10 Things Metallica Need To Get Right On The New Album

9. Learn What Worked From Load/Reload

Load and Reload were the albums that had the arguably the hardest act to follow in metal history, being the previous album - Metallica's Black Album - took metal into the mainstream, and packed out stadiums worldwide, propelling the guys into stardom and commencing a non-stop three year tour of alcoholic binges and drug-fuelled debauchery, many would say the band were forever changed by. However, upon coming down (only slightly) from such a high, there was a wealth of material that was then committed to the duel Load/Reload 'double album', the biggest tracks of which are still played today. The likes of Fuel's opening vocal which still makes the old school fans scoff at it's catchiness, Unforgiven II's over-indulgence at producing a 'sequel song' and Bleeding Me's incredibly expansive composition coupled with some of Hetfield's most introspective and relatable lyrics, still stand beside the band's greatest moments of yore, albeit in a much different way. Whilst we would see Hetfield dive back into his catalogue of tales from the bottom of the bottle on B-Side compilation Beyond Magnetic's Hell and Back, now that the Papa Het of 2014 is a much more mature man, more comfortable in his own skin, and a loving father, there are many more threads to be pulled at to create engaging material for listeners young and old.