Published on Apr 8, 1997
The kings of speed metal have officially abdicated their
throne.
That may have been obvious on Metallica’s last album, a
self-titled work that won them commercial acclaim and long-overdue
airplay. But when you got down to the music, there were some
crunchy riffs, but not as many as flew at breakneck speed on their
classic albums
Master Of Puppets and.
..And Justice For All.
But their official abdication is painfully apparent on their
sixth full-length studio release
Load. One sign is the absence of shoulder-length manes – not
necessarily a terrible thing. As someone who has banged his head to
the band since the days of
Puppets, it’s the remainder of the image change that is
partially disturbing: body piercing, tattoos, mascara – who is
this, Motley Crue?
The reader is probably saying, “It’s not how they look – it’s
the music, stupid.” That is also an area of concern. The lead
single, “Until It Sleeps,” is somewhat catchy, but is also a major
departure from the traditional Metallica sound. This almost sounds
like a second-rate Danzig imitation based on the lead growls of
singer/rhythm guitarist James Hetfield.
The individual performances of the musicians has undergone a
disturbing change as well. Lead guitarist Kirk Hammett seems to
have lost the bite that made up riffs from as short a period of
time as the
Metallica album. Drummer Lars Ulrich has all but abandoned
the double-bass work he became known for, and has slowed his
drumming to a mere crawl. Bassist Jason Newsted, as always, is
hidden too far back in the mix. This last complaint, which
admittedly is not a change, has to be the fault of co-producers Bob
Rock, Hetfield and Ulrich.
About the only thing that shines on
Load, as far as individual performances, is Hetfield’s
vocals, a fact he began to display on
Metallica. From the softer, country-like tones of “Mama
Said” to the pleading wail on “Poor Twisted Me” to the all-out,
cover-all-bases performance on “Hero Of The Day,” Hetfield proves
that Metallica is
his band.
For all my complaints, the question remains: is this a good
album? The answer is both “yes” and “no.” For the long-time
Metallica fan, this album is a major disappointment at first, but
grows on you after a long time (though the second half of the disc
is still pathetically weak to my old ears). To the recent fans,
Load will probably please them just fine.
And there are some good performances on this album. “Hero Of The
Day” is a fine track, as are “Ain’t My Bitch,” “King Nothing” and,
to a lesser extent, “The House Jack Built.” (I
am sick of hearing “Ain’t My Bitch,” though – you listening
WRCX-FM?) Metallica even pulls off a country-twang with some
success with “Mama Said,” a song guaranteed to make long-time fans
fall out of their chairs in shock. (Don’t worry, Metallica won’t be
donning cowboy hats and doing Garth Brooks covers at any time in
the near future.)
Ulrich and crew have been banging their heads since the early
’80s, and the speed metal genre, all but dead commercially, had to
have gotten old for them quickly.
Load is the band’s first real effort to express themselves
in an entirely new musical vein. It’s just a shame that they fire
as many blanks as live rounds on this one.