cool trippy guitar overtop Hetfield'a rhythm guitar and even some solid bass by Jason Newsted. Lars' drums however, sound so boring and Dad-rock-ish, it's painful! This song is pretty grunge-y actually and Hammett's cool guitar spices up an otherwise bland chorus. The solo in this song is a talkbox solo, a first for Metallica, and it sounds pretty cool! Finally some experimentation for the good! The next song was the big hit single titled "Until It Sleeps" and it alternates between a solid lighter riff and a nice heavier version of the same riff and whole are both painfully slow for Metallica, things do sound solid. It makes sense that this was the lead single, for a mainstream rock band, which is apparently what Metallica are now. Track 5 is another single called "King Nothing" and Newsted starts it off with a catchy bass riff before both guitars join in with the same riff for a loud and emphatic main riff. The chorus is pretty solid and everything sounds pretty catchy and I think this is probably the best version of this new Metallica. Hammett even delivers a pretty sweet solo, solidifying this as probably the best song on the album; which really says something about the overall quality. Up next is another big single titled "Hero Of The Day" and I think at this point it's definitely the sappiest song they've written. The light guitars and Hetfield's "soft" singing (James doesn't do sappy well) just sound so... ordinary! The great Metallica have turned into just another made-for-radio rock band and it's just so sad! They attempt to spice things up with a heavier part and a guitar solo, but both fall pretty flat and this is exactly what I don't want from these metal gods. Track 7 is the 8-plus minute "Bleeding Me" and it's driven by a slow, repetitive and not all that exciting main riff. Hetfield tries some more softer vocals that aren't my favourite and this song isn't awful, but it's very slow and there's not a ton happening. James definitely sounds better when he's singing more loudly and forcefully but after five minutes they shift gears and start up a new riff that also leads flawlessly into the chorus. Hammett then delivers a pretty awesome guitar solo before they end things as it began with a quiet finish. The next track is "Cure" and Hetfield does some low talking along with his singing and not only do I not like the talking, playing them both together doesn't sound good at all. The guitars are so basic and lame on this one and the solo is also very unexciting. "I do believe" that this is not one of Metallica's better songs. Track 9 is "Poor Twisted Me" and it's more of the same lame rock. This slow main riff is so boring when you know what these guys are capable of. That pretty much sums up this whole album: underwhelming. Up next is "Wasting My Hate" and it's a bit more upbeat at least, but it's still a below average, made-for-radio rock sound. James sounds solid singing in this one but there isn't a solo, and they totally led up to it and just didn't deliver! C'mon guys! Track 11 is the final single "Mama Said" and it's a light, acoustic-driven song that actually sounds pretty chill. The chorus has a twang-y, country-ish guitar that isn't my favourite and it's hard to believe the guys who wrote "Ride The Lightning" and "Master Of Puppets" would be playing this ten years later. Once again, it's actually a pretty solid song, but it's just not what I want from Metallica. The next song is "Thorn Within" and it has a pretty slow and basic verse but things are better in the chorus with some louder and heavier stuff. It's a pretty repetitive song though and the solo is nothing special. Just another run of the mill hard rock song. Track 13 is named "Ronnie" and it's about a kid who was bullied his whole life and one day brings a gun to school. Some dark subject matter but even back in 1996 this was still happening in America. The music is a slow, swinging riff that is decently catchy but it's this same made-for-radio style that just sounds so lame. The final song on the album is "The Outlaw Torn" and it's also the longest on the album at just under ten minutes. They fade in to the main riff and it's driven by some slow guitar and bass with a trippy wah guitar noise overtop. Newsted's bass is front and center in the verse and he sounds alright, but it's just all so slow. The chorus is a bit heavier, but it's pretty repetitive as well and this is just not top notch Metallica. So why don't we keep doing it for nearly six minutes, will that make it better? The answer is definitely no, things are very drawn out. Hammett's guitar solo is solid, but it's pretty short and doesn't make up for the other near ten minutes of not a whole lot going on. They juice up the final two minutes with a new guitar riff that sounds alright, but it's too little too late, the song is just too long.

That is the end of "Load" and what a load of watered down metal that was! If you thought their last album "The Black Album" was made-for-radio, this takes things to a whole new level. It's their worst album so far, hands down, no contest. Metallica have changed, and in my opinion it's definitely for the worse. There was nothing even resembling thrash metal on this record, and it was 80 minutes long! They couldn't possibly do any worse than this right?