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Metallica are reissuing their divisive sixth studio album, Load.
The California metal institution announced today (April 29) that their 1996 blues rock effort will get an expanded re-release on June 13. It’s been remastered by Reuben Cohen at Lurssen Mastering, with longtime Metallica collaborator Greg Fidelman overseeing, and will come with a host of demo versions, live recordings, extended takes and more.
To accompany the news, Metallica have unveiled the remastered version of Load’s lead single, Until It Sleeps. Have a listen below.
The Load reissue will be available in a number of packages, the most extensive being the near-$275 (£205) Load Remastered Limited Edition Deluxe Box Set. Pre-order it and you’ll instantly get access to the remastered Until It Sleeps, a demo of the single, and the extended take of final song The Outlaw Torn, which had to be edited down to fit onto the album.
Other bundles are available for pre-order. The band are also selling an array of Load-inspired merchandise, including a majestic “Live. Laugh. Load.” pillow.
Load originally came out on June 4, 1996, and was Metallica’s first album since their blockbuster self-titled outing (AKA ‘The Black Album’) five years prior. It received positive reviews from critics but stirred up intense controversy among fans, many of whom took issue with the less heavy sound and the band’s new appearance, especially their short hair.
Drummer Lars Ulrich reflected on the backlash in a 2002 interview with Classic Rock. “With Load, it was disappointing that some people’s reaction to the music was biased by how they dealt with the pictures – the hair and all that crap,” he said.
“People have come up to me years afterwards and said, ‘I never gave the record a fair chance because I couldn’t get beyond [then-bassist] Jason Newsted wearing eyeliner.’ But The Outlaw Torn, some of that shit is pretty fucking awesome.”
Despite the controversy, Load was a global smash hit, reaching number one on 19 countries’ album charts. Until It Sleeps remains the band’s highest-charting song on the US’s Billboard Hot 100, reaching number 10, and fellow singles Hero Of The Day, Mama Said and King Nothing became mainstays on music TV channels.
Last year, Metal Hammer ranked Load as the sixth-best of Metallica’s 11 studio albums. Journalist Merlin Alderslade called it “a deeply fascinating record that unquestionably features some of the Four Horsemen’s most boldly realised leaps of faith”.
Load’s blues rock sound continued through 1997 follow-up Reload. The album was recorded simultaneously to its predecessor and met with similar commercial success, albeit slightly less enthusiastic reviews.
Metallica returned to making metal in the 2000s, but lead guitarist Kirk Hammett said earlier this year that he’d be open to revisiting Load’s bluesier style. “We might just say, ‘OK, let’s go back to the 90s again,’” he told the Rolling Stone Music Now podcast. “It’s not a bad idea.”
Metallica put out their latest album 72 Seasons in 2023 and are currently playing across North America. See the remaining dates on the tour below.
Watch On
May 01: Nashville Nissan Stadium, TN*
May 03: Nashville Nissan Stadium, TN+
May 07: Blacksburg Lane Stadium, VA*
May 09: Columbus Sonic Temple, OH
May 11: Columbus Sonic Temple, OH
May 23: Philadelphia Lincoln Financial Field, PA+
May 25: Philadelphia Lincoln Financial Field, PA*
May 28: Landover Northwest Stadium, MD*
May 31: Charlotte Bank Of America Stadium, NC*
Jun 3: Atlanta Mercedes-Benz Stadium, GA*
Jun 6: Tampa Raymond James Stadium, FL+
Jun 8: Tampa Raymond James Stadium, FL*
Jun 14: Houston NRG Stadium, TX*
Jun 20: Santa Clara Levi’s Stadium, CA+
Jun 22: Santa Clara Levi’s Stadium, CA*
Jun 27: Denver Empower Field at Mile High, CO+
Jun 29: Denver Empower Field at Mile High, CO*
* Pantera and Suicidal Tendencies support
+ Limp Bizkit and Ice Nine Kills support
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