Album
Reload
Reload is Metallica's seventh studio album, released in the US and Europe on 18 November 1997 and recorded with producer Bob Rock. It grew out of the same sessions as Load. The band toyed with a double album before deciding to split the material in two, then returned to the studio in 1997 after touring to finish the job.
The sound stays in the hard rock territory of its predecessor, away from their thrash roots, with touches of blues, country, grunge and alternative rock. Hurdy-gurdy and violin appear on "Low Man's Lyric", Marianne Faithfull guests on "The Memory Remains", and "The Unforgiven II" revisits the 1991 original. It was Jason Newsted's last studio album with the band. Reviews were mixed, and later critics often felt the two records could have been one, but it entered the US chart at number one.
Reload on Riffology
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Reload: tracklist, credits and charts
13 tracks · 1:16:05Tracklist
- 1FuelHammett, Hetfield, Ulrich4:30
- 2The Memory RemainsJames Hetfield and Lars Ulrich4:39
- 3Devil’s DanceJames Hetfield and Lars Ulrich5:19
- 4The Unforgiven IIHammett, Hetfield, Ulrich6:36
- 5Better Than YouJames Hetfield and Lars Ulrich5:22
- 6SlitherHammett, Hetfield, Ulrich5:13
- 7Carpe Diem BabyHammett, Hetfield, Ulrich6:12
- 8Bad SeedHammett, Hetfield, Ulrich4:05
- 9Where the Wild Things AreHetfield, Newsted, Ulrich6:54
- 10Prince CharmingJames Hetfield and Lars Ulrich6:05
- 11Low Man’s LyricJames Hetfield and Lars Ulrich7:37
- 12AttitudeJames Hetfield and Lars Ulrich5:17
- 13FixxxerHammett, Hetfield, Ulrich8:15
- Produced by
- James Hetfield, Bob Rock, Lars Ulrich
- Recorded at
- The Plant (Sausalito, California)
- Recorded
- May 1995 – October 1997
- Mixed by
- Mike Fraser, Randy Staub
- Mixed at
- The Plant Studios
- Engineered by
- Brian Dobbs, Randy Staub
- Label
- Ukrainian Records
- Length
- 1:16:05
Line-up
- Kirk Hammett · electric guitar
- James Hetfield · electric guitar, lead vocals
- Jim McGillveray · percussion
- Jason Newsted · electric bass guitar
- Lars Ulrich · drums (drum set)
- Marianne Faithfull · background vocals · guest
- Bernardo Bigalli · violin · guest
- Jim Martin · electric guitar · guest
- David Miles · hurdy gurdy · guest
Singles
- “The Memory Remains” · 10 November 1997
- “The Unforgiven II” · 23 February 1998
- “Fuel” · 22 June 1998
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 · 1997–98 | 1 |
| UK Albums Chart · 1997–98 | 4 |
| Austrian Albums · 1997–98 | 1 |
| Finnish Albums · 1997–98 | 1 |
| German Albums · 1997–98 | 1 |
| New Zealand Albums · 1997–98 | 1 |
| Norwegian Albums · 1997–98 | 1 |
| Swedish Albums · 1997–98 | 1 |
| US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard) · Combined | 1 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1997–98 | 2 |
All 30 charts
| Canadian Albums (Billboard) · 1997–98 | 2 |
| Danish Albums (Hitlisten) · 1997–98 | 2 |
| European Albums (Billboard) · 1997–98 | 2 |
| Hungarian Albums · 1997–98 | 2 |
| Dutch Albums · 1997–98 | 3 |
| French Albums · 1997–98 | 3 |
| German Rock & Metal Albums (Offizielle Top 100) · 2026 | 3 |
| Norwegian Rock Albums (IFPI Norge) · Combined | 3 |
| Swiss Albums · 1997–98 | 3 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums · Combined | 3 |
| Belgian Albums (Flanders) · 1997–98 | 4 |
| Hungarian Physical Albums (MAHASZ) · Combined | 4 |
| Scottish Albums · Combined | 4 |
| US Top Rock & Alternative Albums (Billboard) · Combined | 4 |
| Irish Albums (IRMA) · 1997–98 | 5 |
| Spanish Albums (AFYVE) · 1997–98 | 5 |
| Belgian Albums (Wallonia) · 2026 | 6 |
| Italian Albums (FIMI) · 1997–98 | 6 |
| Croatian International Albums (HDU) · 2026 | 9 |
