Album · 30 years old this year
Load
Load is Metallica's sixth studio album, released on 4 June 1996. Bob Rock, who had produced the band's 1991 self-titled record, returned to the desk. The sessions ran from May 1995 to April 1996, mostly in Sausalito, California, and were looser and more productive than before. Close to thirty songs were recorded, and the band chose to split them across two records rather than issue a double album. The other half arrived a year later as Reload.
This is where Metallica stepped well away from thrash and into hard rock, taking in blues rock, Southern rock, country rock and grunge along the way. Kirk Hammett played rhythm guitar parts for the first time, and James Hetfield's lyrics turned more personal and reflective. Many fans balked at the short hair, leather jackets and make-up, yet the album spent four weeks at number one on the US Billboard 200. "Until It Sleeps" became the band's only US Top 10 single. It is a divisive record, but a revealing one.
Load on Riffology
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Load: tracklist, credits and charts
14 tracks · 1:18:58Tracklist
- 1Ain’t My BitchJames Hetfield and Lars Ulrich5:04
- 22 × 4Hammett, Hetfield, Ulrich5:28
- 3The House Jack BuiltHammett, Hetfield, Ulrich6:39
- 4Until It SleepsJames Hetfield and Lars Ulrich4:28
- 5King NothingHammett, Hetfield, Ulrich5:30
- 6Hero of the DayHammett, Hetfield, Ulrich4:22
- 7Bleeding MeHammett, Hetfield, Ulrich8:18
- 8CureJames Hetfield and Lars Ulrich4:54
- 9Poor Twisted MeJames Hetfield and Lars Ulrich4:00
- 10Wasting My HateHammett, Hetfield, Ulrich3:57
- 11Mama SaidJames Hetfield and Lars Ulrich5:20
- 12Thorn WithinHammett, Hetfield, Ulrich5:52
- 13RonnieJames Hetfield and Lars Ulrich5:17
- 14The Outlaw TornJames Hetfield and Lars Ulrich9:49
- Produced by
- James Hetfield, Bob Rock, Lars Ulrich, James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich
- Recorded at
- Right Track (New York City), The Plant (Sausalito, California)
- Recorded
- May 1995 – April 1996
- Mixed by
- Mike Fraser, Randy Staub
- Mixed at
- Right Track Recording, Quad Recording Studios
- Engineered by
- Brian Dobbs, Randy Staub
- Label
- Vertigo
- Length
- 1:18:58
Line-up
- Kirk Hammett · guitar
- James Hetfield · guitar, lead vocals
- Jason Newsted · bass
- Lars Ulrich · drums (drum set)
Singles
- “Until It Sleeps” · 20 May 1996
- “Hero of the Day” · 9 September 1996
- “Mama Said” · 25 November 1996
- “King Nothing” · 7 January 1997
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1996 | 1 |
| US Billboard 200 · 1996 | 1 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1996 | 1 |
| Austrian Albums · 1996 | 1 |
| Belgian Albums (Flanders) · 1996 | 1 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1996 | 1 |
| Czech Albums (IFPI) · 1996 | 1 |
| Danish Albums (Hitlisten) · 1996 | 1 |
| Dutch Albums · 1996 | 1 |
| Estonian Albums (Eesti Top 10) · 1996 | 1 |
All 39 charts
| Europe (European Top 100 Albums) · 1996 | 1 |
| Finnish Albums · 1996 | 1 |
| French Albums · 1996 | 1 |
| German Albums · 1996 | 1 |
| German Rock & Metal Albums (Offizielle Top 100) · 2025 | 1 |
| Hungarian Albums · 1996 | 1 |
| Icelandic Albums (Tónlist) · 1996 | 1 |
| New Zealand Albums · 1996 | 1 |
| Norwegian Albums · 1996 | 1 |
| Norwegian Physical Albums (IFPI Topplista) · Combined | 1 |
| Portuguese Albums (AFP) · 1996 | 1 |
| Scottish Albums · 1996 | 1 |
| Swedish Albums · 1996 | 1 |
| Swiss Albums · 1996 | 1 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums · 1996 | 1 |
| Belgian Albums (Wallonia) · 1996 | 2 |
| Irish Albums (IRMA) · 1996 | 2 |
| Italian Albums (FIMI) · 1996 | 2 |
| Spanish Albums (AFYVE) · 1996 | 2 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 1996 | 3 |
| Singapore Albums (SPVA) · 1996 | 3 |
| Swedish Hard Rock Albums (Sverigetopplistan) · Combined | 4 |
| US Hard Rock · Combined | 4 |
| Danish Vinyl Albums (Hitlisten) · 2025 | 5 |
| Poland 2 · Combined | 6 |
| Croatian International Albums (HDU) · 2025 | 7 |
| Zimbabwean Albums · 1996 | 8 |
| US Top Rock & Alternative Albums (Billboard) · Combined | 14 |
| Spanish Albums · Combined | 43 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Argentina · 1996 | Platinum |
| Australia · 2024 | 5× Platinum |
| Austria · 1996 | Platinum |
| Belgium · 1996 | Gold |
| Brazil · 1997 | Gold |
| Canada | 4× Platinum |
| Denmark · 1996 | Platinum |
| Finland | Platinum |
| France · 1996 | Gold |
