The Metallica Thread v. Reloaded

[NoseofNicko]

Well, thanks to you guys I'm gonna listen to Load for the first time tonight.

[WDADU]

A much better record than people give it credit for. I actually like it better than the "Black Album". In fact, "Bleeding Me" alone is better than the entire "Black Album."

[Tomislav95]

I listened to both Load and Reload earlier this year for the first time (for roulette) and I liked them more than I expected. I still like RtL-Black more but both are really good.

[TAC]

A much better record than people give it credit for. I actually like it better than the "Black Album". In fact, "Bleeding Me" alone is better than the entire "Black Album."

Bleeding Me is all kinds of awesome, but I'm just not in on Load being better than The Black Album, as much of a disappointment (at the time) that it was.

[KevShmev]

I remember thinking at the time that ReLoad was pretty good and consistent; I could listen to all of it straight through without skipping anything, even though nothing on it was great.  That was a contrast to Load, which has probably 4-5 songs better than the best one on ReLoad, but also has a handful of songs that are full of suckage.

[425]

We doing combined Load-Reload tracklists?

1. Fuel
2. The Memory Remains
3. The Outlaw Torn
4. Mama Said
5. The House Jack Built
6. Until It Sleeps
7. Hero of the Day
8. Bleeding Me
9. Where the Wild Things Are
10. Low Man's Lyric
11. The Unforgiven II
12. Fixxxer

This is my favorite era of Metallica. However, neither of the albums are among my favorites—because I think they both suffer from inconsistent quality—though contra Kev I think that problem is much worse on Reload than it is on Load.

The album above, if it existed, would be my favorite Metallica album, and it wouldn't even be close.

That said, I think the decision to make two albums was the correct one. I think they were right to think that there was more than one disc's worth of material from those sessions that deserved to see the light of day. I just don't think they should have done a jam-packed album and then another pretty full album. They released 27 songs from the Load era; I think they should have released about 20 on albums and packaged the rest as b-sides.

I would have killed Poor Twisted Me and Wasting My Hate from Load, and Better Than You, Carpe Diem Baby (I know, but I actually dislike this song), Bad Seed and Attitude from Reload. Prince Charming and Cure are borderline cases. I'd lean towards killing them, but I could be persuaded into keeping them—they aren't really bad, but they are middling and drag the overall albums down. That would leave us with an 11-12 song Load and an 8-9 song Reload, so maybe shunt one or two Load songs over to the second album—Thorn Within might be a good candidate, and there you have two albums that IMO would stand up among Metallica's best. They'd probably rate 3rd and 4th in my rankings behind Ride and The Black Album. As is, these albums fall 5th and 7th (MOP lies between them, the debut and the obvious one lie below).

[BlobVanDam]

A much better record than people give it credit for. I actually like it better than the "Black Album". In fact, "Bleeding Me" alone is better than the entire "Black Album."

lolno, but Load/Reload are definitely better than people give them credit for, at least on an individual song level. But Metallica haven't released an album that comes close to topping TBA since (imo).

[Kotowboy]

Load is very front loaded.

Tracks 8 - 14 are not that great except for Mama Said , Wasting My Hate and Outlaw Torn.

[BlobVanDam]

As I said earlier, I wouldn't keep anything from the second half of Load (or Reload), so I agree it's very front loaded. At least it works better for flow to listen to the first half and then stop, rather than having to skip around a lot.

[Kotowboy]

Also despite constantly being called " the leftovers from Load " - there's nothing on Reload I skip - unlike Cure, Poor Twisted Me, Ronnie...Which I almost never listen to.

I even like Better Than You, Attitude and Prince Charming.

Prince Charming could have been on The Black Album - especially that breakdown section.


I wonder how the albums would have been received if Reload had come first.

[Kotowboy]

Pick 2 songs from each studio album, one cover from Garage Inc and one of I Disappear, Minus Human or No Leaf Clover to make a 20 track best of.

1. Motorbreath
2. The Four Horsemen
3. Ride The Lightning
4. The Call Of Ktulu
5. Disposable Heroes
6. Orion
7. The Frayed Ends Of Sanity
8. Blackened
9. Sad But True
10. The Struggle Within
11. The Outlaw Torn
12. The Hero Of The Day
13. Where The Wild Things Are
14. Carpe Diem Baby
15. The Unnamed Feeling
16. My World
17. That Was Just Your Life
18. All Nightmare Long
19. It's Electric
20. No Leaf Clover

[mikeyd23]

God, this thread has reminded me to dust off the old DVD of S&M... Good stuff, haven't watched/listened in a long time.

