METALLICA — ReLoad (review)

Album · 1997 · Heavy Metal

3.5/5 · 2010-09-03
Stooge

With the world well familiar with the new look (and sound) of Metallica, the band regrouped to tie together the unused material from the Load album to create an album that, surprisingly, doesn’t just sound like leftovers.

I’ll actually say that the performance on Reload sounds like a band with a bit more confidence in their new identity. While some of the material may have been recorded at the same time as Load, this album sounds meatier in the production department. It’s a bit louder, and the vocals and guitar in particular have more bite to them.

The listener is treated to their best album opener of the decade in “Fuel”, which is easily the song with the most energy on the album, with “Attitude” being a close second.

While there are quite a few songs that are pretty heavy, there are also several interesting tracks on Reload that are more on the lighter side of rock. “Low Man’s Lyric” is the “Mama Said” of Reload as they continue to explore other genres with a strong folk music sound, and introduces Metallica fans to the sounds of the hurdy gurdy, a stringed instrument that produces a similar sound to the bagpipes. “Where The Wild Things Are”, a rare Newsted-penned track, blends occasionally heavy riffing with some haunting melodies to great effect. “Fixxxer” closes the album with a somewhat relaxing and hypnotic rhythm. It’s a heavy song at times, but not in the sense you’d expect from Metallica.

“The Unforgiven II” is easily one of the highlights on Reload. The song takes the opposite approach of its predecessor “The Unforgiven”, switching from the less conventional heavy verse / soft chorus structure to the lighter verse / heavy chorus that many songs with the loose-fitting “power ballad” label utilize. The verse has hints of country rock in the guitar playing, and Kirk Hammett’s solo soars in a much similar fashion to his work on “The Unforgiven”.

Much like I did with Load, a slight trimming of tracks could have made for an interesting double album with these two albums combined. From Reload, I’d point towards “Prince Charming”, “Better Than You” (which they somehow got a Grammy for), and perhaps “Bad Seed” as potential cutting room floor material. Not the worst songs in the world, but I wouldn’t confuse them for classic Metallica tracks.

I often flip back and forth between which of the Load-era albums I prefer, so it’s only natural for me to give them both the same rating. Reload is well worth checking out!

more than 2 years ago
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Pekka wrote:

more than 2 years ago

There are a couple of others, in fact there is now more positive than negative reviews for this one ;)

LittleBig wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I think this is the only positive review or generous rating I've ever seen for Reload; but hey, everyone is entilted to an opinion; I wouldn't be as generous as you are; a very patchy album, a few good songs (Fuel, Fixxer, Where the Wild things are, Better than You, Attitude), the rest of the songs are rather weak and inispired.