Reload (Metallica album)

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Reload
File:Metallica - Reload cover.jpg
Studio album by Metallica
Released November 18, 1997
Recorded May 1, 1995 – February 1, 1996
July 1 – October 1, 1997
Studio The Plant Studios in Sausalito, California
Genre
Length 76:00
Label Elektra, Vertigo
Producer Bob Rock, James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich
Metallica chronology
Load
(1996)Load1996
Reload
(1997)
St. Anger
(2003)St. Anger2003
Singles from Reload
  1. "The Memory Remains"
    Released: November 11, 1997[3]
  2. "The Unforgiven II"
    Released: February 23, 1998[4]
  3. "Fuel"
    Released: June 22, 1998[5]
  4. "Better Than You"
    Released: July 16, 1998

Reload is the seventh studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica, released on November 18, 1997 by Elektra Records. The album is a follow-up to Load, released the previous year, and Metallica's last studio album to feature longtime bassist Jason Newsted. Reload debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 436,000 copies in its first week. It was certified 4× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipping four million copies in the United States.

Album information

Reload was recorded at The Plant, a wood-panelled studio in Sausalito, California. The ringmaster for the session was Bob Rock, who produced Metallica's previous two albums. The album artwork displays a photo by Andres Serrano. The original idea was to release Load and Reload as a double album. However, with problems recording so many songs at one time, the band decided that half of the songs were to be released and the band would continue to work on the remaining songs and release them the following year. Speaking about the recording sessions in an interview for Guitar World, guitarist Kirk Hammett stated that "We were gonna do them both as a double album, but we didn't want to spend that long in the studio. Also, if we did a double album, it would have been a lot more material for people to digest, and some of it might have gotten lost in the shuffle."[6] It was the final Metallica studio album to feature bassist Jason Newsted, though it was not his last release with the band.

This was the second album to feature most songs in E♭ tuning, with "Bad Seed" being played in D♭ tuning and "Devil's Dance" in D tuning. D tuning was earlier used for "The Thing That Should Not Be" on Master of Puppets, "Sad but True" on Metallica and later used for "Sabbra Cadabra", and "Whiskey in the Jar" from Garage Inc. Six songs from the album have been played live, including "Fuel", "The Memory Remains", "Devil's Dance", "The Unforgiven II", "Carpe Diem Baby", and "Low Man's Lyric". There were occasional jam sessions of songs such as "Better Than You", "Bad Seed", and "Fixxxer". "Carpe Diem Baby" premiered at Metallica's 30th anniversary concert in 2011.[7] Songs that were not played live are "Better than You", "Slither", "Bad Seed", "Where the Wild Things Are", "Prince Charming", "Attitude", and "Fixxxer".[8]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 3/5 stars[9]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music 3/5 stars[10]
Entertainment Weekly B[11]
Rolling Stone 3/5 stars[12]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide 2/5 stars[13]

AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine thought the record was worthwhile and noted it was heavily influenced by Southern rock. He didn't approve the idea of doing the sequel "The Unforgiven II", but praised the collaboration with Marianne Faithfull on "The Memory Remains".[9] Dan Snierson from Entertainment Weekly said Reload "continues Metallica's journey into stripped-down maturity while toying with fresh melodic textures" and "also forsakes some of the punchy hooks and gut-clenching heft that elevated recent Metallica CDs".[11] Rolling Stone's Lorraine Ali opined the album was rooted in heavy metal despite some songs being influenced by "bluesy rock & roll". She said Reload was not Metallica's best, but named it a steppingstone in Metallica's legacy.[12] On the other hand, Musician described the album as "greasy, driving, full of fat grooves, lyric and rhythmic hooks, and sonic curveballs". The magazine felt it "captures one of rock's greatest bands at its peak".[14]

Reload sold 436,000 units in first week and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200.[15] The album remained on the chart for 75 weeks,[16] and sold a little more than four million copies in the United States by December 2009.[17] It was certified 4× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipping four million copies in the United States. Reload peaked at number two on the Canadian Albums Chart, and was certified double platinum by Music Canada.

Track listing

All lyrics written by James Hetfield

No. Title Music Length
1. "Fuel"   Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett 4:29
2. "The Memory Remains" (feat. Marianne Faithfull) Hetfield, Ulrich 4:39
3. "Devil's Dance"   Hetfield, Ulrich 5:18
4. "The Unforgiven II"   Hetfield, Ulrich, Hammett 6:36
5. "Better Than You"   Hetfield, Ulrich 5:21
6. "Slither"   Hetfield, Ulrich, Hammett 5:13
7. "Carpe Diem Baby"   Hetfield, Ulrich, Hammett 6:12
8. "Bad Seed"   Hetfield, Ulrich, Hammett 4:05
9. "Where the Wild Things Are"   Hetfield, Jason Newsted, Ulrich 6:54
10. "Prince Charming"   Hetfield, Ulrich 6:05
11. "Low Man's Lyric"   Hetfield, Ulrich 7:36
12. "Attitude"   Hetfield, Ulrich 5:16
13. "Fixxxer"   Hetfield, Ulrich, Hammett 8:15
Total length:
76:00

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[18]

Metallica

Additional musicians

  • Marianne Faithfull – additional vocals on "The Memory Remains"
  • Bernardo Bigalli – violin on "Low Man's Lyric"
  • David Miles – hurdy-gurdy on "Low Man's Lyric"
  • Jim McGillveray – percussion

Production

Charts

Chart Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[19] 2
Austrian Albums Chart[19] 2
Belgian Albums Chart[19] 4
Canadian Albums Chart[20] 2
Dutch Albums Chart[19] 3
Finnish Albums Chart[19] 1
French Albums Chart[19] 3
German Albums Chart[19] 1
New Zealand Albums Chart[19] 2
Norwegian Albums Chart[19] 1
Swedish Albums Chart[19] 1
Swiss Albums Chart[19] 3
UK Albums Chart[21] 4
US Billboard 200[20] 1

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA)[22] Platinum 70,000
Canada (Music Canada)[23] 2× Platinum 200,000
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[24] Platinum 45,271[24]
Germany (BVMI)[25] Platinum 500,000
Poland (ZPAV)[26] Platinum 131,494[27]
Sweden (GLF)[28] Platinum 40,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[29] Gold 100,000
United States (RIAA)[30] 4× Platinum 4,000,000
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[31] 2× Platinum 2,000,000

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

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External links