[Kotowboy]

First time I put the CD in my Dad's Bang & Olufsen hi fi it blew me away. It sounded so ridiculously epic.

[425]

Pick 2 songs from each studio album, one cover from Garage Inc and one of I Disappear, Minus Human or No Leaf Clover to make a 20 track best of.

Have never heard Garage Inc. since I don't care much about covers. Don't see why we're excluding Beyond Magnetic? I'll put one from there in place of Garage Inc.

1. The Four Horsemen
2. Seek and Destroy
3. Fade to Black
4. The Call of Ktulu
5. Master of Puppets
6. Orion
7. One
8. To Live Is To Die
9. The Unforgiven
10. Nothing Else Matters
11. Bleeding Me
12. The Outlaw Torn
13. Low Man's Lyric
14. Fixxxer
15. Frantic
16. The Unnamed Feeling
17. The Unforgiven III
18. Suicide & Redemption
19. Rebel of Babylon
20. No Leaf Clover

[Kotowboy]

As you wish...

I bought Beyond Magnetic on CD. At the time it was half an hour of "new" Metallica.

It's not that great in retrospect. I don't think anything on that EP is better than anything on Death Magnetic bar Unforgiven III.

If I had to pick one of the 4 tracks it would be Just A Bullet Away.

[425]

I agree that nothing on there is better than anything on Death Magnetic (though The Unforgiven III is in my top on that album, so...), but it is well ahead of St. Anger and Kill 'Em All IMO. And its tracks are just as much of Metallica songs as the three non-album tracks you listed before.

[mikeyd23]

Have never heard Garage Inc. since I don't care much about covers.

Dude if you like Metallica, I consider Garage Inc. a must listen. It's up in Spotify, check it out at least once. There's a reason a lot of people consider Metallica to be one of the best when it comes to covers.

[Evermind]

425 and "check it out on Spotify" are those two things that don't really go well together.

[Onno]

Hmm...

1. The Four Horsemen
2. Seek & Destroy
3. For Whom The Bell Tolls
4. Creeping Death
5. Master of Puppets
6. Orion
7. Blackened
8. One
9. Unforgiven
10. Wherever I May Roam
11. Until It Sleeps
12. Bleeding Me
13. Low Man's Lyrics
14. Fixxxer
15. Some Kind of Monster
16. My World
17. The End of the Line
18. Cyanide
19. No Leaf Clover

I haven't listened to Beyond Magnetic in a looooong time, so I don't think I know which song I like best on there.

[TAC]

I agree that nothing on there is better than anything on Death Magnetic (though The Unforgiven III is in my top on that album, so...), but it is well ahead of St. Anger and Kill 'Em All IMO. And its tracks are just as much of Metallica songs as the three non-album tracks you listed before.

Wait....did you just say that Beyond Magnetic was well ahead of Kill 'Em All??

[Big Hath]

I agree that nothing on there is better than anything on Death Magnetic (though The Unforgiven III is in my top on that album, so...), but it is well ahead of St. Anger and Kill 'Em All IMO. And its tracks are just as much of Metallica songs as the three non-album tracks you listed before.

Wait....did you just say that Beyond Magnetic was well ahead of Kill 'Em All??

can someone please go check on TAC.  I believe he's had a heart attack.

[TheCountOfNYC]

I'm gonna do two best of lists.

The first one which is a compilation of their biggest hits from each album.

01: Hit the Lights
02: Seek & Destroy
03: For Whom the Bell Tolls
04: Fade to Black
05: Battery
06: Master of Puppets
07: Blackened
08: One
09: Enter Sandman
10: Nothing Else Matters
11: Until it Sleeps
12: King Nothing
13: Fuel
14: The Memory Remains
15: Turn the Page (Bob Seger cover)
16: I Disappear
17: Frantic
18: St. Anger
19: The Day That Never Comes
20: All Nightmare Long

And the second one which is my favorites from each album.

01: The Four Horsemen
02: Metal Militia
03: Creeping Death
04: The Call of Ktulu
05: Master of Puppets
06: Orion
07: Blackened
08: ...And Justice For All
09: Sad But True
10: My Friend of Misery
11: Until it Sleeps
12: King Nothing
13: The Unforgiven II
14: Low Man's Lyric
15: Turn the Page (Bob Seger cover)
16: No Leaf Clover
17: Frantic
18: St. Anger
19: All Nightmare Long
20: The Unforgiven III

[Kotowboy]

I'll never be a fan of Unforgiven III.

