Five years after the release of Metallica's controversial self-titled album, "Load" was released. It was during this time that Metallica completely moved away from thrash metal and into hard rock. However, the release of this album continued to alienate their original fanbase and further piss them off. In fact, even to this day, "Load" is one of Metallica's most hated albums, with reviews from Metal Archives being good examples of this. However, I am not one of these people, as I think "Load" is an absolute masterpiece. In fact, I think it's better than MOP even though it's not a thrash metal album. The majority of the songs on this album are top-notch and are worth listening to, even if someone ends up disliking them. But if someone dislikes this album, either they genuinely don't like it or they are viewing it from the lens of a thrash metal album and end up disappointed as a result. This is honestly as stupid as watching the original Star Wars trilogy and expecting it to be exactly like the prequels. The best parts about this album are the wonderfully written lyrics and James Hetfield's vocal performance, which is perhaps his best vocal work to date. Although this isn't Metallica's best album, I think it's their best out of their last five albums.
Now the songs that I felt are the worst from this album are "Until It Sleeps", "Cure", "Mama Said", and "Poor Twisted Me", with the first being my least favorite. Although "Until It Sleeps" isn't nearly as bad as songs such as "Sad But True", "Slither", "Attitude", or "Fixxxer", it is the song I least enjoyed, as I feel that the rest of the songs had more substance. "Cure" is an interesting song I genuinely enjoyed (most likely to the surprise of anyone reading this) and would definitely recommend. "Mama Said" is the only song from this album that is a ballad; however, I don’t think it’s their best ballad, as it sounds too much like a country song, which is not something I would ever expect in a hard rock or heavy metal album. Lastly, "Poor Twisted Me" is my second least favorite song, as I feel that the rest of the songs have more to offer than this one.
In contrast, the songs that ultimately take the cake for me are "2x4", "King Nothing", "Wasting My Hate", "Thorn Within", and "The Outlaw Torn", with my favorite out of these songs being the last one mentioned. "The Outlaw Torn" is truly a masterpiece of its own, easily besting most of the Metallica songs I've heard. However, I have only one complaint about this song, and it is the fact that Bob Rock (Metallica's producer at the time) cut out the song at literally THE best part, all because he thought the overall song was "too long". Man, get that shit out of here! That was honestly a dick thing to do, especially since he cut the song out while James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett were in the middle of playing one of their all-time riffs and solos, but I digress. My next favorite songs are "King Nothing" and "Wasting My Hate", with my favorite part of both songs being their catchy riffs. In the former, I really enjoyed Jason Newsted’s bass playing, as I believe it was his best work. The latter is my second favorite song from this album and I believe that if anyone directs any hatred toward this song (especially without listening to it), then they are wasting their hate (pun intended), as this is one of Metallica's best songs. "2x4" and "Thorn Within" are perhaps one of Metallica's most unique songs containing wonderfully composed riffs that are rather difficult not to enjoy (unless if someone listening to these songs finds them too repetitive).
Finally, the rest of the songs offer something both amazing and unique, with my favorite of these songs being "Bleeding Me" and "Ronnie". I really enjoy the riffs and the choruses in both songs, as they both do a damn good job at capturing my interest. As for "Ain't My Bitch", it was the perfect way to start the album, as the riffs are catchy AF. Lastly, "The House Jack Built" and "Hero of the Day" are wonderful, underrated masterpieces which I would definitely recommend, but especially the former.
Overall, although Metallica's "Load" is one of the most hated albums in Metallica's discography, I believe it deserves more credit than it earns, as there are many interesting and wonderfully written songs from this album. Although it never will be Metallica's best album, I think it is the best out of the last five albums. Furthermore, I have given this album a ranking of 96% when rounded to the nearest whole number. To further elaborate, I ranked "2x4", "King Nothing", "Wasting My Hate", "Thorn Within", and "The Outlaw Torn" at 100%, "Ain't My Bitch", "The House Jack Built", "Hero of the Day", "Bleeding Me", and "Ronnie" at 98%, "Cure" and "Mama Said" at 93%, "Poor Twisted Me" at 90%, and "Until It Sleeps" at 80%. If there's anything this album did well, it was kicking ass!
Track List :
1. Ain't My Bitch
2. 2x4
3. The House Jack Built
4. Until It Sleeps
5. King Nothing
6. Hero of the Day
7. Bleeding Me
8. Cure
9. Poor Twisted Me
10. Wasting My Hate
11. Mama Said
12. Thorn Within
13. Ronnie 05:17
14. The Outlaw Torn 09:49
![Adfly](<!-- Start of adf.ly banner code --> <div style="width: 728px; text-align: center; font-family: verdana; font-size: 10px;"><a href="https://join-adf.ly/25032027"><img border="0" src="https://cdn.adf.ly/images/banners/adfly.728x90.2.gif" width="728" height="90" title="AdF.ly - shorten links and earn money!" /></a><br /><a href="https://join-adf.ly/25032027">Get paid to share your links!</a></div> <!-- End of adf.ly banner code -->)