"Reload" is the seventh studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica, released on November 18, 1997, via Elektra Records. It is a follow-up to their 1996 album Load and the band's last studio album to feature bassist Jason Newsted, who left Metallica in 2001. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 436,000 copies in its first week, and was certified 3× platinum by the RIAA, marking significant commercial success. Reload was recorded at The Plant in Sausalito, California, with Bob Rock once again serving as producer. Initially, the band planned to release Load and Reload as a double album. However, due to the challenges of recording so much material at once, they decided to split the songs into two releases, with Reload following Load a year later. Guitarist Kirk Hammett explained that releasing a double album would have been too much material for fans to digest at once, and some songs might have been overlooked. The album also marks the first time Metallica included a guest vocalist, with Marianne Faithfull contributing to the track "The Memory Remains."
Reload features a mix of heavy metal styles, and many of the songs use E♭ tuning, with a few tracks—such as "Bad Seed" in D♭ tuning and "Devil's Dance" in D tuning—showcasing variations. D tuning had previously appeared on tracks like "The Thing That Should Not Be" and "Sad But True." Seven songs from the album, including "Fuel," "The Memory Remains," and "The Unforgiven II," have been regularly performed live. Like Load, the album's artwork was created by artist Andres Serrano, who used a mixture of bovine blood and his own urine for the piece, which was titled "Piss and Blood XXVI." The album's liner notes also feature photos from Metallica's 1997 Cunning Stunts concert.
Reload was well-received by fans, debuting at #1 on the Billboard 200 and maintaining commercial success throughout its release. It continued Metallica's exploration of a more polished, hard rock-oriented sound, continuing the direction established with Load. Although some songs from Reload have not been performed live in full, tracks like "Carpe Diem Baby" and "Fixxxer" have had limited performances, with Fixxxer making its live debut at Metallica's 40th-anniversary concert in 2021. Overall, Reload stands as a key part of Metallica's 1990s era, a continuation of their evolving sound and a reflection of the band's shifting dynamics during that period.