It's by far my least favourite song on Death Magnetic AND my least favourite Unforgiven. My favourite is Unforgiven II.

[twosuitsluke]

I must admit I love all the Unforgiven's.

As for worst song on DM, that clearly belongs to The Judas Kiss 

[BlobVanDam]

The Judas Kiss is by far the best song on DM imo. If it weren't for the sloppy instrumental section, it would be a top Metallica song to me.

[TheCountOfNYC]

I love The Judas Kiss. I think Broken, Beat and Scarred is the worst song on Death Magnetic.

[BlobVanDam]

I'd agree with Broken, Beat and Scarred as the worst. I don't really like My Apocalypse or Suicide and Redemption either. The rest is at least alright.

[twosuitsluke]

Never liked Judas Kiss. It feels way too long in my opinion. It's a close call as there a few others that are very close to being my least favourite.

[Kotowboy]

S&R isn't my fave but it's up there. It's a much better instrumental than TLITD imo....

Here are my least favourite songs from each studio album :

1. Pulling Teeth
2. Escape
3. Damage Inc ( but i love every song so its hard to choose )
4. To Live Is To Die
5. My Friend Of Misery
6. Poor Twisted Me
7. Slither
8. All Within My Hands
9. Unforgiven III
10. Rebel of Babylon ( Beyond Magnetic )

[twosuitsluke]

S&R isn't my fave but it's up there. It's a much better instrumental than TLITD imo....

Here are my least favourite songs from each studio album :

1. Pulling Teeth
2. Escape
3. Damage Inc ( but i love every song so its hard to choose )
4. To Live Is To Die
5. My Friend Of Misery
6. Poor Twisted Me
7. Slither
8. All Within My Hands
9. Unforgiven III
10. Rebel of Babylon ( Beyond Magnetic )

To Live is to Die is one of my absolute favourite Metallica tracks. I want the big three instrumentals from RtL, MoP and AJfA played at my funeral!!

[Adami]

1. Whiplash
2. The Four Horsemen
3. Fade to Black
4. Creeping Death
5. Master of Puppets
6. Orion
7. One
8. Dyer's Eve
9. The Unforgiven
10. Wherever I May Roam
11. Mama Said
12. Thorn Within
13. Where the Wild Things Are
14. Fixxxer
15. Frantic
16. The Unnamed Feeling
17. Broken Beaten and Scarred
18. The Judas Kiss
19. Turn the Page
20. No Leaf Clover

[Luoto]

I actually think the worst song on Death Magnetic is The Day that Never Comes. The first half is fine, but the second is terribly forced and has some of the worst riffs they've ever recorded. Many of the songs on that album in general are brought down by a poor instrumental section/solo (The Judas Kiss, BB&S), or by simply being too goddamn long (The End of the Line, S&R). That Was Just Your Life has none of these issues, and Cyanide is close.

[TheCountOfNYC]

S&R isn't my fave but it's up there. It's a much better instrumental than TLITD imo....

Here are my least favourite songs from each studio album :

1. Pulling Teeth
2. Escape
3. Damage Inc ( but i love every song so its hard to choose )
4. To Live Is To Die
5. My Friend Of Misery
6. Poor Twisted Me
7. Slither
8. All Within My Hands
9. Unforgiven III
10. Rebel of Babylon ( Beyond Magnetic )

My least favorite.

1. Motorbreath
2. Escape
3. The Thing That Should Not Be (but I love every song)
4. Eye of the Beholder
5. Of Wolf and Man
6. Hero of the Day
7. The Memory Remains
8. Invisible Kid
9. Broken, Beat and Scarred

[pogoowner]

I actually think the worst song on Death Magnetic is The Day that Never Comes. The first half is fine, but the second is terribly forced and has some of the worst riffs they've ever recorded. Many of the songs on that album in general are brought down by a poor instrumental section/solo (The Judas Kiss, BB&S), or by simply being too goddamn long (The End of the Line, S&R). That Was Just Your Life has none of these issues, and Cyanide is close.

I don't agree with it being the worst, but you're absolutely right about the second half of The Day that Never Comes being far, far worse than the first half (which I really like).

[Kotowboy]

Well, thanks to you guys I'm gonna listen to Load for the first time tonight.

How was it ?