Forever Roaming: #2

Posted by Martin Nicholas

Reload- the most underrated?
6 reasons why Reload deserves a better image.

1. FUEL: James starts the ignition with, “Give me fuel, give me fire, give me that which I desire,” and we’re off on a highway to hell as Metallica launch the much-maligned Reload album. The album of cuts that didn’t make it onto the previous year’s Load begins with arguably Metallica’s heaviest song of the 90’s. One rattling riff after another guarantees that the listener, if not exactly blown away by James’ less-than-subtle lyrics (“Take the corner, join the crash”), will be blown away be the sheer heaviness. Not a bad solo from Kirk either.

2.THE MEMORY REMAINS: Another song that starts off with an exposed Hetfield vocal line, although this time with a single backing guitar riff, this song is notable for the love-it-hate-it response fans have to Marianne Faithfull’s dulcet tones. Nevertheless, the notorious, ‘na-na-na-na,’ part of the song never fails to elicit a spirited response from fans when played live. In contrast to Fuel, features some very good lyrics, and, in keeping with the Load’s; more introspective and personal subject matter. With its sprawling verse riff, and powerful chorus, this song is an underrated Metallica song, on a much underrated album. The, “Drift away, fade away,” part is a highlight of S&M

3. THE UNFORGIVEN II: Lars and Co. made their biggest mistake in titling this song part 2, although the chord sequences and similarities between the two would have been noticed anyway. Always likely to be compared unfavourably with 1991’s first effort, a bona fida Metallica classic, this song actually stands alone as fantastic ballad. If anything signifies the move Metallica made lyrically from the aggrieved vocals on …And Justice For All, this is it. Mixing the country twang most evident previously on Mama Said with outright heaviness, the second single from Reload is a lyric high. While most fans agree that when listening to the Load’s you shouldn’t try to compare them to past efforts like Master of Puppets; equally this should not be listened to with its sister on the Black album in mind. A gem, especially considering the song immediately following is not exactly vintage Metallica.

4. WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE: The most curious and experimental track on the album, or on any Metallica album for that matter. Haunting and strangely surreal, to listen to the song is an experience in itself. People, who question the direction Metallica took after 1991, should realise that “Where… is the sort of song a successful band, with little to lose, should be able to indulge in. Even the part where James sings, “So wake up sleepy one…” is so unlike the growl we are accustomed to hearing as to make it seem as though someone else is singing. The song is also an all-time Metallica lyrical highlight, bettered only by final track Fixxxer.

5. LOW MAN’S LYRIC: Criticised for its similar sound and placing (track 11) as it’s natural counterpart on Load, Low Man’s Lyric is actually one of the band’s most understated songs, and is the second longest song on Reload. The hurdy-gurdy used adds an entire new dimension to the song and, combined with the violin used, emphasises the band’s penchant for experimentation in this period. Low Man’s… is another song that deals with more personal issues, in this case the thoughts of a homeless man, rather than the war, death, and suffering usually snarled about by the Four Horsemen.

6. FIXXXER: Similar in structure to The Outlaw Torn, this song is, in my opinion, the most underrated song Metallica have composed thus far. Phantom Lord, Leper Messiah, and Bleeding Me may be considered underrated over the years, but for the song which has most escaped fans attention, this is surely it. Perhaps it’s placing at the end of what many consider to be a disappointing album doesn’t help it, but this epic is the best song on the album. Beginning with a searing, echoed guitar, the song is quickly joined by Newsted and, finally Ulrich’s drums. The subject matter is shocking; the metaphor for child abuse with voodoo dolls is classic Hetfield. The snaking riffs played add to the claustrophobic atmosphere of the song, and just when the song, and the album seems to be fading out through a lengthy instrumental passage, the band return with a heavy and emotional final two minutes. Drawn partly from personal experience, the most underrated song in the Metallica canon fittingly closes their most underrated album.

*** So there you have it. Not exactly the usual diatribe railing against the injustices of labelling Metallica sell-outs, but a look at six songs, less than half of the album, and why they deserve more than a cursory listen. I may not have changed your opinion, but maybe some of those who don’t like the album might give it a second try. Now to do the same with St. Anger…

Martin Nicholas