Maps of Music

Load (1996)

Where the lyrics of Load take you, and where it was really made.

Load was split from a planned double album, and its second half became Reload the following year.

Key places

Where the Load sessions began (1995)

Recording site Record Plant — The recording sessions for Load began at this studio in Sausalito, California, on May 1, 1995. Producer Bob Rock returned for the album. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Overdubs in New York (1996)

Recording site MSR Studios — The band recorded overdubs at this New York City studio from March to April 1996. Mixing also began here before moving to a nearby studio. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Load: sixth studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica
• Released June 4, 1996 through Elektra Records in the United States and Vertigo Records internationally
• Recorded between May 1995 and April 1996, mainly in Sausalito, California, with extra sessions in New York City
• Bob Rock returned as producer, having produced the band's 1991 album Metallica
• Nearly 30 songs were recorded, and the band considered a double album before splitting the material in two
• Half of the songs appeared on Load, the other half as Reload the following year
• A super deluxe reissue was released in June 2025

Background

• Metallica released the fifth studio album, Metallica, in August 1991, which debuted at number one in the US and UK
• The band toured from 1991 to 1993, performing 266 concerts across three tours
• In early 1994 the members spent time apart, and Elektra Records faced a court case from Lars Ulrich over the contract
• The dispute was settled, and Metallica stayed with Elektra under a new contract

Recording

• Sessions began May 1, 1995 at The Plant Studios in Sausalito, California
• The sessions reunited Metallica with Bob Rock and engineer Randy Staub
• The band and Rock had clashed during Metallica but settled their differences on tour
• Hammett played rhythm guitar for the first time on a Metallica album
• Load was the first Metallica album with all tracks down-tuned to E♭
• Overdubs were recorded and mixing began in New York City from March to April 1996
• At 78 minutes and 59 seconds, Load is the band's longest studio album

Cover

• The cover is Semen and Blood III, a 1990 work by New York artist Andres Serrano
• Hammett found the image in an art book of Serrano's work
• Ulrich loved the cover, while Newsted disliked it
• Compromise: the artwork title was left out of the liner notes, and Serrano stayed credited as cover artist

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich, later based in San Francisco for most of its career.
• Founded as one of the "big four" of thrash metal alongside Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer.

Members

• Current lineup: Hetfield, Ulrich, Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo.
• Former members include Ron McGovney, Cliff Burton, Jason Newsted and Dave Mustaine.

Career

• Commercial breakthrough with Master of Puppets (1986), often cited as one of the best metal albums of all time.
• The self-titled 1991 album moved the band toward a more mainstream audience and became its best-selling record.
• Returned to thrash roots with Death Magnetic (2008) and released 72 Seasons in 2023.
• Led the lawsuit against Napster in 2000.
• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009.
• Sold more than 163 million albums worldwide as of 2023.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Load received mixed to positive reviews from critics
• Musician's Mac Randall said the band was more focused on cohesion and a slow build of momentum
• Rolling Stone's David Fricke urged longtime fans to get past the image change and called it easily the heaviest record of the year
• Q praised the streamlined attack, the focus, and the tunes
• Entertainment Weekly's David Browne described grim, teeth-gritting determination and subtle signs of emotional growth
• Kerrang! editor Phil Alexander wrote that the band let individual talents breathe and still towered over the competition
• The New York Times' Jon Pareles wrote that the band seemed to look over its shoulder amid the grunge era
• Miami Herald's Howard Cohen found the album tame compared with earlier records
• Melody Maker had reservations about its heaviness, but called it the first Metallica album to make the writer wonder what was happening
• The Village Voice's Robert Christgau called it a metal record with less solo room and more singing
• AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine considered Load repetitive, uninteresting, and poorly executed
• Slayer's Kerry King disliked the album in a 1996 Kerrang! interview, citing a lack of attitude and fire

Reappraisal

• Retrospective reviewers generally describe Load as overlong and see it and Reload as one album that could have been condensed
• Paul Stenning wrote that several songs sound like extended jams rather than coherent structures
• Metal Hammer's Paul Brannigan named quality control as the main fault
• Louder's Terry Bezer called it underrated and Metallica's last great album in 2022
• Loudwire's Jon Wiederhorn said the songs are solid and well composed and reward repeated listens in 2023
• Metal Hammer ranked it among the ten best albums of 1996 in 2022
• Pitchfork's Drew Millard called it the band's first misstep, but a respectable one in retrospect, in the 2025 box set review

Records

• Debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 and spent four consecutive weeks there
• Sold 680,000 units in its first week, the biggest opening week for Metallica and the biggest debut of 1996
• Reached number one in the UK, Australia, Austria, Belgium Flanders, Czech Republic, Denmark, the Netherlands, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, Sweden, and Switzerland
• Reached number two in Belgium (Wallonia), Ireland, Italy, and Spain, and number eight in Zimbabwe
• Certified 5× Platinum by the RIAA in 2003 for five million copies shipped in the US
• Until It Sleeps reached the US Billboard Hot 100 top ten, the band's first and only such hit there
• Hero of the Day stalled at number 60 on the Billboard Hot 100
• Mama Said reached number 19 in the UK
• King Nothing reached number 90 on the Billboard Hot 100

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The Outlaw Torn was shortened by one minute to fit on the album, and its full version appeared on the Reload single The Memory Remains with a running time of 10:48
• Hammett found the cover image in an art book of Serrano's work, Body and Soul, bought from the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
• Hetfield said he went back to the feelings tied to Cliff Burton's death while recording the album's overdubs in New York
• Hetfield's father was diagnosed with cancer in November 1995, and Hetfield briefly went to Wyoming to be with him
• The band's Poor Touring Me tour ran 125 concerts across 19 countries from September 1996 to May 1997
• Lollapalooza 1996 appearance as headliner drew criticism from longtime fans who accused the band of selling out

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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