ReLoad
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| ReLoad | |||||
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| Studio album by Metallica | |||||
| Released | November 18, 1997 | ||||
| Recorded | May 1995 – February 1996 and July – October 1997, at The Plant Studios, Sausalito, California | ||||
| Genre | Hard rock, heavy metal | ||||
| Length | 76:07 | ||||
| Label | Elektra | ||||
| Producer | Bob Rock, James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich | ||||
| Professional reviews | |||||
| Metallica chronology | |||||
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ReLoad is the seventh album by American heavy metal band Metallica, released in 1997. It is the direct counterpart to their 1996 album, Load. Over 3 million copies have been sold in the US as certified by the RIAA.
Contents |
[edit] History
The album consists of material originally written during the writing sessions for the band's previous album, Load. Metallica had initially hoped to release the Load & ReLoad songs as a double album, but that idea proved untenable for a variety of reasons. Aside from the album title, ReLoad also shares similar artwork with Load (Load uses Andres Serrano's Blood and Semen III while ReLoad uses his Piss and Blood) and a similarly distinctive blues-rock feel in many of the songs.
In addition to heavy grooves like "Fuel" and "Devil's Dance," ReLoad continues the experimentation seen on Load, with the use of violin and hurdy gurdy on "Low Man's Lyric" and Marianne Faithfull's haunting vocals on "The Memory Remains." It also bears a sequel of sorts in "The Unforgiven II," referencing a single from 1991's Metallica.
The cover of the album is original artwork depicting urine and blood. It is one of three photographic studies by Andres Serrano created in 1990 by mingling the artist's own urine and bovine blood between two sheets of Plexiglas. As with Load, ReLoad included a booklet containing band photos and select lyrics for each song.
ReLoad would mark the end of a brief, blues-influenced chapter of Metallica. They would again reinvent themselves with the brutal St. Anger, Metallica's first studio album in six years. The delay would be brought on by various circumstances such as Hetfield's entrance into rehab and the of departure of Jason Newsted from the band in 2001.
[edit] Reception
Professional reviews:
- Rolling Stone (12/11/97, pp.75-76) - 3 Stars (out of 5) - "...more influenced by bluesy rock & roll than by any '90s trend....strongly rooted in the group's apocalyptic metal sound....The biggest change is an increased emphasis on rhythm."
- Entertainment Weekly (11/21/97, p.136) - "...the boys are back in frown, gnarling their way through bristly thrashers and slithery ballads recorded during and after the Load sessions. Reload continues their journey into stripped-down maturity while toying with fresh melodic textures." - Rating: B
- Musician (2/98, p.83) - "...greasy, driving, full of fat grooves, lyric and rhythmic hooks, and sonic curveballs....captures one of rock's greatest bands at its peak."
[edit] Track listing
All songs written by James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett and Lars Ulrich except where noted.
- "Fuel" – 4:31
- "The Memory Remains" (Hetfield, Ulrich) – 4:39
- "Devil's Dance" (Hetfield, Ulrich) – 5:19
- "The Unforgiven II" – 6:37
- "Better Than You" (Hetfield, Ulrich) – 5:21
- "Slither" – 5:13
- "Carpe Diem Baby" – 6:12
- "Bad Seed" – 4:05
- "Where the Wild Things Are" (Hetfield, Ulrich, Jason Newsted) – 6:54
- "Prince Charming" (Hetfield, Ulrich) – 6:05
- "Low Man's Lyric" (Hetfield, Ulrich) – 7:37
- "Attitude" (Hetfield, Ulrich) – 5:16
- "Fixxxer" – 8:15
[edit] Personnel
[edit] Metallica
- James Hetfield – vocals, rhythm guitar
- Lars Ulrich – drums
- Kirk Hammett – lead guitar
- Jason Newsted – bass
[edit] Additional personnel
- Bernardo Bigalli – violin on "Low Man's Lyric"
- Marianne Faithfull – backing vocals on "The Memory Remains"
- Jim McGillveray – percussion
- David Miles – hurdy gurdy on "Low Man's Lyric"
[edit] Production
- Bob Rock, James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich – producers
- Brian Dobbs, Randy Staub – engineers
- Bernardo Bigalli, Darren Grahn, Kent Matcke, Gary Winger – assistant engineers
- Michael Fraser, Randy Staub – mixing
- George Marino – mastering
- Paul DeCarli, Mike Gillies, Darren Grahn – digital editing
- Andie Airfix – design
- Anton Corbijn – photography
- Andres Serrano – artwork
[edit] Charts
[edit] Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | The Billboard 200 | 1 |
| 1997 | Top Canadian Albums | 2 |
| 1997 | The UK Album Chart | 4 |
[edit] Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | "Fuel" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 6 |
| 1997 | "The Memory Remains" | Canadian Singles Chart | 4 |
| 1997 | "The Memory Remains" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 3 |
| 1997 | "The Memory Remains" | UK Singles Chart | 12 |
| 1997 | "The Memory Remains" | The Billboard Hot 100 | 28 |
| 1997 | "The Unforgiven II" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 1 |
| 1998 | "Better Than You" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 7 |
| 1998 | "The Unforgiven II" | The Billboard Hot 100 | 59 |
[edit] Awards
| Year | Winner | Award |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | "Better Than You" | Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance |
[edit] References
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Higher Ground by Barbra Streisand |
Billboard 200 number-one album December 6 - December 12, 1997 |
Succeeded by Sevens by Garth Brooks |
