The ’90s saw an evolution and upheaval inmusicunlike any other decade. In rock alone, the genre became unrecognizable from the big-haired superstars of the era that preceded it. After Kurt Cobain’s songs and the alternative scene’s dedication to eradicating the rock-star lifestyle forever, the landscape of the genre was altered forever. 95% of metal and hard rock acts who preceded Nirvana were declared irrelevant by the mid-’90s, and that leftMetallicain a strange place.
Most of the bands that surrounded Metallica at the end of the ’80s suffered a creative crisis caused by this unexpected sea change. Despite the amount of stones thrown their way, Metallica were one of the few bands to thrive in the grunge and alternative era, through their already-established anti-bullsh** attitude and the quality of the songwriting onThe Black Album.
When it came to contributing new music to the post-alternative rock landscape, however, the resulting album was so different to what people expected from Metallica. Because of that,Loadremains one of the most talked-about metal albums of all time. Here’s how it holds up all these years later, as we rank every track on the album from worst to best.
14Ronnie
Metallica’s Ode To A London Gangster Falls Wide Of The Mark
In what was perhaps their most defining musical characteristic of this era,Metallica began incorporating the blues into their straight-up hard rock.There are many examples of this working to devastating results onLoad, but “Ronnie” is not one of those moments. The song’s incredibly jarring lead riff is among the laziest things Metallica have ever recorded.
Irritating from the very first note, “Ronnie” revolves around a cheap and sexless Angus Young castoff riff that has just a dash of Southern boogie thrown in. Considering this period had the likes of The Black Crowes shaking their tailfeather in the world of hard rock and Pantera causing a stir in metal with theirTheGreat Southern Trendkill, this felt like it missed every possible audience. The song’slyrics around London gangster Ronnie Kray felt ham-fistedand, crucially, “Ronnie” didn’t sound anything like the Metallica that existed up to this point.
13Poor Twisted Me
There are many flavors that Hetfield and co. explored across their immaculate first five albums, butMetallica has traditionally stayed away from sleaze. Declaring themselves the enemies of the big-haired MTV poseurs of the 1980s, Metallica’s “full speed or nothing” approach was the antidote to the Sunset Strip scene that defined the decade. “Poor Twisted Me” might be the closest thing Metallica have ever come to writing a stripper anthem.
As cold as the condensation dripping down an ice-cold beer, “Poor Twisted Me” sees Metallica embracing a slinky groove, dirty, bluesy riffing, and even more layers of Southern charm. Following on from the thrash years and the crunching hard rock of The Black Album,Loadconfused Metallica’s older audience in moments like this. It felt a little closer to the bloated excess of Guns N' Roses than it did the band that wrote “Holier Than Thou” and helped Nirvana leave their kind in the dirt.
12Cure
Metallica Try AC/DC’s School Uniform On For Size
Arriving with a menacing vibe and lead riff,Metallica kept things simple on this AC/DC-influenced stomper. The element of danger that drips from the grooving riff that powers this song stops it from suffering the same fate as the tracks listed so far. Put bluntly, “Cure” sounds like the band that wrote “Sad But True” in a way that “Poor Twisted Me” does not.
More than just the enormity of the song’s main riff, Metallica feels like they are on the same page as a musical unit here. Kirk’s solo is playful, Lars’s pounding toms and gleeful grooving give the track a fun feel, andJames Hetfield leans into his biker cool in convincing fashion. “Cure” is the first of a bunch of underrated songs onLoad, and one of four songs on the album to have never been played live.
11Mama Said
James Hetfield’s Most Vulnerable Recorded Moment
The world of heavy metal used to be very different from the landscape it enjoys today. It was a fraudulent, cliché-driven mess where men were forced to live up to a nonsense Stronger Than All concept that is neither realistic nor healthy. In a jungle full of lions,James Hetfield was seen as metal’s “alpha male"in the 1990s, and it was slowly eating him alive, as audiences would later see in the movieSome Kind Of Monster.
In a welcome turn of events, Korn altered the world of heavy music and broke new barriers in terms of men talking about the feelings that caused them pain.“Mama Said” is known for being Metallica’s first foray into country, but the real story is James Hetfield’s reflection on the passing of his mother, an event that cruelly happened before his Metallica journey even begun. Compounded by the loss of his father in the early part of the yearLoadwas released, “Mama Said” was a necessary musical catharsis for James Hetfield.
10Until It Sleeps
Cemented as one of the best-selling albums of all time,The Black Albumwill always be considered the most significant period of Metallica’s career. Through a series of singles that remain the measuring stick for metallic bands everywhere, Metallica wrote a hard rock blueprint that bands are still trying to emulate today.Load’s first single took Metallica too far from that sound and their roots, reaching such an extreme in the song’s music video that they both looked and sounded completely unrecognizable.
