Metallica Brings Back “Reload” for Fans

Metallica are revisiting one of the most polarizing chapters of their career with a newly remastered edition of their 1997 album Reload, due out June 26 via their own label, Blackened Recordings.

A Definitive Revisit of Reload

Nearly three decades after its original release, Reload returns in a fully remastered form, handled by Reuben Cohen and Greg Fidelman at Lurssen Mastering. The album—Metallica’s seventh studio effort and a multi-platinum success—will be made available across a wide range of formats, reflecting both archival ambition and modern accessibility.

The centerpiece of the campaign is the Reload Remastered Limited Edition Deluxe Box Set, positioned as an exhaustive chronicle of the band’s 1997–1998 era. According to the band, the collection serves as “a passionately and thoroughly curated document” of the period, packed with rare and previously unheard material. This includes demos, rough mixes, live recordings, and archival radio and television appearances.

The box set itself is expansive: a double-vinyl edition of the remastered album, a seven-inch single of “The Memory Remains,” and the triple-vinyl live release Live At Ministry Of Sound ’97. It also contains 15 CDs featuring various recordings and rarities, alongside four DVDs offering behind-the-scenes footage, live performances, and studio sessions.

Multiple Formats and Archival Releases

Beyond the deluxe edition, Reload will also be issued in more streamlined configurations, including 2LP, CD, cassette, and 3CD versions. All formats are currently available for preorder through the band’s official website.

Accompanying the announcement, Metallica have unveiled a remastered version of “The Memory Remains,” along with a live recording of the track captured during their 1997 performance in the parking lot of the CoreStates Center in Philadelphia. These releases offer a preview of the sonic restoration and archival depth that define the reissue campaign.

The timing of this project is notable, arriving almost exactly one year after the band delivered a similar remastered edition of their 1996 album Load. Both albums were recorded simultaneously between May 1995 and April 1996 at The Plant in Sausalito, California, under the guidance of producer Bob Rock.

Reassessing a Controversial Era

The Load/Reload period remains one of the most debated phases in Metallica’s history. Departing from their thrash metal foundations, the band incorporated elements of blues and country into their sound—an evolution that divided their audience at the time. Their visual reinvention, including shorter hair and stylized photography by Anton Corbijn—renowned for his work with Depeche Mode and U2—further amplified the backlash.

Reflecting on that reception in a 2025 interview with Rolling Stone, guitarist Kirk Hammett acknowledged the dramatic shift in fan perception over time.

“But when those albums first came out, it was like, ‘Fuck Load,’” he recalled. “‘Fuck Reload, fuck Metallica.’ But nowadays we play Fuel and people go nuts. We play Until It Sleeps and people fucking know every fucking word.”

In the years since, Metallica have re-embraced their heavier roots, most recently with their 2023 album 72 Seasons. As they prepare for an upcoming European tour—featuring select “No-Repeat Weekend” shows with entirely different setlists each night—the reissue of Reload underscores a broader effort to reframe and reclaim a once-contentious era in the band’s evolution.