Reload (Metallica album)
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ReLoad is the seventh studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica, released on November 18, 1997 through Elektra Records. It is a sequel or counterpart to the band's previous album, Load, and also the final Metallica album of the 20th century. ReLoad debuted #1 on the Billboard 200, selling 417,000 copies in its first week. Only six of the thirteen songs have ever been played live. They include "Fuel", "The Memory Remains", "Devil's Dance", "The Unforgiven II", "Low Man's Lyric", and "Carpe Diem Baby". There are also occasional jam sessions of songs including "Bad Seed", "Better Than You" and "Fixxxer". ReLoad is currently certified 4x platinum by the RIAA.[4] It was the final Metallica studio album to feature bassist Jason Newsted, though it was not his last release with the band. ReLoad also marked the second and the last appearance of a new Metallica logo on an album, until the release of Garage Inc.
The original idea was to make Metallica's sixth album a double album. However, with problems recording so many songs at one time, the band decided that half of the songs were to be released and the band would continue to work on the remaining songs and release them the following year. Drummer Lars Ulrich stated that "it's the second half of Load. It's just coming out a year and a half later."[5]
This was the second album to feature most, if not all, songs in E♭ tuning, with "Bad Seed" being played in D♭ tuning and "Devil's Dance" in D tuning. D tuning was earlier used for "Sad but True" on Metallica and later used for "Sabbra Cadabra" and Whiskey in the Jar" from Garage Inc.
Recently the song "Carpe Diem Baby" premiered at the "Metallica's 30th Anniversary Party" in 2011. The songs that have never been played are "Better than You", "Slither", "Bad Seed", "Where the Wild Things Are", "Prince Charming", "Attitude", and "Fixxxer".
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [6] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B[7] |
| Rolling Stone | [8] |
- 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[7]
- 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."
Track listing
All lyrics are written by James Hetfield
| No. | Title | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Fuel" | Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett | 4:29 |
| 2. | "The Memory Remains" (feat. Marianne Faithfull) | Hetfield, Ulrich | 4:39 |
| 3. | "Devil's Dance" | Hetfield, Ulrich | 5:18 |
| 4. | "The Unforgiven II" | Hetfield, Ulrich, Hammett | 6:36 |
| 5. | "Better Than You" | Hetfield, Ulrich | 5:21 |
| 6. | "Slither" | Hetfield, Ulrich, Hammett | 5:13 |
| 7. | "Carpe Diem Baby" | Hetfield, Ulrich, Hammett | 6:12 |
| 8. | "Bad Seed" | Hetfield, Ulrich, Hammett | 4:05 |
| 9. | "Where the Wild Things Are" | Hetfield, Ulrich, Jason Newsted | 6:54 |
| 10. | "Prince Charming" | Hetfield, Ulrich | 6:05 |
| 11. | "Low Man's Lyric" | Hetfield, Ulrich | 7:36 |
| 12. | "Attitude" | Hetfield, Ulrich | 5:16 |
| 13. | "Fixxxer" | Hetfield, Ulrich, Hammett | 8:15 |
| Total length: | 76:00 | ||
Personnel
- James Hetfield – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, lead guitar on "Carpe Diem Baby"
- Kirk Hammett – lead and rhythm guitar
- Lars Ulrich – drums, percussion
- Jason Newsted – bass guitar
Additional musicians
- Marianne Faithfull – additional vocals on "The Memory Remains"
- Bernardo Bigalli – violin on "Low Man's Lyric"
- David Miles – hurdy gurdy on "Low Man's Lyric"
- Jim McGillveray – percussion
Production
- Bob Rock, James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich – producers
- Brian Dobbs, Randy Staub – engineers
- Bernardo Bigalli, Darren Grahn, Kent Matcke, Gary Winger – assistant engineers
- Mike Fraser, Randy Staub – mixing
- George Marino – mastering
- Paul DeCarli, Mike Gillies, Darren Grahn – digital editing
- Andie Airfix – design
- Anton Corbijn – photography
- Andres Serrano – artwork
Charts
ReLoad sold 435,500 units in first week of release[9] and debuted at #1.
Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Billboard 200 | 1 |
| Top Canadian Albums | 2 | |
| The UK Album Chart | 4 | |
| Finnish Albums Chart[10] | 1 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | "The Memory Remains" | Canadian Singles Chart | 4 |
| Mainstream Rock Tracks | 3 | ||
| UK Singles Chart | 13 | ||
| The Billboard Hot 100 | 28 | ||
| "The Unforgiven II" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 1 | |
| 1998 | "Better than You" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 7 |
| "The Unforgiven II" | The Billboard Hot 100 | 59 | |
| UK Singles Chart | 15 | ||
| "Fuel" | UK Singles Chart | 31 |
Certification
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[11] | 2× Platinum | 200,000^ |
| Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[12] | Platinum | 45,271[12] |
| Germany (BVMI)[13] | Platinum | 500,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[14] | Gold | 100,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[16] | 4× Platinum | 4,036,000[15] |
| Summaries | ||
| Europe (IFPI)[17] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000* |
|
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
Awards
| Year | Winner | Award |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | "Better than You" | Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance |
Metal Edge Readers' Choice Awards
| Year | Winner | Award |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | ReLoad | Album of the Year |
| 1997 | "The Memory Remains" | Best Video Clip |
References
- ^ The Memory Remains release date
- ^ The Unforgiven II release date
- ^ Fuel release date
- ^ "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved 2009-12-31.
- ^ "Lars Ulrich Interview "Re-load" 1997". Metallicaworld.co.uk. 1996-06-22. Retrieved 2010-11-13.
- ^ Reload at AllMusic
- ^ a b Dan Snierson (1997-11-21). "Re-Load Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2012-06-03.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Lorraine Ali (1997-11-20). "ReLoad | Album Reviews". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2012-03-06.
- ^ "Billboard - Google Books". Books.google.com.pk. 2003-06-21. Retrieved 2012-03-06.
- ^ Finnish Albums Chart - Search. Retrieved on 2009-07-08.
- ^ "Canadian album certifications – Metallica – Re-Load". Music Canada.
- ^ a b "Metallica" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
- ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Metallica; 'ReLoad')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
- ^ "British album certifications – Metallica – Re-Load". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Re-Load in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
- ^ "BLABBERMOUTH.NET - METALLICA's 'Black' LP Is Top-Selling Album Of SOUNDSCAN Era". Roadrunnerrecords.com. Retrieved 2010-11-13.
- ^ "American album certifications – Metallica – ReLoad". Recording Industry Association of America.
- ^ "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 2007". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.
