METALLICA Load and Reload Album REVIEW! | The SuperJersh Show [#52]

[@SuperJersh]

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[@johncarpenter3751]

Load is a guilty pleasure of mine! I love that album. Bleeding me! Wasting my hate and Mamma said are my favorites

[@mirrorsedgegirl5265]

🎸🤘🏻🎶🧠⛽️ These are still stuck in my head a week later ❤

[@DarylMemetic]

Ok so I’m at around an 8.5 for this condensed version of both albums, I will go and listen to the other tracks a bit later to be able to better judge each album on its own, But I was pleasantly surprised by a few tracks on this. Ain’t My Bitch, what an opener with all the catchy inflections ‘Goodbayeeee’ ‘Bayyyyytch Chahh!’ LOL. I thought it might be hard to top that in my ranking as It went and it was only a promotional single in some places apparently I was a little surprised haha.

But then I heard Fuel and I’ve definitely heard that opening line SOMEWHERE before, but I not sure ive ever really connected it to Metallica of knew what it was from before now, similar to the chorus of Alive by Pearl Jam. I think that’s definitely one of my fave songs from them so far, Love the ooooohs in the chorus and its got such a great build and flow for just the right amount of track length and dosent outstay its welcome. Easily my #1 on this listen. 

I have heard Until It Sleeps because its their only #1 single here in Australia, and I must’ve listened when it was part of a #1’s of 1996 rate game I ran back in 2017. It temporarily unseated George Michael’s ‘Fastlove’ for a week directly after Load released in June 1996 (George Michael also had a lengthy gap between albums at the time that was longer than Black album (91) to Load (96) - it was around 5.5 years between Listen Without Prejudice Vol 1 (90) and Older (96)).

 Hero Of The Day and Fuel both also peaked at #2 - Hero was blocked by the Macarena, Fuel wasn’t even the lead off Reload (Reload came out Nov 1997) but the third single, and was blocked by Ricky Martin’s The Cup Of Life/Maria Double A Side amidst the FIFA Soccer World Cup fever in June 1998.

I also thought Unforgiven II has a really catchy and memorable chorus which I found myself singing randomly, and IMO builds on the first one’s hook in a slightly different melody and also feels a bit heavier and grungier musically. I also grooved to the rhythm of Prince Charming and Bleeding Me. The Country twang in Ronnie and Mama Said added some interesting flavour, as did the kinda Scottish/Irish feel in Low Man’s Lyric. Although This was a bit hard to rank because all of the songs had their moments, some of the lower ones I placed were only because some of the other songs parts stood out to me a lot more in comparison. Interestingly there is apparently a 10 minute version of The Outlaw torn they put on one of the singles as ‘The version not encumbered by physical media limitations’ or something because they were already pushing the envelope on CD runtime limitations. 

Lastly for now, no one commented on the cover art? I had an Idea during Load of what that looked like connected with the title and yep - its an art-piece of an artists Semen mixed with Blood - which reminds me of when Lady Gaga was claiming her perfume Fame she wanted to smell like it was made from Blood and Semen. Reload’s is titled ‘piss and semen’. Hows that for some imagery. LOL.

It’ll be interesting to see from here to St Anger and Death Magnetic too - both of those I recall being aware of the cover arts around the time but not sure if I’ve heard or familiar with anything off them - we’ll see.

 Bit of a ranking below.

[@DarylMemetic]

Rankings something like this: LOAD 1. Aint My Bitch 2. Until It Sleeps 3. Bleeding Me 4. Ronnie 5. King Nothing 6. Mama Said 7. Hero Of The Day 8. The Outlaw Torn RELOAD 1. Fuel 2. The Unforgiven II 3. Prince Charming 4. The Memory Remains 5. Fixxxer 6. Low Man’s Lyric TOGETHER 1. Fuel 2. The Unforgiven II 3. Ain’t My Bitch 4. Until It Sleeps 5. Prince Charming 6. The Memory Remains 7. Bleeding Me 8. Fixxxer 9. King Nothing 10. Ronnie 11. Mama Said 12. Hero Of The Day 13. The Outlaw Torn 14. Low Man’s Lyric