You probably remember the shift. The look changed. And maybe it didn’t sit right with you the first time.
Now Metallica is asking you to hear it again. Not as a moment. As a full chapter.
The band has announced the definitive re-release of their seventh studio album, ReLoad, arriving June 26.
Remastered by Reuben Cohen at Lurssen Mastering, with Greg Fidelman overseeing, the release spans vinyl, CD, cassette, and digital, including a Spatial Audio mix. Pre-orders include multiple versions of “The Memory Remains,” from the remastered original to an “Instrumental Mix, Take 18 Floor Take” and a live recording from Brisbane.
But the centrepiece is the limited-edition deluxe box: Fifteen CDs. Four DVDs. Double vinyl. A 7-inch single. A live triple album from Ministry Of Sound 1997. Then it opens wider… unreleased demos, rough mixes, B-sides, rarities, live cuts, broadcast appearances, and behind-the-scenes footage, including the band’s CoreStates Complex parking lot performance in Philadelphia.
The finer details: Rorschach test cards. A Gimme Fuel poster. A Pushead print. Picks. Tour passes. A 128-page book filled with unseen photos and stories.
Originally released November 18, 1997, ReLoad debuted #1 on the Billboard 200, marking the band’s third straight chart-topper and staying on the chart for nearly 80 weeks. But the real story sits in the sound.
At The Plant in Sausalito, James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, and Jason Newsted pushed into new territory. On ReLoad, that meant risks… a hurdy-gurdy and violin on “Low Man’s Lyric,” and Marianne Faithfull’s haunting vocal on “The Memory Remains.”
Drummer Lars Ulrich had this to say about the albums, “‘Load’ and ‘ReLoad’ are great records… creatively on par with every other record we’ve made… we were listening to a lot of Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and AC/DC, and we had a different kind of foundation.”
Hetfield’s take? Back in 2009, he said, “I love art, but not for the sake of shocking others… I just went along with the make-up and all of this crazy, stupid stuff that they felt they needed to do.”
After Load and ReLoad, Jason Newsted left. Hetfield went to rehab. The band nearly imploded.
Will you give this re-issue a chance? The time of day? Do you care?
