Grab your snake-pit wristbands, dust off your cowboy boots, and pour a stiff Jack & Coke, butt โ because Metallica have only gone and done it again. Following their Black Album mega-box and the Master of Puppets shrine-to-end-all-shrines, the Bay Area beasts have turned their attention to the most divisive, eyeliner-soaked chapter of their career: Load.
And sweet baby Cliff Burtonโs bell bottomsโฆ this thing is MASSIVE. Weโre talking ยฃ230, 245 unreleased tracks, vinyl, CDs, DVDs, Blu-rays, tour laminates, photobooks, the works. Itโs the kind of boxset that could break your back if you tried to carry it home from HMV. Letโs get stuck into this monster, mun. ๐ค
๐ฐ The Big Announcement: Enter Wallet, Man
When the news dropped, the internet reacted exactly how youโd expect. Half the fanbase was screaming โSHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!โ while the other half were still too busy moaning that Metallica hasnโt sounded like 1986 sinceโฆ well, 1986.
But this isnโt just a quick cash-in. Nah, this is Hetfield and the boys opening the vault and chucking out everything โ and I mean EVERYTHING โ from the Load era. Want to hear Kirk noodle a riff for 15 minutes in a sweaty rehearsal room? You got it. Curious about alternate versions of Until It Sleeps before Lars demanded more cowbell? Done.
๐ฆ Whatโs Actually in the Box?
You might wanna sit down for this, because the list is bigger than Larsโ ego after winning a lawsuit.
- Remastered Load (1996)
- Vinyl edition with full sleeve art (yes, that infamous blood-and-spunk cover, donโt eat your tea while looking at it).
- Double CD remaster.
- Digital hi-res versions for the Spotify generation.
- 245 Unreleased Tracks
- Studio demos from The Plant, Sausalito.
- Work-in-progress jams.
- Acoustic versions of Mama Said (prepare to cry).
- Alternate takes of King Nothing, Hero of the Day and Bleeding Me.
- A treasure trove of riffs that never made the cut (Hetfieldโs Riff Tapes Vol. 666).
- Rare live cuts from 1996โ1997 tours across Europe, the US, and Japan.
- Live DVDs & Blu-rays
- Complete pro-shot gig from Irvine Meadows โ96.
- A sweaty Roskilde Festival set where James tried to out-grunge Soundgarden.
- Behind-the-scenes tour doc footage โ more cigars, less Cliff.
- Merch & Memorabilia
- Reproductions of backstage passes, tour laminates, and gig posters.
- A chunky photo book featuring Ross Halfinโs lens work: Metallica in their silky shirts, eyeliner, and cowboy boots.
- Lyric sheets scribbled by James โ lots of โyeaaahh!โ and doodled skulls.
Basically, if you lived through 1996 and worshipped Load, this is your Holy Bible. If you hated Load? Well, itโs still your Holy Bible, but with extra eyeliner.
๐ญ Revisiting the Load Era โ Haircuts, Eyeliner & Outrage
Ah, 1996. Oasis were tearing up Knebworth, Spice Girls were telling us what they wanted (what they really, really wanted), and Metallica turned up looking like theyโd just walked off a Vogue runway.
Gone were the thrash locks. James and Kirk chopped their hair shorter than a Bridgend barber on a Friday night. Lars started wearing silky shirts that screamed โEurotrash chic.โ Jason Newsted looked like the angry little brother forced to play along. And the fans? They lost their bloody minds.
Metallica had spent the last decade being the kings of metal. Kill โEm All, Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets, โฆAnd Justice for All, The Black Album โ it was a run so insane it still makes your head spin. But thenโฆ came Load.
Bluesy riffs, southern swagger, alt-rock vibes. Until It Sleeps sounded more like Soundgarden than Slayer. Hero of the Day flirted with radio rock. Mama Said was a country ballad for crying out loud. Thrash purists were tamping: โThis isnโt Metallica! This is Bon Jovi with tattoos!โ
But hereโs the thing โ while some fans sulked, others embraced it. The band was evolving, experimenting, and showing they werenโt afraid to risk it all. Love it or hate it, Load proved Metallica were more than just a thrash machine.
