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List Price: $18.98 | | Label: Elektra / Wea
Salesrank: 2698
Released: June 4, 1996 |
| Our Price: $7.25 |
| Used Price: $2.25 |
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| Media: Audio CD |
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Load Track Listing:
1. Ain't My Bitch
2. 2 X 4
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
14. The Outlaw Torn
Editorial Review:
The band's 1996 album coupled with the four track CD single'Live In London', featuring 'Bleeding Me', 'Damage Inc' andcovers of Queen's 'Stone Cold Crazy' & Killing Joke's 'TheWait'. 18 tracks total. The single is a slimline jewel case;'Load' is in a stand
Description of Load:
With Load, Metallica takes a dramatic left turn with their music, continuing in the direction suggested by Metallica, their previous album. The songs on Load have groove; they're slower, with far fewer of the lightning-fast riffs that have been Metallica's trademark since their inception. While songs like "Ain't My Bitch" and "Wasting My Hate" are up-tempo and full of the vitriol one would expect from the quintessential heavy metal band, "2 X 4" is hard rock with a blues beat, "Hero of the Day" sounds positively mainstream, and "Mama Said" is an actual, honest-to-god ballad. While some diehard fans may find this mix unappealing, there's plenty to like about this album, including its laid-back, rhythmic orientation, and James Hetfield's characteristic growl tempered by his growing maturity as a vocalist. -- Genevieve Williams
Load Reviews:
"Betrayal" or not, still a very good album 
2008-10-02 - Okay, I'll admit it up front: this does not sound like the Metallica we were used to. That said, the album is very good.
Metallica experiments a little on "Load," trying out some new styles. This is most noticeable on "Mama Said," which almost sounds country. As a whole, the album has a slower pace than any other Metallica album, but makes up for it with depth: "Hero of the Day," "Until it Sleeps" and "The Outlaw Torn" sound totally different from what we're used to but strike us still, relying more on lyrics and metaphor than, say, "One" or "Master of Puppets," which are still amazing pieces of music but use different tactics to get there.
Comparing it to other Metallica works is where the argument begins. Standing alone, this is a great album.
Brilliant Hard Rock Album
2008-09-24 - After recently buyin Death Magnetic and being very impressed , i decided to buy Load, one of Metallica,s albums i,d passed up on due to bad reviews , Hmm big mistake , this is absolutly brilliant imo , not really thrash more hard rock , maybe this is why many gave it a low score ? tracks like , Bleeding Me ,Aint My [...], House Jack Built ,Hero Of The Day, Poor Twisted Me ..er ok all of them make it a very enjoyable listen. Just not too impressed how the cover art was made , an i always thought they were a painting of flames lol.
A good album to wind down to at the end of a hard day.
The 4 horsemen mature further with a very good album 
2008-09-23 - This was when James was still James. He wasnt taking lessons by some psychiatrist on how to be "in touch with his feelings" and all that. He was James Hetfield: angry, screwed up and self destructive....the only difference here is that hes more mature, and naturally explored other musical tastes he was into. Namely blues.
The blues have been a cornerstone to rock n roll and metal music, and we see MetallicA expounding upon that. Its dark and heavy but makes you wanna move a bit more than just head bang and push 'n shove in a mosh pit. Load has way more groove to it.
"Aint My B__tch" is an upbeat opener. Its catchy hard rock that has that MetallicA touch. Its got this slight southern heavy feel to it that i love. The guitar solo is evident of that. Good opener.
"2x4" hits us upside the head with that blues sound, but darker than typical blues music. mix it with heavy guitar and James's evil growling vocals, and you got an idea of what it might sound like. This song deserves to be played while your drinking some beer or liquor and having smoke. This song might be more of an acquired taste, but its good stuff.
"The House That Jack Built" is probubly one of my very favorite of the songs on Load. Clocking at 6 minutes and 38 seconds, MetallicA progress with a bit longer song. With a memorable chorus thats very inspiring. This is a dark, and even uplifting song, if you can believe it...in a downtrodden way. One of the best songs on the album.
Now "Until It Sleeps" was the first big hit single on this album. I remember when i first heard it on the radio. It wasnt epic metal music...but i remember not complaining. It was its own beast. It was heavy and dark in its own right. Sure i didnt have any thrash speed guitar, but i honestly didnt notice. The song was that good. Dark inspired memorable hard rock, with a very memorable bass line opener. Cant forget that. Another good track that has a lot of lyrical meaning.
"King Nothing" almost seems like it could of been done on maybe the Black Album, it always tricks me, and i have to remember that its not metal, more than its some groovy evil sounding hard rock with that blues influence. Not all heavy music has to be fast as hell. This song cocks more attitude, a attribute ive always loved about later MetallicA albums like this. They werent just pissed, James gave us that " I DONT GIVE A F--CK" attitude , that made us wanna kick down someones door, with a shotgun in one hand and a beer in the other. Good song.
"Hero Of The Day" slows it down a tad, though it has a bit of an upbeat bridge and heavy chorus. The verses James sing are soothing, inspired and filled with power as it builds up. Definatly one of the more memorable songs on the album. It has an almost haunting melancholy to it, but it definatly has its heavy parts. Another very good song, and very meaningful song. ( the S&M version is even more powerful and moving)
"Bleeding Me" requires a bit more from the listener. Its over 8 minutes long. And hopefully MetallicA fans and casual listeners have a decent attention span lol. This is a very layed back, reflective song. More great singing from James, and yet it still manages to build up into something heavy. Further exploring that dark hard rock, structured around a somewhat blues influence. Remember, traces of the blues can be found in 80s MetallicA as well, you find it really in all metal and rock, but MetallicA really dug deeper into that influence and took it to the next level. This song returns to epic song lengths of old, but it takes us to another world, a world thats still pitch black.
