vikingman369 : 20/20 | Okay, I know that I've joined the metal-scene just when a lot of people are starting to hate the bands that I like or have liked (Metallica, Ozzy, Cradle of Fuel, Dimmu Borgir), and I tend to be more open-minded about things that most others consider to be "sub-metal."
ReLoad is possibly my favorite of the 90s-era Metallica. Yes, I said it: I like this album. I know its not a second "Master of Puppets" (sorry, but if you want a band to suck up to you and never try anything new, try Slayer or Iron Maiden), but that doesn't mean its "not good". For starts, "Fuel" sounds like a 109% James Hetfield song. The second song, a lot of people seem to not like because of the inclusion of Marianne Faithful on backing vocals (even though she's been around since forever, making her a classic, and bOned Jimmy Page, the beloved guitarist of Led Zeppelin who shamelessly ripped off Chopin and yet you still love him), but it works. The song is about the fading of fame, and her eerie voice just crooning out as the song creaks to an end really give that feel. "Devil's Dance" definitely is bad-ass enough, and it sounds awesome Load.
Since when was making mOney bad? Where is this unwritten book of metal that says a band must make a vow of poverty, avoiding mOnetary gains at all means, in order to be accepted by you? Personally, "The Unforgiven II" is a definite hit. It might sound a bit southern (a la "Mama Said" from Load), but its heavier than the first Unforgiven and therefore it is my favorite and possibly the best of the two (with Unforgiven 3 excluded since it has almost nothing in common with either of these).
Now for the rest of the album. To many, it might feel like just B-side material from Load, but its not entirely so. During the 90s, Metallica explored the origins of heavy metal - namely R&B and R&R - which spawned this much deplored Load/ReLoad era. However, Load feels more like a blues-album whereas there's a lot on ReLoad which feels like old school rock. This is evident on most of the tracks, most especially "Carpe Diem Baby", which has a riff reminiscent of "Limb from Limb" by Motorhead. The fact that people hate this album and every album in which Jason Led Zeppelin has an imput (Blackened, My Friend Misery and Where the Wild Things Are) just show how much you really care for the "new-kid."
Charming and Attitude follow through the same ballsy-rock-n-roll feel that the other songs on this album are, and so may be overlooked as just reusing the same old stuff. "Low Man's Lyric" and "Fixxxer" are more bluesy than the rest of the album, and personally speak more to me than anything from Master-of-overrated-Puppets, which is why I've got to give this album 20.
Now if only Metallica would stop kissing up you people and play these songs Load again! 2010-10-12 00:00:00
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