Reload

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Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
For many heavy metal fans, Metallica epitomizes the genre, especially for those listeners who remember the band's fast-and-furious 1983 debut, Kill 'Em All. As a result, their continued foray into a more stripped-down, laid-back sound with this album has met a mixed response. However, there's enough innovation and just plain strange stuff on this album to make it worth a listen. The creepy "The Memory Remains" is perfectly accentuated by Marianne Faithfull's backing vocals, and "Where the Wild Things Are" features the multi-layered vocals and guitars that Metallica is famous for, albeit at about half their usual speed. The opening ("Fuel") and closing ("Fixxxer") tracks are especially strong, and intermixed with some slower, country-inflected tunes are the obnoxious rockers that made Metallica the long-running success they are. --Genevieve Williams

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Description
When Metallica recorded 1996's LOAD, the studio sessions were fruitful enough for the band to put out two records. A year and a half later, RELOAD is the inevitable follow-up. Stretching beyond Metallica's speed metal roots, RELOAD is a continuation of the experimentation that dismayed many old fans and welcomed in many new ones. As a result, many Metallicafirsts are reached on their eighth album. Some anomalies include recruiting the legendary Marianne Faithfull to contribute backing vocals on "The Memory Remains" and the addition of hurdy-gurdy and violin to the mix of the wistful "Low Man's Lyric". Throughout all this experimentation, Metallica still plays hard and fast, particularly on the metal groove of"Fuel" and the relentless pounding of "Where The Wild Things Are", (a title borrowed from children's author Maurice Sendak). Metallica continues to reinvent itself in a genre where mediocrity is always just around the corner.

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Customer reviews

review by: TRUE METAL date: 2008-06-18 rating:
Deffinetly Metallicas worst album, and i loved St. Anger and Load.
Well this is kind of a hard one to review as i only listend to it twice and it may grow on me soon. The best track by far is Fuel no doubt about. It's just something is missing from this album which made all other Metallica album awesome. I dont know what it is maybe it's lack of passion for the music i have no idea. The best songs other then Fuel are The Memory Remains, The Unforgiven II, Carpe Diem Baby(wicked chorus) & Attitude. Those are the only songs i think are awesome at the moment. Devil Dance is ok but something about it annoys me. I thought Load was absolutely amazing same with St. Anger, I dont know why but i just dont think this album aint that great. I donw know i hope it grows on me soon cause right know i dont think much of it. My advice is leave this album till last and buy the other metallica albums first. Worth checking out if you're metallica fan and have albums but this.

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review by: date: 2008-05-13 rating:
A grower....
I think Metallica made a good decision by experimenting on the "load albums", but they could of been a little bit more careful and self aware when they decided to do this. They lost a huge part of their fan base because of their huge musical and physical transformation, ok, they became commercially successful when the "black" album came out but it was an amazing record and already its remembered as a classic album along with their 4 pre-1991 albums.

I personally think ReLoad is a pretty good album, I have no major problems with the way Metallica evolved during the Mid-90's. It was a natural progression for them, because bands do get boring if they release the same old thing over and over again. The record itself is quite a shock for any old school Metallica fan listening for the first time because there are so many different influences you can hear that aren't what you would hear from a Metal band.
I think you have to be open minded and listen to a broad range of music genres to appreciate what the band did on ReLoad and Load, many "metalheads" can be very close minded when their favourite band starts experimenting by playing shorter more radio friendly songs with influences outside of Metal, they see it as a band selling out...

I first started listening to Metallica about 5 years ago just before St Anger came out I bought Master Of Puppets after a guy I knew recommended it. I was totally blown away! It was THE greatest album I had heard (or ever will hear) So afterwards I became hooked and bought Kill 'em all, Ride, Justice and black. From there onwards they became and still are my favourite band.

I was well aware of ReLoad and Load I had heard the material from the albums but at the time I was not impressed, I was more interested in the old stuff. It was just last year when I decided to re listen to ReLoad (and Load) and it really grew on me and now I feel bad for neglecting the albums because they are pretty good!

I believe that Metallica should of merged Load and ReLoad together using the best from both albums into one 12 song album, that would of been easier for the band because they would of had one solid and consistent album with 12 great songs instead of some of the weaker songs that made it on the seperate albums ReLoad and Load, there definatley would of been less controvery from the fans and media.

I think the main thing that attracted me is that ReLoad is quite unique sounding and are hard to categorize and the whole stripped down song structuring was such a positive thing because the band realised they had potential in making short bluesy hard rock songs as well as the 8 minute thrash metal epics on the first 4 albums. So now over the years Metallica has gained an amazingly diverse catalogue of material. This album, along with Load will grow on you over time.

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review by: simon_camden date: 2007-08-27 rating:
sad decline of a legend
After setting new and astonishing standards in metal since the early 80's, this shows the bands corporate sell-out and musical sterility hitting another low, after the terrible 'Load'. Not much more to say.

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review by: date: 2007-07-15 rating:
Metallica's Worst Album
There have been some positive reviews of this album but I have to say no I totally disagree. Im a huge Metallica fan and have nothing against bands going in a different direction but sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. I think the flaw with load/reload wasn't the new direction but that there wasn't enough material to stretch over two albums and this is obvious on reload. It starts off well with the the first 4 tracks being some of the best stuff Metallica have done but it rapidly goes downhill afterwards. The rest of the album is just instantly forgettable and just boring material that should have ended up on the cutting room floor. I think that if 2x4, poor twisted me, mama said, thorn within and ronnie were removed from load and replaced with the the first four tracks from reload it would have made for a great album instead of one solid but unspectacular album and one awful album.


review by: date: 2007-02-23 rating:
hit and miss
first off it really angers me to hear people saying "this isnt metallica", well it is you idiot you just dont like where they are going,but its their choice,and they still got your money,its not like you dont get the chance to hear where they are going with the new material before you buy the thing.
now then re-load,its good in places,these places are at the beginning,it then pretty much all goes wrong from track 6 onwards.
even the good stuff is not thrash,got that NOT A THRASH ALBUM. you want thrash go buy slayer or the haunted. this is metallica doing what they want because they can,and being very inventive for their own good and i respect them for it,but it doesnt mean that i have to like all of it.
for the most part i do,fuel,the memory remains,devils dance(my personal fave) and the unforgiven II are all great, the rest are just a bit forgetable, and by metallica`s own very high standards they are a bit sub-standard.
but approach with an OPEN MIND and you may enjoy this album,buy the rest,i mean like all their other gear first and leave this one till last as it is the runt of the litter.

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