Metallica Announces Massive ‘Load’ Reissue With Unreleased Material

Metallica is set to revisit their mid-90s era with the definitive re-release of their multiplatinum 1996 album, Load. Scheduled for release on June 13, 2025, via the band’s own Blackened Recordings, the reissue has been remastered by Reuben Cohen at Lurssen Mastering, with longtime producer Greg Fidelman overseeing the project.

The remastered Load will be available in various formats, including standard 180g 2LP, CD, cassette, and digital (featuring a Spatial Audio mix). Expanded 3CD and deluxe digital versions will also be offered. Notably, several formats, including the 2LP and expanded editions, will feature the extended version of “The Outlaw Torn” for the first time, which was originally shortened due to CD time constraints.

For dedicated collectors, a limited-edition deluxe box set described as a “comprehensive time capsule of 1995-97 era Metallica” is available for pre-order. This extensive package includes the remastered album on double vinyl and CD, a “Mama Said” picture disc, a triple live LP titled Loadapalooza ’96 (recorded at Lollapalooza in Irvine, CA), 15 CDs containing collected riffs, demos, rough mixes, B-sides, and live material, plus four DVDs with behind-the-scenes footage, TV appearances, and more. The box is rounded out with memorabilia such as Rorschach Test cards, a Pushead patch, posters, picks, lyric sheets, tour passes, and a 128-page hardcover book.

Originally released in June 1996, Load debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and marked a significant stylistic shift for Metallica, incorporating more blues-rock influences. While initially well-received by critics, the album and its follow-up, Reload (originating from the same sessions), later became points of contention among some fans, partly due to the band’s altered image during that period.

Drummer Lars Ulrich defended the albums in a 2013 interview with Revolver, stating they “are great records” that “are creatively on par with every other record we’ve made.” He acknowledged the change in direction, adding, “Obviously, they’re bluesier records, and at that time, we were listening to a lot of Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and AC/DC… And I understand that there are people who couldn’t quite figure out what was going on with the haircuts and the rest of it, and that’s fine. But musically… if you just listen to the 27 songs — Load and Reload were intended as one double-record — it’s a great collection of songs that is on par with everything else that we’ve done creatively.”

In a 2017 interview with Clash, James Hetfield referred to the period’s image as a compromise: “As far as doing something that doesn’t feel right, I’m sure there’s been a few times that it’s happened — the Load and Reload era, for me, was one of those; the way that was looking, I wasn’t 100 percent on with it, but I would say that that was a compromise.” He elaborated, “I said, ‘I’m going with Lars‘s and Kirk‘s vision on this. You guys are extremely passionate about this, so I’ll jump on board, because if the four of us are into it, it’s going to be better.’ So I did my best with it, and it didn’t pan out as good as I was hoping, but, again, there’s no regrets, because at the time it felt like the right thing to do.”

Hetfield also speculated in 2016 that late bassist Cliff Burton likely would have opposed the changes: “I would certainly think that the Load and Reload era, I would have had an ally that was very against it all — the reinvention or the U2 version of Metallica.”

The Load reissue offers fans a deep dive into a pivotal and often debated chapter in Metallica‘s history, complete with extensive unreleased audio and visual material alongside the remastered original album.