1. Metallica - Load
ElektraAfter The Black Album, Metallica was suddenly the biggest metal band in the world. Despite faint cries of selling-out from the long-faithful (whod be happy to hear Master Of Puppets, Part 10), Metallica were savvy enough to realise the thrash metal movement they helped create was destined to be short-lived. Still, considering theyd already achieved platinum status in that genre, The Black Album was actually the riskiest move of the bands career. The follow-up, Load, while not their worst album (that dubious distinction goes to St. Anger), was a massive disappointment for several reasons First, and perhaps most glaring, was the album took few risks. Most tracks were mid-tempo rock songs (some which couldnt even be classified as metal) in the vein of Enter Sandman, their biggest hit. The lone attempt at expanding their sound (the much-maligned country-tinged ballad, Mama Said) was too much of a stretch for many fans to accept, as with this album, all remainders of their thrash roots were gone. Second, this album was nearly 80 minutes long, the maximum running time a CD allows. What Load proved, was just because you can stuff that much music onto a single album doesnt necessarily mean you should. After all, Slayers Reign In Blood wasnt even a half-hour long, yet still a complete (and devastating) listening experience. Who cares how long a record is if you are tempted to skip through over half the songs? There are some great songs on Load, but among them are some youll never feel compelled to listen to again (a first for any Metallica album). Finally, this was the first time Metallica seemed truly concerned about their personal appearance too. Part of what made them initially appealing to the metal masses was the fact they looked like fans themselves, strutting from the garage with their stringy hair, ripped-up jeans, dirty sneakers and Saxon T-shirts to plug-in and blow you away. With Load, not only did they all cut their hair (heavily styled and loaded with mousse), they sported designer jackets, eyeliner and Hawaiian shirts, all sitting around a table sucking down cognac and cigars on the album's artwork. It was almost as if they were rubbing their sudden celebrity status in our faces. Consciously or not, Metallica has since spent much of their later career living down this era. As awful as St. Anger is, its as uncompromising as their first album, Kill Em All, and with Death Magnetic, Metallica acknowledged and re-embraced the era which first endeared them to their original fanslengthy, epic songs and carpel-tunnel inducing solos. Today, songs from Load are seldom ever played live.
Which albums just made your heart sink after such a huge buildup? Let us know in the comments!