| Polish Albums · 2021 | 11 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Argentina · 1997 | Platinum |
| Australia · 2024 | 5× Platinum |
| Austria · 1998 | Gold |
| Belgium · 1997 | Gold |
| Canada | 2× Platinum |
| Finland | Platinum |
| France · 1997 | Gold |
| Germany · 2020 | 5× Gold |
| Hong Kong · 1997 | Gold |
| Japan · 1997 | Platinum |
| Netherlands · 1997 | Gold |
| New Zealand · 1998 | Platinum |
| Poland · 1999 | Platinum |
| Spain | Platinum |
| Sweden · 1997 | Platinum |
| Switzerland · 1997 | Platinum |
| United Kingdom · 1997 | Gold |
| United States | 4× Platinum |
| Europe · 2007 | 2× Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
89.5
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
9.3k
ListenBrainz listeners
259k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
69k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 18 November
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The best of 1997
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nimrod.
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Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia 1997-11-18; musicbrainz + wikidata 1997-11-15 (3 days apart, likely another territory)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 15 November 1997 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 18 November 1997 | |
| Wikidata | 15 November 1997 | |
| US release | 18 November 1997 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 18 November 1997 | earliest UK or European date |
34 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | UA | Ukrainian Records | 731453640993 | other |
| 1997 | FR | Vertigo | 731453640924 | other |
| 1997 | MX | Vertigo | 731453640924 | other |
| 1997 | US | Elektra | 075596212649 | other |
| November 1997 | CA | Elektra | 075596212625 | other |
| 15 November 1997 | JP | Sony Records | 4988009851297 | original |
| 18 November 1997 | XE | Vertigo | 731453640924 | other |
| 18 November 1997 | AU | Mercury Records | 731453640924 | other |
| 18 November 1997 | US | Elektra | 075596212625 | other |
| 18 November 1997 | US | Elektra | 075596212618 | other |
| 18 November 1997 | ZA | Vertigo | 6001210980339 | other |
| 6 November 2003 | JP | Sony Records International | 4547366012989 | other |
| 1 October 2005 | AU | Vertigo | 0731453640924 | other |
| 9 August 2006 | JP | Vertigo | 4988005440075 | other |
| 12 September 2008 | JP | Vertigo | 4988005530523 | other |
| 2010 | XE | Universal Music Group International | 600753299135 | other |
| 2010 | XE | Universal Music Group International | 600753299180 | other |
| 22 September 2010 | JP | Vertigo | 4988005628688 | other |
| 2013 | CA | Blackened | 0093624986539 | other |
| 23 September 2013 | US | Blackened | 856115004545 | other |
| 11 May 2014 | — | Blackened | 00731453640924 | other |
| 25 August 2014 | US | Blackened | 856115004651 | other |
| 2015 | — | Blackened | 00602547331427 | other |
| 24 July 2015 | XE | Blackened | 731453640917 | other |
| 2016 | XW | Blackened | other | |
| 27 March 2020 | CA | Blackened | 850007452186 | other |
| 26 June 2026 | XE | Blackened | 602478633393 | other |
| 26 June 2026 | CA | Blackened | 810083963532 | remaster |
| 26 June 2026 | — | — | remaster | |
| 26 June 2026 | CA | Blackened | 810083963488 | remaster |
| 26 June 2026 | US | Blackened | 0602478654008 | remaster |
| 26 June 2026 | XW | Blackened | remaster | |
| 26 June 2026 | JP | Blackened | 4988031873670 | remaster |
| 26 June 2026 | CA | — | 810083963518 | remaster |
Cover art sources
itunes · native: native 2000x2000
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| itunes ✓ | 2000×2000 | native: native 2000x2000 |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |
| coverartarchive | 961×961 | upscaled |