Metallica has done deluxe editions with input from fans for its first five albums, “Kill ‘Em All,” “Ride the Lightning,” “Master of Puppets,” “And Justice For All” and the “Black Album.” Now, 1996’s “Load” and “1997’s “Reload” will get the box set treatment. “We’re working our way through the catalog to bring you the comprehensive Deluxe Box Sets we’ve come to love. And now it’s time to get started on ‘Load’ and ‘ReLoad’!” reads an e-mail to the Metallica fan club. “As you may remember, we asked you for help in putting together the first five box sets and, to make sure there’s a fan footprint on all of these releases, we’ll be doing that again! “We’re looking for anything and everything you might have from August 1995 through September 1998: live photos (taken by you!) or snaps from a meet & greet, flyers, ticket stubs, backstage passes, and whatever other mementos you may have from that time.”
“Make your mark on these albums by emailing us at [email protected] to share your story and receive more info about submitting these little pieces of history. Nothing is too small or trivial; share your archives with your fellow fans and have some fun walking down memory lane with us!”
“Load” and “Reload” were somewhat polarizing albums for Metallica fans as the band ditched its thrash metal sound for a more hard rock and blues approach. The band also cut their hair and visually looked more in step with the alternative scene of the time than anything having to do with heavy metal.
Drummer Lars Ulrich told Revolver in a 2013 interview: “Load” and “Reload” are “great records that are creatively on par with every other record we’ve made. Obviously, they’re bluesier records, and at that time, we were listening to a lot of Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and AC/DC, and we had a different kind of foundation than records before or after. And I understand that there are people who couldn’t quite figure out what was going on with the haircuts and the rest of it, and that’s fine. But musically, if you strip all that other stuff away, if you just listen to the 27 songs — ‘Load’ and ‘Reload’ were intended as one double-record — it’s a great collection of songs that is on par with everything else that we’ve done creatively.”
Guitarist and frontman James Hetfield was a fan of “Load” and “Reload” musically, but not so much of the cover art. “Lars and Kirk [Hammett, guitar] were very into abstract art, pretending they were gay. I think they knew it bugged me. It was a statement around all that. I love art, but not for the sake of shocking others. I think the cover of ‘Load’ was just a piss-take around all that. I just went along with the make-up and all of this crazy, stupid sh*t that they felt they needed to do.”
