Metallica have announced an expanded deluxe reissue of their 1996 album Load, arriving June 13th.
Billed as the definitive re-release of Load, the new reissue was remastered by Reuben Cohen at Lurssen Mastering with oversight by Greg Fidelman, Metallica’s current go-to studio engineer.
The reissue comes in a few editions, the most accessible being a 2-LP vinyl release featuring the original tracklist and remastered audio, plus a seperate 3-CD deluxe edition that includes the original tracklist, a second disc of previously unreleased demos and rough mixes, and a third disc of era-specific live material.
For hardcore fans, Metallica have also culled together a gargantuan box set that boasts 15 CDs, six LPs, and four DVDs — “a comprehensive time capsule of 1995-97 era Metallica” that retails for $275.
Related Video
Fans will find 245 unreleased tracks (see the full tracklist here) amounting to never-before-released riff sketches, more demos and rough mixes, B-sides, rarities, and a wealth of live material. The DVDs include video ephemera from the era such as in-studio footage, live clips, on-air and TV appearances, the band’s Polar Beach Party visit to Tuktoyaktuk, Canada, and more.
The box set also includes some physical memorabilia: 14 Rorschach Test cards, a Pushead patch, a Lollapalooza poster, a Rolling Stone cover reproduction, guitar/bass picks, lyric sheets, two laminated tour passes, and a 128-page book.
Load proved to be a controversial turning point in Metallica’s career, marking a creative shift toward the more alternative/post-grunge sound that was prevalent in the mid ’90s. However, fans and even Metallica themselves have come to look back on Load — and its follow-up Reload — more fondly in recent years. Kirk Hammett recently remarked that the band could dip back into that sound on its next album, and two album highlights, “Until It Sleeps” and “King Nothing,” have been mainstays on the band’s ongoing M72 tour.
That trek pushes onward with a two-night “No Repeat Weekend” bill in Nashville on Thursday (May 1st) and Saturday (May 3rd). Tickets to the upcoming shows are available here.
You can pre-order the remastered reissue of Load in its various formats via Metallica’s website. Find the box set contents, 3-CD tracklist, and a stream of the remastered version of “Until It Sleeps” below.
Load (Remastered) 3-CD Tracklist:
Disc 1: Load Remastered
01. Ain’t My Bitch
02. 2 x 4
03. The House Jack Built
04. Until It Sleeps
05. King Nothing
06. Hero of the Day
07. Bleeding Me
08. Cure
09 Poor Twisted Me
10. Wasting My Hate
11. Mama Said
12. Thorn Within
13. Ronnie
14. The Outlaw Torn (Extended Version)
Disc 2: Riffs, Demos & Rough Mixes
01. Bitch (“Ain’t My Bitch” Original Arrangement Rough Mix)
02. 2 x 4 (Take 16)
03. Jack (“The House Jack Built” Re-Edit Version 1 Rough Mix)
04. F.O.B.D. (“Until It Sleeps” Rough Chorus Vocal Idea Mix)
05. Load (“King Nothing” Take 16)
06. Mouldy (“Hero of the Day” Instrumental Mix)
07. Boss (“Bleeding Me” Demo) [Previously released as part of “Fan Can 3”]
08. Believe (“Cure” Riff II)
09. Dusty (“Poor Twisted Me” Take 12)
10. Streamline (“Wasting My Hate” Original Arrangement Rough Mix)
11. Mama (“Mama Said” Acoustics Only Alternate Mix)
12. NC-17 (“Thorn Within” Riff)
13. The Blue and The Gray (and the Red) (“Ronnie” Vocal Idea)
14. Outlaw (“The Outlaw Torn” Outlaw of Torn Vocal Tag Alternate Mix)
Disc 3: Poor Touring Me: ’96-’97
01. Ain’t My Bitch (Live at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, Irvine, CA – August 4, 1996) [Previously released as a B-side to “Mama Said”]
02. 2 x 4 (Live at Donington Park, Castle Donington, England – August 26, 1995) [Previously released as a B-Side to “Until It Sleeps”; new mix by Greg Fidelman]
02. The House Jack Built (Live Rehearsal in Birmingham, England – September 1996)
03. Until It Sleeps (Live at Oslo Spektrum, Oslo, Norway – November 23rd, 1996)
04. King Nothing (Live at Slim’s, San Francisco, CA – June 10, 1996) [Previously released as part of “Fan Can 2″; new mix by Greg Fidelman]
05. Hero of the Day (Live at 100.7 WMMS Coffee Break Concert in Cleveland, OH – February 19, 1997)
06. Bleeding Me (Live at Globen, Stockholm, Sweden – November 16, 1996)
07. Wasting My Hate (Live at Oslo Spektrum, Oslo, Norway – November 23, 1996)
08. Mama Said (Live on Sverige-Sovjet, Stockholm, Sweden – November 15, 1996)
09 Devil’s Dance (Live in Tuktoyaktuk, Canada – September 3, 1995)
10. Fuel (Live at Rosemont Horizon, Chicago, IL – February 9, 1997)
11. Overkill (Live at Earls Court, London, England – October 12, 1996)
12. Kill/Ride Medley (Live at Donington Park, Castle Donington, England – August 26, 1995) [Previously released as a B-Side to “Until It Sleeps”; new mix by Greg Fidelman]
Content shared from consequence.net.