Metallica Falters: The Story of Load and Reload

In 1991, Metallica smashed all expectations and became the biggest heavy metal band of all time. Five years later, would Metallica be able to sustain high critical praise and commercial success? Furthermore, where would their fans stand on their newer, more streamlined releases?

0:00 Metallica Seeks Change (1988 - 1991)
2:21 The Black Album Conquers (1991 - 1993)
6:57 Hubris & Petty Taunts (1994)
9:03 The Writing Process Begins (1994)
11:08 Metallica vs. Elektra (1994)
13:21 Metallica Enters the Studio (1995 - 1996)
20:21 Press Coverage, Haircuts, Festivals (1996)
22:44 Load Succeeds, Controversy Ensues (1996 - 1997)
28:59 Return to the Studio (1997)
29:20 ReLoad Tops Charts, Fails to Reassure (1997)
32:47 Metallica Indulges (1998 - 1999)
33:40 Uncertainty and Looming Anger (2000)

[FromTheSky]

Gotta love how James insults some of the biggest bands, then wonders why people are angry, throwing shoes at him

[D-Fens_]

I saw them in 94, 97, and 98, smack in the middle of this period. My biggest complaint of the era was the way they would only play half of Master. Ending it in the middle always infuriated me. Still does.

[alexalexalex]

Looking back. Its insane how BIG metallica was in the early 90s.
C R A Z Y

[Stirrups]

I'm so lucky I was a kid when this album came out and I could listen to these songs without bias.

[fobbitoperator]

The day I got sober, January 3rd of '97, "Hero of the Day" was playing in my head. Since then, every time I hear that tune, I remember why I still walk this Earth.

Addiction can be BEATEN. If my simple ass can do it, anybody can!

[epicblarg]

The older you get. The more you understand why bands change.

[brandongardner]

And Justice For All was, is, and always will be my favorite Metallica album. That album was so raw. YAH bless!!!

[Gxvin]

man i love metallica and every member including james, cliff em all tho, but whoever threw that shoe at james is a legend and that shoe will live on forever in honor of Layne Staley.

[WickedlNl]

Realistically, if they removed the fluff from both albums, putting the two together would make one really solid album.

[joker_gaming]

The way james caught that shoe was smooth as fuck though

[phonix-]

The 90s was a difficult time for any classic rock & roll band

[Blackened]

As someone who was a teen during the black album and load/reload period, I have a lot of vivid memories of how I felt and what I thought. The black album was huge, and the tour was enormous, they played 3 hours every night for years. You'd often see James and Lars being interviewed by local news, sometimes for a whole news hour. Mandatory Metallica became a thing I haven't seen anything similar for a band before or since, and it still continues to this day in places. Wearing a Metallica shirt to school every day made me feel different, like some kind of reflected glory landed on me. I was a fan of the biggest, heaviest band in the land. They were just untouchable. Life was great.
All that changed with Load. My first experience with it was during a road trip in a friend's car, and the first thing he said was "brace yourself." We went through Load and I can't say I hated it at all, but man was it a change. The biggest change was how other people reacted to you though as a Metallica fan. Suddenly that respect was gone, a lot of the local metalheads saw them as traitors. People started calling them shit like Alternica. The level of disrespect for them as a band and for their fans was a terrible feeling, and to some extent it still exists among some today. A different kind of person would walk up to you when you wore the shirt. They'd be the type wearing normal clothes or even a suit and tie that loved Until It Sleeps and didn't even know there were other records in the discography.
It took me a few years of growing up to get over the changes and to accept that all bands have to grow and change. In the end the Load era let them explore music from a different angle, and what you hear from them today is a blend of "old" Metallica and that Load period. I love every Metallica record, even St. Anger for all its flaws though those songs sound way better live. But damn do I miss that black album era, and that era's James. He was like a predatory vulture with his old stance perched on the edge of the stage glaring into the crowd. Metallica was a whole phenomenon, and I don't know that we'll ever see its like with a metal band again.

[leighkavan]

This is one of the best videos of this style I’ve ever seen. Well spoken, straight forward yet detailed. Excellent stuff

[HenrySchecker]

what an incredibly well organized, researched, and spoken video documentary. I'm gonna binge your other videos

[DJW_]

I had an interesting start to Metallica. First album I ever bought with my own money was actually St. Anger with no clue of who Metallica actually were. Then I bought load and reload and THEN the black album lol. I worked backwards.


16 years later, 30 years old and they're my favourite band of all time. Seen them live 10 times to date and off to Scandinavia to see them another 3 times in 2024. Long live the kings

[Passarium-]

And Justice For All is honestly perfect and Frayed Ends Of Sanity is underrated

[frankwebster]

This video came up in my feed a few times and I really wasn't going to watch it as I am one of the old dogs from the beginning and thought I knew most of what there is to know about MettalicA. Man was I wrong. Well done! And thanks for putting this together!

[krisfreouf]

James using bullets to write lyrics is pretty awesome ngl

[JPMongeS]

Man, this video was in my recommended section every time I opened YouTube and I was not able to play it until now and gotta tell you I love the way you narrate the stuff and how well edited as a whole the video is. I am glad I finally played it!. 🤘🏾

[QuietmindYoga]

Bleeding Me and Outlaw Torn are two of their greatest deep cuts