8 Underrated Albums From Your Favorite Artists

Metallica have been accused of selling out by the metal community for much of their career. From the ballad Fade to Black to the pop crossover of their self-titled Black Album, certain sects of Metallica fans have always been skeptical about the band's creative directions. And during the late-'90s, the sell-out cries reached a fever pitch with the albums Load and Reload.

While Load definitely had the sound of a band spinning their wheels across its 79 minutes, Reload feels like them refining the experimentation that they had touched on on the previous record.

The album kicks off with a bang in the instant classic Fuel, and it remains enthralling throughout. They have more electronic leanings on the sinister Better Than You and have their only featured artist with Marianne Faithfull adding to the track The Memory Remains. There is also an emphasis on storytelling, with Low Man's Lyric telling a tragic story of a homeless junkie, while Prince Charming shows the evil that is capable by every man.

I am of the belief that if you squeezed the best of Load and Reload onto one record, it would have been a worthy follow up to the Black Album. But of both of these records, Reload stands as one of Metallica's most moody records and one that is a great snapshot of a band trying to adjust themselves to fit the times.