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Fanboys are sure a bitch right? They come in to praise their awesome thrash album and leave the mainstream ones in the bin. Every band has them, Megadeth fanboys lost fate when Cryptic Writings came out. Nirvana fanboys lost fate when Nevermind went 1000000x platinum. They always seem to have a reason to hate their favourite band. Metallica are no different to this rule. Their tr00 thrash fans dumped them when the twin Load/Reload CDs came out. They hate the mainstream ways the band had set out to pursue. They hated that 10 year olds started to find their music appealing. They hated that there was no long guitar solos. They hated everything about it. Tough luck to them though.
Usually when a band finds their own wee niche in the music world though, they use the same structure and keep to the same sounding songs. Metallica must have thought differently though. When they released Metallica ( The Black Album to fans) new doors opened up and the band were ready to move into those doors. However when Metallica got to work on another new album they ended up writing 25 songs which would be spread across Load and its alter-ego Reload. Metallica ended up releasing the albums separate. Though the albums share the same sound. Load is the first album from the two and that is what this review is going to contain.
Okay, so what have we got here? A more mainstream sound of course. Not to say it isn’t heavy enough for metal fans but with the likes of “Hero of The Day” and “Mama Said” you can say where I’m coming from. The band’s technicality has dropped. I know Lars isn’t that great of a drummer but I didn’t think it was possible for his drumming to get more simple =O Kirk has decreased in solos and the riffs have upgraded. Jason got a better deal this time as his bass has been turned up immensely that I can actually hear it. James can sing a bit now but his vocal range is still limited.
What I liked about the album was that it was light and not too heavy. Many people disagree with me but it’s a nice change to the three minute solos and blinding riffs. They decided to stop showing off their technical wankery and worked on crafting actual songs that flow, that are simple but not to the point of boredom. Songs that work, ones that go somewhere. It was also more catchy, you can listen to it over and over again. What I didn’t like about the album is that the songs are still too long. Most of them are over five minutes with the longest song recorded at nine minutes forty-eight seconds. That was one of the reasons …And Justice For All was so hard to listen to. The songs were too long and uninspired. I’m glad that Metallica have come to their senses though when it comes to making songs for the mainstream. It sounds like they are now a (get this) rock band. The songs are simple, they don’t use full distortion riffs and wah-infested guitar solos. The lyrics are never a strong point but in many ways they have improved them. They aren’t filled with metaphorical crap, they also aren’t talking about death in every sentence. Out of the songs, my favourites are “Until It Sleeps” and “2x4”. “2x4” is quite straight forward rock song. Catchy guitar riff and everything. “Until It Sleeps” is a single though it is dead dark. It doesn’t sound like a Metallica song and is an original single. Good Choice. This album is good for a listen though some people would consider it a drop down.
My Metal Rating: 2/5
My Rock Rating: 4/5
| other reviews of this album |
MarvellousG (4)
A surprisingly mature rock album, Load might well have disappointed fans at the time, but ...
Necrotica (4)
Exceptionally underrated....
metallicaman8 (3.5)
...
DoctorClaptrap (3.5)
If you can get over the the "tr00" metalhead in you, it's actually pretty good....
mark1991 (3.5)
Enjoyable rock album...
markshell (4.5)
Load is a solid effort in it's own niche, but this great rock album suffers from being lab...
backtothe80s (1.5)
There's an essential line in the song Mama Said that describes Metallica's 90s musicianshi...
LilPeep (1.5)
Metallica's foray into a more blues-influenced hard rock sound is an unprecedented failure...
wakeupdead (3)
This album is a great rock album, but far from the beloved thrash metal that Metallica was...
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Album Rating: 2.0
Excellent review, and I agree with just about every word you say. While I still prefer the older Metallica, I do agree that this is a ROCK album and not a metal album.
Keep up the good work.
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[quote=Thor]Excellent review, and I agree with just about every word you say. While I still prefer the older Metallica, I do agree that this is a ROCK album and not a metal album.
Keep up the good work.[/quote]
Thanks  That makes me feel good inside.
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I, personally, have always hated metallica,
I, personally, have always loved your reviews.
| | | Album Rating: 2.5
Im no Metallica fanboy. But this album is not good at all. Even if you put aside the whole "sold out" factor. Its quite repetitive IMO and it just seems like they put much less effort into the songs. There are a few highpoints like Until it Sleeps and ... Uh yea... ok. And their ballads are TERRIBLE. Compare the ballads on Load to lets say... Fade to Black or Nothing Else Matters. Metallica are capable of making much more interesting music than this.
| | | Album Rating: 2.5
And actually I would give this more like a 2/5.
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Whats with all these reviews and people begining them talking about fanboys?
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Whats with all these reviews and people begining them talking about fanboys?
I know, it's horrible but I'm sexy so people forgive me.
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I wish I had some more comments.
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Great work :thumb:
Never really got into Metallica, I only like a handful of songs by them. I like "Until it sleeps" best from this album, the rest is just not my cup of tea
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Comments?
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
nice review, actually i think this album is pretty interesting, as i said on the other review, i think this is metallica's best in lyrics
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Good review.
I have Reload, but not this...Reload bored the hell out of me, save a few tracks. I'm assuming this is more of the same.
| | | Album Rating: 2.0
I thought that Load was awful, the songs in the most part were poor apart from King Nothing, Hero of the Day, Bleeding Me and The Outlaw Torn. However, the latter 3 sounded better on S&M anyway!
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
Load was better than reload. This is still kind of bad though... when i say that Metallica is one of my favorite bands, i refer to their first 5 albums!
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
I don't really think the songs go that long at all. And the 9 minute and 48 second track you describe is all the better for it's length, and one of my favourite Metallica tracks. Not their best album, by any means, but I do enjoy listening to it a lot.
| | | Album Rating: 2.5
pretty good review... kinda harsh though
this album may not be the same style metal that metallica is famous for, but it is still a good album with quite a few good tracks.
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
House That Jack Built is some of Metallica's best songwriting, I think.
This is a good review. I must point out though, that the song name is "King Nothing" not "King of the Day." Otherwise, good review. I pretty much agree with everything you said. Reload and Load were my first introductions to Metallica.
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
maybe he was trying to write hero of the day....and well i am a metallica fanboy and i dont hate this album, neither reload or st anger (wich i think i good), maybe its because this album, along with their s/t, is what got me into metal and metallica of course, i will always respect and admire the work that metallica have done in the past 23 years
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This is a good review. I must point out though, that the song name is "King Nothing" not "King of the Day." Otherwise, good review. I pretty much agree with everything you said. Reload and Load were my first introductions to Metallica.
Oops, :embarassed: I'll fix that.
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Not bad album, i like until it sleeps, waste my hate and aint my bitch is my fav on the album, its awesome live. Good review too, but it sounds like your slagging off there older stuff a bit, either that or the people who only like the old stuff.
Also you were being a bit harsh on lars, hes an awesome drummer. You won't find much better.
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