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| Label = | Producer = | Last album = ''Metallica'' (1991) | This album = ''Load'' (1996) | Next album = ''Reload'' (1997) | Misc = }} ''Load'' is the sixth studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica, released on June 4, 1996, by Elektra Records. It sold 680,000 units in its first week, making it the biggest opening week for Metallica and the biggest debut of 1996. ''Load'' debuted and spent four consecutive weeks at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart. It was certified 5× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipping five million copies in the United States. Four singles; "Until It Sleeps", "Hero of the Day", "Mama Said", and "King Nothing", were released as part of the marketing campaign for the album. The album showed more of a hard rock side of Metallica than the band's typical thrash metal, which upset their fans. It also featured influences from genres such as Southern rock, boogie rock, country-rock〔 and alternative rock.〔 Drummer Lars Ulrich said about ''Load'' more exploratory nature, "This album and what we're doing with it – that, to me, is what Metallica are all about: exploring different things. The minute you stop exploring, then just sit down and fucking die." ==Musical style== ''Load'', released approximately five years after the commercially successful album ''Metallica'', saw the band shifting toward hard rock and away from their thrash metal roots. As on previous releases, the album's fourteen songs began as rough demos created by principal songwriters James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich in Ulrich's basement recording studio, "The Dungeon". In early 1995, the band took over thirty demos into The Plant Studios, where they would work for approximately one year. Metallica worked with producer Bob Rock, who had been at the helm during the recording process for ''Metallica''. The songwriting dispenses almost entirely with the thrash metal style that characterized the band's sound in the 1980s. In place of staccato riffs, Hetfield and lead guitarist Kirk Hammett experimented with blues rock-based tones and styles. Additionally, Ulrich adopted a minimalist approach to his drum recording, abandoning the speed and complex double bass drumming patterns of previous albums, and using simpler techniques and playing styles. Hetfield displayed a lyrical evolution, writing what many said were his most personal and introspective lyrics. "Until It Sleeps", the album's lead single, addressed his mother's unsuccessful battle with cancer, and "Mama Said" also explores his relationship with her. All of this marked a departure from the political and social overtones of ''...And Justice for All'' and ''Master of Puppets''. At 78:59 minutes, ''Load'' is Metallica's longest studio album. Initial pressings of the album were affixed with stickers boasting of its long playtime, simply reading "78:59". "The Outlaw Torn" had to be shortened by about one minute to fit on the album; the full version of the track was released on the single "The Memory Remains" as "The Outlaw Torn (Unencumbered by Manufacturing Restrictions Version)", with a running time of 10:48. An explanation on the single's back cover stated: ''Load'' was Metallica's first album on which all tracks were down-tuned to E♭ tuning. The band had recorded songs on earlier albums in tunings lower than E; "The God That Failed" on ''Metallica'' which was in E♭, and the same album's "Sad but True" and "The Thing That Should Not Be" from ''Master of Puppets'' were in D tuning. The Australian CD release of ''Load'' includes a bonus interview CD that is unavailable elsewhere.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Encyclopedia Metallica - Load, 2CD )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Load (album)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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