The "Cure" is one of their more experimental songs. Its not a bad song, but its not as outstanding as the other songs, but still gives us more groovy riffs, and its worth listening to. The part when it goes "...Uncross your arms..." that sounds like they channeled the Black Album. That little part sounded so heavy, it kinda makes you want MetallicA to kick into over drive and turn it into a speed metal song...but to no avail lol. ( Just go pop in the Black Album if you start getting sentimental ) Again, not a bad song. just not extremely special.
"Poor Twisted Me" is another acquired taste. Steps back into that dark bluesy mode, but is a bit more infectious, makes me want to sing along. Could work as another drinking song at a bar. Thats what i like about. Its an okay song, just might take a few listens to really appreciate.
"Waste My Hate" is an okay song. just another hard rock song infused with some of that blues infatuation. Might be considered filler. but its not a bad song. it doesnt fall flat. If you really dig this sound you might love it even more. Either way, it didnt stand out in my head as all that amazing, but its a decently made song.
Now we come what i think is MetallicA's most underrated song of all time.
That song? "Mama Said"
"Mama said" could of been a great metal song if it wanted to be, but it took a more western path instead, and delivers a powerful and great song still that showcases some of james best vocals. This is one of my top favorite songs from LOAD, and from Metallica, period. Its an inspired song that moves you. telling a tale. A must listen. Great stuff that stands with MetallicAs up with other great unforgettable MetallicA songs.
Though sadly its very overlooked , but that makes it all the more special. Its like finding gold in a mountain somewhere no one cared to look.
Great stuff.
"Thorn Within" continues the quality song craft. This song is as dark as anything sung by James on the Black Album but in more hard rock mode, but its still very heavy and dark. Memorable lyrics. Memorable song. One of the better songs offered on Load.
Now heres another one of those songs you have to be patient with lol. It tells a story of a kid who i think grew up being ridiculed and finds revenge in a way thats not really all that nice. When the chorus sings "...Now they all pray!...Blood stain wash away!!" , you get the idea. And i think that chorus is the highlight of the song. The song as whole is allright, definatly takes a lot of listens probubly to really get into. But ill tell you what. MetallicA created their own sound here with Load....you cant really put your finger on the sound. Its got blues, its got hard rock, with a splash of alterntive rock.....who makes this kinda music? NO ONE. just MetallicA did, and it was pretty damn good. Even when songs like this were one of those more "acquired taste" lol.
"The Outlaw Torn" is a lumbering, dark, epic song. James sounds great here. Very good lyrics. Raw real emotion was pumped into this song, you can feel it. One of the more dark songs on the album. A great closer to a very good album. It one of MetallicA's longest songs clocking at 9 minutes and 48 seconds. Its a bit progressive, heavy , and laid back, but all together dark and cold as a desert at midnight.
This might not be as speedy as past 80s work by this band or as utterly heavy, but the songs are so good that i didnt even really notice, i forgot about it, the songs were that infectious and well done, ya cant help but like this album. Its still very much MetallicA in the end ,just matured and with a bit more grooves.
The LOAD album seems to have aged very well, like strong whiskey.
This is a great ROCK album....
2008-08-16 - .....not a METAL album, but a ROCK album.
Problem with a lot of hardcore metalheads is that they can't venture out of their narrow views, and I say that as someone who has been a Metal fan for many years, but not ONLY a metal fan.
The album is a bit too long, some more quality control could have been exercised and it would have been a 5-star 60-minute album.
No, it's no Master of Puppets, but it's not meant to be !
Pretty good. 
2008-08-09 - There isn't a single veteran Metallica fan in the world who thinks the band peaked after the Black Album. If you dig music, and if you dig Metallica, you know they shot their load (no pun intended) in the 80s. That's just the way it is. It happens to most bands worth their salt in the first place - start good, get great, lose the fire, coast for the remainder of your career.
That said, I never thought Load was a bad album. At the time of it's release, it was more controversial than the Black Album. And that's saying something! They cut their hair (oh no!) and slowed it down. What you get here isn't metal. This album is a mish-mash of hard rock, blues, ballads and even some country flavor. Did they sell out? It all depends on your perspective. I think Metallica knew that no matter what they did, this then-new album would sell truckloads which is why they decided to step out of their element and experiment a little. I really don't care what the monetary intentions of this album were. All I care about is the music. Novel idea when listening to an album, no? Durr.
Anyway, they didn't strike gold here, but the experimentation pays off in spots. The House That Jack Built, Until It Sleeps, Hero Of The Day, Bleeding Me, Mama Said and The Outlaw Torn are great songs. The rest range from good to listenable. Unlike ReLoad, there really aren't any bad songs on here. Just average ones. This album is filled to it's maximum capacity (80 minutes), so it's quite rare for me to want to listen to it all the way through. I mostly just listen to my favorites and skip the rest.
Hey, at least it's better than St. Anger.
Now playing: Bleeding Me. One of the good ones.
Recommended.
