I look forward to buying this!! It does after all contain the greatest song of all time!!

Great news for vinyl junkies like myself, love this album, seriously under-valued and unfairly criticised, this is where Metallica discovered GROOVE.
2×4, Thorn Within, King Nothing and Outlaw Torn are up there with some of the band’s best work, and I haven’t even mentioned Mama Said, House That Jack Built or Wasting My Hate.
Fabulous, fabulous album.

I totally agree, a much underrated album and Until it sleeps is one of the best songs the band has ever written. Emotionally pained one minute, aggressive grooving the next. And in hindsight, it’s a very confessional lyric from Hetfield. He tried to force it down but it caught up with him in the end. Now he’s a child of peace and love – fortunately for that winger guitarist!!!

Frankly, who cares? This album is utterly dire. I bought it when it first came out, listened to it once and have never listened to it again. ‘Ride The Lightning’ and ‘Master Of Puppets’ are towering masterpieces that would be nigh impossible to repeat but ‘Load’ should never even have been released. Truly dreadful.

One of my favourite Metallica albums. Load is epic!!! \m/

Taking his faves from the “thrash years”, is Monkeyman in the “Metallica have sold-out” camp, by any chance? I know a lot of thrash/heavy metal fans and they seem to have an almost pathological loathing of anything that has a GROOVE, will never understand that one, surely the object is to first of all get your foot tapping to a good rhythm?
Ride The Lightning is far from a towering masterpiece, four great tracks and some that sound very dated. MOP, however, IS a masterpiece, not a duff song to be found.
I’ll get me coat.

So you can judge an albumj just from one listen ,which was 14 years ago then monkeyman? Sign him up CR!

Lee – Ride The Lightning is a phenomenal album from start to finish, granted the production sounds dated but the songs do not. But even as a major fan of thrash metal, I recognize that ‘Load’ is a much better album than people give it credit for. Its not Metallica’s greatest but its far from their worst, and there’s some cracking songs on there.

danny. Calm down dear. The truth hurts baby: it is OK to criticise Metallica you know! One listen was enough pal. You only need to smell shit once to know not to smell it again. Am I right? Damn right! Seems I’ve been blasphmemous. Oh dear.
Lee, I’m a fan of many types of music from AC/DC to Beethoven to Fairport Convention to Slayer. I’m not a thrash zealot but I believe in calling a spade a spade. The album is sub-standard and their subsequent work has been too but I’m happy with the first five albums. Meanwhile the world turns. Grow up guys.

I have friends who think this is their best album of their careers, true facts.

Load was not a good album. I like king nothing + a few other tracks but load, reload, st.anger + maybe even death magnetic sound like the band are out of ideas and tired of metal.

Monkeyman, it takes a true imbecile to believe that if they don’t like something then it has to be shit and then complain if other people disagree. You are very very wrong. Load is a magnificent album but probably not if you love thrash metal and Metallica’s early stuff. As others have already mentioned, the groove on this album is monumental. If you don’t like it, that’s fine, but don’t push your assumption that if it’s not to your taste it has to be shit.
Sorry for calling you an imbecile, I was just calling a spade a spade!!

Seems I’ve touched a nerve here. Apparently Metallica are untouchable gods. Well, they ain’t.
Rob, I haven’t complained at all about people disagreeing. Naturally I knew that they would but I am entitled to my opinion too and that does not make me an imbecile. I was not pushing anything. On the contrary it is you who has misinterpreted my assertions and misrepresented me due to your insecurity. It worries me that grown adults should be so intolerant of others’ opinions. That leads to fascism my friend.
I take it you like Eminem and Michael Jackson too just because you’re ’supposed’ to? And they definitely are shit. Free your mind brother and embrace the joy of the independent mind. Amen.

Load IS a great album… and Ride The Lightning is my personal all time favourite Metallica album. But that doesn’t mean I want Metallica to exist only as some revered museum piece, frozen in 1984. I went to see them in Belfast last month and it was the best Metal gig I’ve seen in my life. If Metallica had ceased to exist after Cliff died then that life affirming experience would have been denied to me and the many millions of other true fans who continue to listen without prejudice and support the band in the bad times and the good. Free your mind indeed!