Top 5 "Load" and "ReLoad" Jams

When examining two albums everyone loves as much as Metallica fans love Load and ReLoad, it was really hard putting together the top five tunes from one of the band's most bitchin' eras. I wish there existed a Year and a Half in the Life Of-style documentary about putting together these albums, because it would have been way more interesting than watching Lars go into total focus mode to play tambourine on "Nothing Else Matters." Some of these songs were never played live for ridiculous reasons; I guess everybody would rather pat each other on the back and sing "Life is ours, we live it our way" than get down with these grooves, but whatever. Audiences never know what's best for them. Here we go.

5. "Carpe Diem Baby"

See, this is a riff I would have come up with while noodling around in the lower register and just passed it by - but that's why I'm not in Metallica. James jammed that thing out, Lars said, "Wait, wait, play that again," and away they went. I mean, I'm guessing, but that sounds about right. That part about 3/4 of the way through where everyone drops out and James says, "Live win/Dare fail," and then the riff kicks back in has some badass punch and would have been a sweet spot for some pyro in the live show. A sadly missed opportunity.

4. "Wasting My Hate"

I always imagined the lyrics to this song were about two dudes staring each other down inside a pool hall before they went in the back and roughed each other up a bit. It reminds me of that scene in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia where the guy is telling the story about confronting a guy in a bar and ultimately has to take him out back and "tear his ass apart." That's what this song means to me. And putting "HATE" on the amps in this live video is a pretty sweet touch. I wish they did that for every song: "SORROW," "RIDE," "KISS." You feel me.

3. "The Outlaw Torn (Unencumbered by Manufacturing Restrictions Version)"

Fade-outs are ridiculous. But I also understand why Metallica needed every 78 minutes and 59 seconds for Load, so they had to gently trim the end of this dude here. But when they put out the "Memory Remains" single a whole year later, fans finally got what they had been clamboring for and were able to hear the full, uncut version. I think you'll agree it's worth it. Amusingly enough, this is one of the songs with more prominently-featured bass, but Newsted doesn't have a writing credit on the entire album. Bummer, dude. At least you have royalties from "My Friend of Misery."

2. "Fixxxer"

This song is such a crusher that the band has only tried to play it once, at Woodstock '99, and the strain was so much that they had to give up and fall back on their cover of "Die, Die My Darling." Load and ReLoad were the albums where the band opted to forego putting the entire lyrics in the liner notes, and instead just gave a taste of a verse or a chorus and some doodles - courtesy of James, I suppose. I think I remember the one for this song was a voodoo doll stuck with pins, which really hit home on the opening line when James sings, "Dolls of voodoo, all stuck with pins." He showed you what he was gonna tell you, and then he told you what he showed you. Presentation 101, handled masterfully. It also takes 1:10 to really kick in, which makes it all the more satisfying when you get into the meat of things.

1. "Bleeding Me"

Yeah, yeah, I know it's the obvious choice, but these things are for a reason. It's not my fault vanilla is the best flavor of ice cream or that Taco Bell makes the best tacos (it's in the name, duh), some things just are. Check out this gnarly chorus:

Caught under wheels' roll

I take the leech, I'm bleeding me

Can't stop to save my soul

I take the leash that's leading me

Here, he's clearly juxtaposing the way he sometimes lets his problems latch onto him or drag him around with the way he claims to be otherwise indifferent on "Ain't My Bitch." It gives us a staggeringly dichotomous view of James Hetfield, a man who feels. And this startling contrast is what makes "Bleeding Me" the best song of Load/ReLoad-era Metallica.

Honorable mentions:

"Low Man's Lyric"

I'm tempted to go buy another copy of ReLoad, because my "Low Man's Lyric" skips on the intro, and that drives me nuts. It draws me away from the hurdy-gurdy and sucks me back into the digital world of the CD, and shattering that illusion of streetcorner madness and downing bottles of Midnight Hobo is just unacceptable. This is also the only song I'll allow Metallica to perform while seated on stools.

"Better Than You"

Towards the end of middle school, there was this kid who was a real smug know-it-all and always got A's on everything. I thought, "Hey, I'm smart, too, I can do just as well in geometry and biology, I just really need to focus from the start of the year." So I remember using this song to get myself psyched up before the first day of school, reminding myself that I had this kid's number. A week later, I was back to cranking Superunknown and playing Diablo instead of studying. Go figure. This song is pretty much a variation on one riff, but I always really dug the guitar tone and thought the solo had a cool "less is more" approach. And hey, fake ending with 90 seconds to go! Also, talkbox.