Throughout their more than four-decade career, Metallica has experienced tragic losses, a meteoric rise, and resounding commercial success in the early 1990s.
However, in 1996, with the release of Load, the band radically changed both its visual image and its sonic identity, causing an immediate shock and great bewilderment among the audience at the time. Before delving into the history of the album itself, it's necessary to go back a few years and recall their previous work, the Black Album, released in 1991.
Success with Metallica and anticipation for a sequel.
The group had conquered the mainstream ,filled stadiums around the world, and sold tens of millions of copies, making their self-titled album the most successful heavy metal album of all time. Because of this, the expectation of fans and the industry for a possible sequel was high, even more so because, until that time, the Americans had never gone five years without releasing new music.
However, James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich didn't want to repeat formulas or stay in their comfort zone. With the explosion of alternative rock and grunge in that decade, Metallica decided to follow many of those elements, marking a change of direction: more rhythmic songs and strong influences from blues, country, and hard rock.
Haircut, makeup, and a controversial cover
As if the sonic shift wasn't enough to shock the most purist fans, Metallica went further and altered a crucial aspect: their look. The members' long hair was replaced with short haircuts. They also started wearing designer clothes and makeup, creating an alternative aesthetic that dictated the tone of the music video for the album's first single, "Until It Sleeps," which secured the band's first number one on the Billboard rock chart .
The controversy, however, was marked by the album cover, created by American photographer Andres Serrano, whose work is considered transgressive for using photos of corpses and bodily fluids. Entitled Semen and Blood III, the work, produced in 1990, consists of a mixture of bovine blood and the photographer's own semen pressed between two acrylic plates, resulting in an effect reminiscent of hot rod flames .
Guitarist Kirk Hammett, who found the photo in an art book called Body and Soul at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, presented the artwork to the rest of the band, fascinating Lars. James, on the other hand, never hid his dissatisfaction with the album's aesthetic, admitting in later interviews that he didn't like the cover, but ultimately gave in to maintain the group's unity.
“Lars and Kirk were really into abstract art, [they were] pretending to be gay. I think they knew it bothered me. It was a statement revolving around all of that. I love art, but not if it’s just made to shock people. I think the cover of 'Load' was just a joke about all of that. I just went along with the makeup and all that crazy, stupid stuff they thought they had to do,” James told Classic Rock in 2009 [transcription via TMDQA].
Despite the frontman's dissenting opinion and the negative reception from fans, Lars decided to defend the aesthetic, leading Metallica to be even more daring the following year, 1997, with the successor album, Reload. The album again featured another controversial work by Serrano, Piss and Blood XXVI, this time featuring a mixture of urine and bovine blood.
“The albums Load and Reload , with the incredible artwork by Andres Serrano, will always hold a special place in my heart. I love him as an artist, the visuals, and the fact that we were able to get Serrano on the covers of those two albums. They’re probably my two favorites,” Lars told Revolver in 2018.
Musical maturity
Far from the speed of thrash metal, the compositions gained space with complex arrangements and more profound themes such as grief, depression, and addiction. This approach is especially evident in "Bleeding Me," which indirectly portrays James's struggle against alcoholism.
The closing track, "The Outlaw Torn," focused on portraying the loss and pain of not being able to replace someone who is gone, is nine minutes long and is frequently cited by fans and critics as one of the most underrated compositions in Metallica's career.
Another highlight is the ballad "Mama Said," with a melody heavily influenced by country and one of the most intimate accounts ever written by the vocalist: the painful grieving process and unresolved relationship with his mother, Cynthia, who died of cancer when he was only 16 years old. Raised in a Christian family with strong religious beliefs, the musician saw her refuse any kind of medical treatment or chemotherapy, causing him great resentment that had already inspired the song "The God That Failed," from the Black Album.
According to him, the song wasn't originally written for the band, as he thought the other members wouldn't accept something so country and personal. However, Lars and producer Bob Rock listened to the demo tape, saw how profound it was, and insisted it be included on the album.
Three decades after its release, the initial controversies surrounding Load have faded into the past, giving way to a very fair analysis of the album, whose legacy has proven to be a fundamental step in Metallica's longevity. Instead of trying to recreate the formula of the Black Album, James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, and Jason Newsted chose to explore new horizons to show that the quartet's music went far beyond the aggression that brought them fame in the 1980s.
Featuring songs like "King Nothing" and "Until It Sleeps," in addition to the aforementioned "Bleeding Me" and "The Outlaw Torn," which continue to appear in the group's shows and setlists to this day, the album has become a key piece in better understanding one of the crucial chapters in the history of one of the greatest metal bands of all time.
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