| Germany · 2019 | 5× Gold |
| Greece | Gold |
| Hungary · 2000 | Gold |
| Italy · 1996 | Gold |
| Japan · 1996 | Platinum |
| Netherlands · 1996 | Gold |
| New Zealand | Platinum |
| Norway | Platinum |
| Poland · 1996 | Platinum |
| Portugal · 1996 | Gold |
| Spain | Platinum |
| Sweden · 1996 | Platinum |
| Switzerland · 1996 | Gold |
| Turkey · 1996 | Gold |
| United Kingdom · 2019 | Platinum |
| United States | 5× Platinum |
| Uruguay · 2000 | Gold |
| Europe · 1997 | 2× Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
79.5
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
7.4k
ListenBrainz listeners
330k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
6.0k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 4 June
Every year →
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1996
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1997
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The best of 1996
All of 1996 →Hero of the Day EP
Metallica · 1996
Evil Empire
Rage Against the Machine · 1996
Ænima
Tool · 1996
Pinkerton
Weezer · 1996
Life Is Peachy
Korn · 1996
Roots
Sepultura · 1996
No Code
Pearl Jam · 1996
The Great Southern Trendkill
Pantera · 1996
Down on the Upside
Soundgarden · 1996
October Rust
Type O Negative · 1996
MTV Unplugged
Alice in Chains · 1996
Everything Must Go
Manic Street Preachers · 1996
More on Vertigo
The label →Metallica
Metallica · 1991
…And Justice for All
Metallica · 1988
Death Magnetic
Metallica · 2008
St. Anger
Metallica · 2003
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath · 1970
S&M
Metallica · 1999
Vol 4
Black Sabbath · 1972
Heaven and Hell
Black Sabbath · 1980
Pyromania
Def Leppard · 1983
Sabotage
Black Sabbath · 1975
Mob Rules
Black Sabbath · 1981
Never Say Die!
Black Sabbath · 1978
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + wikidata
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 1 June 1996 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 4 June 1996 | |
| Wikidata | 4 June 1996 | |
| US release | 4 June 1996 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 3 June 1996 | earliest UK or European date |
37 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | UA | Vertigo | 731453261891 | other |
| 1996 | XE | Vertigo | 731453261822 | other |
| 1996 | MX | Vertigo | 731453261822 | other |
| 1996 | AU | Vertigo | 731453261822 | other |
| 1996 | US | — | other | |
| 1996 | AR | Vertigo | 731453261822 | other |
| 1996 | US | Elektra | 075596192316 | other |
| 1996 | ZA | Vertigo | 6001210850137 | other |
| 1 June 1996 | JP | Sony Records | 4988009800028 | other |
| 3 June 1996 | XE | Vertigo | 731453261822 | other |
| 3 June 1996 | AU | Vertigo | 731453261822 | other |
| 3 June 1996 | XE | Vertigo | 731453261822 | other |
| 4 June 1996 | CA | — | other | |
| 4 June 1996 | XE | Vertigo | 731453261822 | other |
| 4 June 1996 | US | Elektra | 075596192323 | other |
| 6 November 2003 | JP | Sony Records International | 4547366012972 | other |
| 9 August 2006 | JP | Vertigo | 4988005440068 | other |
| 12 September 2008 | JP | Vertigo | 4988005530516 | other |
| 2010 | XE | Universal Music Group International | 0600753286876 | other |
| 2010 | XE | Universal Music Group | 600753286906 | other |
| 22 September 2010 | JP | Vertigo | 4988005628671 | other |
| 2013 | CA | Blackened | 0093624986546 | other |
| 2013 | US | Blackened | 856115004538 | other |
| 25 August 2014 | US | Blackened | 856115004644 | other |
| 2015 | XE | Universal Music Group International | 0600753286876 | other |
| 3 April 2020 | — | Blackened | 850007452179 | other |
| 14 April 2023 | JP | Vertigo | 4988031566251 | other |
| 2025 | — | Blackened | 810083962887 | remaster |
| 13 June 2025 | CA | Blackened | 810083963143 | remaster |
| 13 June 2025 | XE | Blackened | 602465197372 | other |
| 13 June 2025 | XE | Blackened | 602475069430 | remaster |
| 13 June 2025 | XE | Blackened | 602468018995 | remaster |
| 13 June 2025 | XE | UMC | 0602475158899 | remaster |
| 13 June 2025 | GB | — | 0602478324055 | other |
| 13 June 2025 | — | — | deluxe | |
| 13 June 2025 | US | Blackened | 810083962771 | remaster |
| — | — | UMC | 0602475158875 | other |
Cover art sources
itunes · native: native 3000x3000
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| itunes ✓ | 3000×3000 | native: native 3000x3000 |
| coverartarchive | 2824×2821 | cropped |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |