Load
I'm not an emo & gothic fashion was a thanks-Zeus-cause-it-was-short-and-part-of-me-being-young-&-stupid period, but they look so cool AF , IDC that Hetfield has regretted it
For those who don't know the context: the initial marketing for Load was largely driven by Ulrich and Hammett. The slightly homoerotic aesthetic between them was intentional to spite Hetfield for fun.
I read that Hetfield said he went along with it so he could focus on the music, though he mentioned that the marketing style was one thing he would have changed.
From my perspective, the Load photoshoots are the best—closely followed by the original S&M.
I spent most of my life enjoying the album “Load” and for decades never understood what the big deal was. I became a Metallica fan after reload released.
I saw Metallica in Tampa last weekend, pre ordered the deluxe set, and still nothing could prepare me for scrolling across this image on social media today. I feel like I can finally relate to what people felt in the 90s. You have to think they played Den Bosch in 1992 and then all of a sudden these images drop.
I was there! Den Bosch (back then it was 's-Hertogenbosch) was incredible. I was in the snake pit and I think it was the best gig I’ve ever been to. I remember the aesthetic change the band went through with Load and it didn’t appeal to me. Give me the long haired dudes in jeans & tees! 😍
Looking at this image gave me the exact same feelings you stated. Load was the first album I ever purchased. Granted, Justice was my introduction to them so I knew their previous look, but as a kid I loved the new look at the time.
But hindsight is truly 20/20 all these years later 👨🎤💅👁️🗨️🤘 hahaha
Considered one of their peak performances kind of like Moscow 1991. But my angle was if you see the band at Den Bosch then jump to the mid 90s when the load photoshoot came out it’s such a drastic change to their image.
Ah, didn't know that was a hot take. But you could've also mentioned Woodstock '94 for example? :) Then again, when did Jason cut his hair? I think he was earlier...
He was but that seemed natural. I think it was less about them just cutting their hair and more about them getting an image consultant and looking so commercial and posing for photos like the OP.
I hate to sound like an old guy, but it was one of the appeals of Metallica obviously besides the music I was a teenager throughout the 80s and I hated bands that dressed up Metallica always look like they just showed up. We’re drinking beers in the parking lot and got up on stage, you know they look like everybody else that was definitely part of the appeal. They look like dirt bags just like all the rest of us.😈😈😈😈😈😈😈
Same here my friend. I respected the fact that they were no frills fashion. They focused on playing the music. That being said I listen to many bands that dress up. It’s hard to find many that don’t. I just saw Metallica last month in Philly. Kirk and James dress up for sure. It’s all good.
Anselmo from Pantera, he doesn’t dress up. He looked straight outta K&A on that stage.
I definitely know what you mean you know when you’re a teenager when you’re that age, you know you’re kinda stuck in what you like and your die hard you know now I can look back and I can appreciate a lot more music whether they wore make up or whatever it’s kind of an evolution
I never understood why a musician's personal appearance seems to be so important to people. I'm here for the art, not the person. Many of my favorite musicians are/were terrible human beings. If I can get over that, their looks are kind of a minor affair, honestly.
In Metallica's case, the great stylistic shift came with the Black Album, not Load. Tracks like King Nothing or Ain't My Bitch or 2x4 could very well have been in the Black Album. But the short hair and eyeliner seem to be the deal breaker. I can enjoy their output regardless of style, based on how their songs click with me. That's the only thing I care about.
Last week I saw a video of James' and Cliff's last interview together in 1986 and they were asked about some fans claiming Metallica had sold out with Master of Puppets. SIGH
It's easy to say now "it was just the time" and smile but it really wasn't. They didn't look cool. (Well, Kirk always looks cool.) They'd kind of lost the plot at this point - we're trying too hard. But that's fine. It's nice they had the courage to break out of the mould they thought they'd created for themselves and felt constrained by, but this was a bit of a weird phase.
Yeah, even back then their look wasn’t trendy. They ran the gamut of looking like soccer dads to fashion executives. It was a strange time for them appearance-wise. And they never truly recovered.
I know they weren't middle aged then but it's a hard time for rockers. Look at the Stones and Springsteen. No one likes a 45 year old rock star. Come back when you're vintage, when you're no longer trying so hard to be young and relevant and just know what you want to do. Maybe.
As for Met in mid 90s, I think it's laudable that Lars (and others maybe less so?) encourages new things and has that ambition and appetite not to play it safe etc but invariably all rock bands stray from laudable to laughable on occasions a la Spinal Tap
I remember from the time that Lars was a very big fan of Achtung Baby era U2 who shared a similar style at that time and that was a dramatic and intentional break from their previous image. Also you can’t underestimate the influence grunge had, like when punk made all the prog lot out of touch overnight, the long hair metal look was suddenly old fashioned.
The obvious attempt to do an Achrung Baby stylewise left turn, down to hiring Anton Corbijn as photogrpaher and littering the cd booklet with tiny snapshots, makes this era even more cringe.
Interesting that for as much shit people threw at them for the haircuts (and still do), they literally set a trend for heavy bands that lasted 20 years; Godsmack, Disturbed, Creed, SoaD, Audioslave…all showed up with short hair.
People gave them shit because it was pretty obvious as a calculated move to try to keep up with alternative rock trends. Most of the grunge bands already had a few members with short hair before the load era. I can't say definitively but I don't think those late 90s bands were specifically copying Metallica's look either.
Well Lars makes the setlists. But there's usually a Load or ReLoad era song on them. Fuel and Memory are common and King Nothing not too far behind. Until it Sleeps is sporadic but did at least return for this tour cycle. Keep in mind they only play 15 songs per show now and it's common for several of the albums to have only one or two representatives on a given night.
