10 Underrated Hard Rock Albums Of The 1990s

Like with Bon Jovi, Metallica opted to experiment with a more hard rock/country sound for their sixth studio album Load, released in 1996. It was a far cry from the Black Album, and fans hoping for a continuation of their thrash metal shredding were disappointed.

Despite that though, Load is a success as it allowed the band to evolve with the decade. There's a lot going on in the album exploring a lot of things the members were going through. Tracks such as 'Until it Sleeps' almost have a grunge element to it with religious connotations, with this particular track dealing with James Hetfield's mother and her failed battle with cancer.

That's then continued with 'Mama Said' (a Metallica classic, by the way), a country ballad which has a very different sound, but still dealing with those same issues.

It was a turning point in the band's discography, and allowed them to start producing music in more unique ways.