A solemn and melancholic dirge, “Until It Sleeps” best captures the sinister side ofLoad. In forgoing the elements that traditionally define heaviness, Metallica achieved a darkness that clings to the listener and shared plenty of characteristics with fellow hard rockers, Alice In Chains.
With so much about Metallica’s mid ’90s period defined by their fashion choices and decision to cut their hair, the sight of metal’s biggest band adopting eyeliners and nipple rings in the song’s artsy fartsy video clip meant thatsome folks hated “Until It Sleeps” so much that they didn’t giveLoada chancewhen it finally arrived.
9The House Jack Built
Metallica Bring The Darkness On This Horror-Inspired Track
Slow, lumbering, and with considerable weight behind its every arc, “The House Jack Built” is a creepy track that echoes Metallica’s Lovecraftian past. It may not sound similar to a song like “The Thing That Should Not Be” onMaster Of Puppets, but both songs take Metallica’s crunching riffs into more horrific territory. Much like a lot ofLoad,it’s a song that is heavier in vibethan it is in sound.
Powering the engine room,“The House Jack Built” accentuates Kirk Hammett’s workon the album. His wah-pedal and wall of effects are on full display, as his solos and lead guitars wail over the top of Hetfield’s dark and choppy rhythm track. It’s a long way from what people would traditionally consider to be metal, but it’s every bit as nasty.
82 X 4
Metallica Bring The Riffs And Get Loose
When interviewed in the months before the public got to hearLoad, Lars Ulrich would regularly use the words “looser” and “greasier” to describe Metallica’s upcoming album. If there was a song that best personified these attributes, it’s this one, as"2 X 4” is the coolest song onLoadby a distance. Opening with a monolithic drum fill, Metallica’s ability to craft an arena-sized riff is on full display on this building-shaking rager.
As cymbals crash and Ulrich’s irresistible swing slams away, James Hetfield is clearly having a blast, as he leans into “I steal your thunder / The joy of violent movement pulls you under.” The chorus again recalls Alice In Chains, this time in the shape of the kind of ghostly backing vocal that the Seattle legends made their forte, but this feels far more like the Metallica that had spent the first half of the ’90s bringing the planet to its knees. It is a crime thatMetallica have not played this song in the live environment for over 25 years.
7Wasting My Hate
Kicking things off with the kind of playful, jamming blues lick that Slash would be proud of,“Wasting My Hate” isLoad’s heaviest moment. Rattling along with the same nitro-fuelled pace that made “Through The Never” and “Holier Than Thou” so beloved, the track is brimming with a natural aggression that is so often missing fromLoad. Any fan feeling disenfranchised by country ballads or the blues could feel right at home with this beast.
What’s interesting about this chain of events is that “Wasting My Hate” is also one of the most blues-influenced songs on the album. Built on repetition and a boogie-worthy lead riff, this is one of the few momentsMetallica put their foot to the floor and showcase their natural power. The performance of the song on the BBC’s ’90s flagship music showLater…With Jools Hollandis also one of the best moments of the wholeLoadera.
6Ain’t My B***h
The Bay Area Bruisers Open In Style
As owners of the greatest collection of “Side 1, Track 1"s in the history of heavy metal,“Ain’t My Bh” continues Metallica’s tradition of incredible opening songs. Opening with a riff that could burst open a dam, “Ain’t My Bh” feels paradoxically daring and familiar at the same time. It rattles along at a bruising pace and has Metallica’s trademark power and attitude, but it also takes musical detours that include a slide guitar solo and a radical new vocal delivery from James Hetfield.
“Ain’t My B***h” is the moment that James’s meme-like lead vocals fully take over, withLoadbeing the moment where Hetfield finally owns the monopoly on the words “yeah” and “ooh.” A hard-chugging monster of a song, it is one of the more metallic moments on the album. The false finish at the end of the song is also incredibly gratifying.
5Thorn Within
Metallica Paint A Masterpiece On A Broader Canvas
Metallica’sLoadalbum clocks in at a whopping 78 minutes and 59 seconds, and it would’ve been even longer had technology allowed a CD to fit more music on it. As such, some of the album’s latter tracks are not quite given the flowers that they deserve. Metallica reallyleaned into their epic side on “Thorn Within.”
It should be said that"Thorn Within” hasLoad’s best riff; tight, abrasive, and unmistakably Metallica. The mountainous riff is in opposition to the song’s more spacious and free-roaming feel. There is also a killer guitar solo from Hammett that’s influenced by the sustained drama of Gary Moore, perfectly complimenting the cinematic feel of the track.
