Metallica
"Loa"
© Elektra
September 03 - 09, 2023
Year of Release: 1996
Rating:
Ain't My Bitch
2 X 4
THe House Jack Built
Until It Sleeps
King Nothing
Hero Of The Day
Bleeding Me
Cure
Poor Twisted Me
Wasting My Hate
Mama Said
Thorn Within
Ronnie
THe Outlaw TOrn
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Metallica returns this week, with their 1996 release, Load. Their Metallica (Black) album put them
on the map. However, the albums released prior to Metallica has many fans saying that those releases were better.
Prior to the Black album, their music style was considered "Thrash Metal." Where on Black, it was more Hard Rock.
Read the past Metallica reviews here:
Metallica, and
Kill 'Em All.
Some say the band "sold out" after the Black album, their sound reflected more on what was heard on that Black album.
Yet, Metallica is still, one of the best Hard Rock bands. Load is no difference. It's hard rock, crunching
rhythms should have any fan of Metallica (prior to Black, and beyond) enjoying the post-Black albums. Load is one
of those albums to enjoy. Load reviews were mixed. yet it reached #1 on Billboard's 200 albums chart.
"Ain't My Bitch" is a true, great Metallica song. "2 x 4" is groovin', the only way Metallica can, and
this one is just as equally good. "The House Jack Built" is a bit slower, a bit on the thrash side, yet it's heavy
and on the Hard Rock side. This one is a hit-or-miss; the first two songs are quite better than this one.
If you like Soundgarden or AudioSlave (Chris Cornell), you will enjoy "Until It Sleeps." It has the Cornell
feel, as either the bands were in could have covered this one. Especially the soft-sounding vocals. But it's Metallica
in full force when it kicks in with the Hard Rock sound, and James Hetfield's unmistakable rough vocal style. This song
is a good one. "King Nothing" is another groovin' track, just as equally good as "2 x 4." "Hero Of The Day"
take a different approach. It has a softer sound, however it kicks into hard rock gear later in the song. Could it be a
ballad? Not necessarily. It's one of those songs that starts out one way (soft), and throughout differently (hard rock).
It's impressive. This song (and "Until It Sleeps" reached #1 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock (singles) chart.
On "Bleeding Me" it's slower also, kinda like how their song "Unforgiven." It has a somewhat Blues
approach, another "different sounding" Metallica tune. Yet, towards it's end, (the song is a bit over 8 minutes in length)
it returns to the usual Metallica hard rock sound. Another good track. "Cure" is another good rocker. "Poor
Twisted Me" has a somewhat nostalgic style - a song that could have been recorded by bands from the 1970s. Likewise,
the intro of "Wasting My Hate" is compared to Savoy Brown, yet (again), it kicks into another hard rock, Metallica
style. Acoustc gets "Mama Said" -- and is it slow throughout the ENTIRE song? The answer is... YES! This could
be Metallica's "Dead Or Alive" tune (Bon Jovi).
"Thorn Within" returns to the hard rock Metallica sound again. It's another good song, although others are a
bit better (not as much) than this one. "Ronnie" has a ZZ Top style, as in their song "Waitin' For The Bus."
Yet it's Hetfield's vocals that makes it a Metallica song. Ending the album is the hard rocker, "The Outlaw Torn."
Load lives up to its name - every song is practically "Load-ed." It's also interesting how Metallica takes
different appraches on various songs. The focus was more on the Hard Rock sound, rather than the thrash metal they had
recorded prior to the Black album. However, Load has great rocking moments. It was the follow-up to their Black
album. Some songs on Load could pick up where the Black album left off. James Hetfield's vocals are the give away
for each song, with his identifable rough styled vocals. If you like their Black album, you'll enjoy Load. The
follow-up album to Load was ReLoad, as that album and Load was intended to be a double album. With
it's hard rock style, it just may have been a bit too much for all that "load." ReLoad, like Load would be
released separately. Load definitely has enough to handle. As for ReLoad, that review will be in the future.
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