๐ถ Tracklist Deep Dive โ The Unreleased Gold
Now, 245 tracks sounds ridiculous, but Metallica are masters at hoarding riffs like dragons hoard gold. Hereโs a taste of what youโre getting:
- Alternate Take: Until It Sleeps (Early Demo) โ Hetfield growling nonsense lyrics over a stripped riff. Proper raw.
- Mama Said (Acoustic Hotel Room Demo) โ Just James, a guitar, and heartbreak. Chills, butt.
- Bleeding Me (Extended Jam) โ 14 minutes of doomy blues jamming that proves Kirk really can solo forever.
- Hero of the Day (Garage Rehearsal) โ Louder, punkier, more bite. Almost Foo Fighters-y.
- Covers Galore โ Thin Lizzy, Misfits, even a cheeky Oasis riff during soundcheck (probably while Noel Gallagher glared from backstage).
- Live Chaos โ Bootleg-style recordings cleaned up: the sweaty club shows, the stadium juggernauts, the infamous Poor Touring Me dates.
If youโre a deep-cut nerd, youโll eat this up. If youโre just in it for Fuel and King Nothing? Strap in, because this thing goes deep.
๐ Fan Reactions โ The Good, The Bad, The Memes
Ah, Metallica fandom. A chaotic cocktail of passion, rage, and Lars-bashing. The reaction to this boxset has been pure comedy gold.
- Diehards: โยฃ230? Bargain! Thatโs less than I spent on beer at Download last year!โ
- Thrash Purists: โMate, I wouldnโt listen to Load if you PAID me ยฃ230.โ
- Memelords: Photoshopping the boxset cover with Oasisโ Be Here Now artwork. Lars in Noelโs parka, James holding a champagne glass.
- Collectors: Already planning to buy two copies โ one to play, one to keep sealed in the loft.
And letโs be honest โ half of us will fork out just to get that bloody photo book. Because thereโs nothing funnier than seeing the worldโs biggest metal band looking like extras from a Calvin Klein ad.
๐ธ Is It Worth ยฃ230?
Hereโs the million-dollar (well, ยฃ230) question. On paper, itโs a fortune. Thatโs:
- Roughly 46 pints at Bloodstock.
- 10 Steelhouse weekend tickets in 2011 (before prices went mad).
- Half a tank of petrol these days.
But for a fan? This is history. This is Metallica saying: โWe know Load was controversial, but hereโs the full story.โ And honestly, ยฃ230 for 245 unreleased tracks plus vinyl, DVDs, books and merch? It works out at less than ยฃ1 per song. Bargain, butt.
โก The Legacy of Load
Nearly 30 years on, Load remains the ultimate โlove it or hate itโ Metallica record. Some call it a sell-out. Others call it a brave reinvention. The truth? Itโs both.
Without Load, Metallica would have been stuck trying to rehash Master of Puppets forever. Instead, they dared to chop their hair, write ballads, flirt with grunge, and test how far the fanbase could bend before breaking. And now, with this boxset, theyโre rewriting the narrative: Load wasnโt the end of Metallica. It was the rebirth.
๐ค Final Thoughts โ A Proper Job or Pure Madness?
This isnโt just a boxset. Itโs a time machine. A portal back to the mid-90s when Metallica decided to burn the rulebook, piss off the purists, and strut into uncharted waters.
Will everyone buy it? Hell no. Will people moan about the price? Of course. Will the memes be glorious? Absolutely. But for those of us who secretly love Hero of the Day and cry into our pints during Bleeding Me? This is heaven in a box.
So, cโmon butt โ are you ready to fork out ยฃ230 to relive the eyeliner years? Or are you saving that cash for Slayerโs Cardiff comeback pint fund? ๐บโก
๐ The Riff Report Verdict:
- Price: Painful, but survivable.
- Content: MASSIVE.
- Nostalgia: Through the roof.
- Worth it? If youโve ever sung โMama Saidโ in the shower, then yes.
Tidy job, Metallica. Tidy job. ๐ค
