Load

Honestly, I could see this album as more of an underrated album than anything. Despite it taking more of a pussification of their sound (which sounds cringe on paper, but it's true), there's some pretty solid riffing on here, and they seem to have made a good effort on songwriting. Though, that same songwriting seems to have been overdone a bit certain cuts on this album. Refer to my yellow ratings. These songs pretty much made me either bored or just rather annoyed. I get this was the 90s, and this sort of grunge aesthetic was essential for a hard rock band, but man, sometimes I wonder what the hell y'all were doing.

There's some great Metallica classics in here though, I definitely won't deny that. It still ended up being a pretty solid listen overall, even if it was quite repetitive and forgettable at times. Take "Ain't My Bitch" for example: that song kicks ass! Then there's a pretty great ballad in the form of "Mama Said"; I do actually appreciate the style they go for on this album sometimes. I will say too that "The Outlaw Torn" was a pretty fire closer.

While it does have some rough around the edge issues, and it really isn't all that special when it comes to 90s hard rock, it still comes off as pretty solid for a switch in genres and styles.