OK. First of all, a word of warning. This reviewer will not include comments on the band's shorter length of hair, on their apparent "sell-out" to the evil forces of eMpTV or on their former, greater, days. That's not my attitude. I will speak only about the music to be found within the jewel case and that is it. SO please, bear that in mind.
After a five year wait between their self-titled album (aka "The
Black Album") and
Load, the boys from Metallica decided not to wait as long to
put out a new album. The thing is this is not a completely new
album. These songs were written at the same time as their
Load counterparts and were intended to be a double album.
Instead, Metallica did the same trick that Guns N' Roses did back
in '91 and put out two albums - except, here we have a two-year
difference in release dates.
However you may feel like describing Load, this album is a bit different. More darker, edgier than Load. However, you can see that they both go together. The results? This album is not a masterpiece. At best, it's an OK album. Let's look at the tale of the tape.
Re-Load starts with "Fuel" - which is, in my opinion, the best song in this album. The track is fast, but slows down for the chorus. It could have easily fit into their first album--it has that kind of feel. Other highlights are: "Devil's Dance" (which features some mean bass by Jason Newsted), "Fixxxer" (has a weird-ass intro by Kirk Hammett) and "Prince Charming" - scream "Hey Man, look it's me" Finally, "Poor Man's Lyric" is perhaps one of the few times you will hear the term, "beautiful song" in the same sentence as Metallica. It is and you are hearing it. It is a beautiful song by Metallica and one that they are more than apt to do.
There are some mistakes in the album as well, unfortunately. "Better Than You" makes you think that they have run out of originality. Besides the cool solo by Hammett, the song sounds like a Metallica rip-off and the chorus is the worst they have ever done. "Slither" is so close to being "Enter Sandman" that they could have almost named it "Enter Sandman Too."
Along with that, there's also those songs that are neither good nor bad. "The Memory Remains" and "The Unforgiven II" are easy examples. If you feel like listening to them, great. Otherwise, they don't motivate a shred of emotion or feeling either way. They just sit there. Add to that, "Carpe Diem Baby" -- cool idea, but empty song -- and "Attitude," which sounds like a slowed-up version of themselves, and this is a half-baked affair.
I do think that Metallica maybe got a bit too greedy after the huge success of Metallica. One of the reasons that they hit the nail so many times is that they were able to deliver the goods, make everyone scream and then leave them wanting more. Here, they went for too much (that's what I mean by greedy). They felt like every song should have seen the light of day. Sometimes that's good. Most times, it's not. I would love - and encourage - those fans that think Metallica is over to put their own versions together. Take both CDs and take the best songs out - that's what it should have been.