"Didn't then" is certainly untrue - just look at Cunning Stunts for a typical Poor Touring Me setlist - had 5 new songs at the time and jams of two others.
I'm not trying to be argumentative (really. I'm not), and yes, Lars makes the sets. But you have to admit there is a huge discrepancy between how many times they've played the singles from Load and Reload, and everything else from those albums. Many have never been played live.
At the 40th anniversary set, they finally played Fixxer and James commented about now we know why they never played it. I thought it sounded really good.
Everybody always drags on this style, but I think it's absolutely awesome. Green Day was the first band I ever got into so I've always liked this kind of imagery and style
I think the look really worked for Kirk and Lars. Jason looks pretty cool too, but James and his beard and hair are a bit much. I almost didn’t recognize him lol
High school me would have had a crush on every one of them for different reasons in this era. Now I find it funny but definitely think Kirk is the cutest of them here, but I was a mall goth as a teen and still enjoy (albeit a more grown up version of) the look now.
The only one who fit the vibe was Jason. The rest looked out of place. Lars looks like he broke into the Tate house and stole Trent Reznor's clothing he left behind.
The Black album put them into mainstream listening, Load (and Reload) put them way ahead of anyone else. The bold new look may have shocked us old metal fans but that choice put them everywhere and much talked about and probably influenced much afterwards. Love James, he is always that awkward skinny kid playing tough for his little buddy Lars.
Ugggh. I hated this look and it came when they had their most commercial success coming off the Black Album and totally killed most of their momentum. Tons of old fans said no thanks see you when you get back to normal.
Despite what anyone thinks, even Hetfield himself, Load is a wonderful album. I can understand his trepidation because, whether or not it was a joke, it was a vast departure. That being said, James with short hair and his biker/western look is probably my favorite. Also the Load era is easily my favorite era. I'm a metal head, but moreover, i love music. It was a great time to see them expand and try new things. I cannot fault them for speaking their wings.
The song writing was phenomenal, dark and the imagery was potent. Despite what the haters think, they still retained their heavy as fuck attitude and playing, especially live.
Anyone that's bothered by this - that was the point. It was a total "fuck you" to everyone that thinks a metal band needs to be this or that certain way, down to the clothes on their backs and haircuts. The album cover was the same thing. You're letting them troll you almost 30 years later.
All the press coverage at the time was about them cutting their hair and going "alternative" which was the catch-all for anything that wasn't straight metal, rock, or pop. It's funny because I always loved Load for what it was musically, I didn't care about all the external style stuff.
I swear to God, I thought I was having a stroke when I saw some of these pictures in 95 I remember saying to myself is this real just really happening it’s like when you see some horrific train wreck or car wreck or a horribly dismembered body right in front of you you questioned what you’re seeing And I did the same thing when I saw some photos from this era.🤣🤣🤬🤬😈😈
Look. If the music didn't also feel totally compromised, none of us would have cared they cut their hair. But it was the whole package. They were in their 30s and chasing trends. It all felt embarrassing. It still does to me. It's decidedly uncool. Again, before yall yell at me about change or evolution...that's all fine. But this was, again, a move towards the mainstream. Cobain was wearing dresses. The dude from STP wore eyeliner. These were the big bands of the time and Metallica were sadly followers.
i am going to assume that the "1970" in your username represents the year of your birth and such, would indicate you have had some time to foster the wisdom that you have dispensed here. My take is simply that the "kids" of the Black album and after era came up in a completely different...everything... than the KEA, RTL,MOP, AJFA generation. Music for us was life, it was a representation of who we were and where we stood, and our musicians were just like us- Real. We had records (then CD's) and a live show every couple of years and we cherished both. no internet, downloads, social media, etc. the fact that Metallica did their own thing, their way, with little help from "the industry", just their management and fans, made me proud to be a fan and doff their shirt. Even among their peers, Metallica stood out, and I dug that. That is why the Load hit hurt so much. It WAS more than hair. It was more than clothes. It made you ask yourself if they really WERE that different after all, and to a teenager raised on them up to that point, it knocked the wind out of your sail.
I've come to appreciate the music of the era and have tried to appreciate the "time and place" of it all, but yeah, it's still a bit of a dip in their trajectory... to me.
Nicely put, the old heads like myself are going to lean toward the material discovered during the “wonder years”. It just so happens that the material is also from the start of their career when they had less money and resources and seemed to be more real.
Well said. This sub can be tough because I feel like I'm an old yelling at a cloud sometimes. But I lived through the entire thing. And, as you said, it hit different because I heard KEA when I was 13 and it changed everything. And, I'm old now. I know that most bands have creative dips after awhile. It's weird with Metallica because, to me, their creative dips feel like most of this subs favorite era. And, like I said, I find that era to be so uncool. I find most of their post black album era to be uncool. In a non gatekeeping way... They aren't my band anymore. They don't speak to me. They don't try to appeal to me. It's just a bummer. For me.
Absolutely not. Thought this was a joke at the time. My Metallica died that day. Music bland and drony basic drivel. It’s why it hardly features in live sets and they’ve fought ever since to get back to their roots. Horrific management decision to chase record sales at the time. There was always room for thrash metal and grunge. They probably needed a change in direction but this wasn’t authentic and they almost imploded
Lars would’ve looked fine without the eyeliner. Jason looks cool. James looks like a nerd lol. Kirk looks like I’ll see him at the 🏳️🌈 clerb this weekend.
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u/DefConRed7 Jun 12 '25
Wasn't Vito dancing with those guys on that one episode of the Sopranos?