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Yet another heavy–duty deluxe reissue in Metallica’s discography is due this summer: an appropriately loaded version of Reload.

Spread over 15 CDs, five LPs, a 7″ single and four DVDs, the Reload box set features everything you’ve come to expect from Metallica’s ongoing reissue campaign: a remaster of the original album, a cache of demos, outtakes and rough mixes outlining the recording process of the album, and – primarily – a host of live recordings: nine full sets across all formats, plus a host of promotional sets, TV appearances and soundboard recordings. (Altogether, it’s about 29 hours of listening and watching.) The box also comes loaded with ephemera, including a poster, an art print, reproduced lyric sheets and tour passes, a sticker, a set of guitar/bass picks, a collection of Rorschach test cards, and a 128-page book of rare photos and liner notes. Greg Fidelman has overseen this set, with Reuben Cohen at Lurssen Mastering handling the remastering of the audio. It’s coming June 26, alongside remasters of the album on CD, LP and cassette and a 3CD expanded version featuring highlights from the set.

As you might have guessed from the title, 1997’s Reload was a sequel to Load, released a year earlier. Many of the tracks were conceived in the same studio sessions that birthed Load, but mostly incomplete until after promotional responsibilities for the album were through. But to that end, it’s a much different beast than what Metallica were well-known for: the band’s defining thrash metal sound was put through its paces toward a more sprawling rock sound influenced by grunge, alternative and even blues and country styles. For the first time ever, a guest vocalist was present on the album (British singer Marianne Faithfull lent her talents to “The Memory Remains”), and “Low Man’s Lyric” was augmented by violin and hurdy-gurdy parts.

Despite the stylistic shifts, critics and fans seemed more open to Reload, which became the group’s third straight studio LP to top the Billboard 200 in America. A relentless touring schedule produced some memorable moments, from a stripped-down appearance at one of Neil Young’s Bridge School benefit concerts to a raucous free show held in the parking lot of Philadelphia’s CoreStates Arena. The Load/Reload era also marked a closing chapter for the band, who, over the next few years, became embroiled in both external controversy (a lawsuit against file-sharing service Napster that changed the music industry and caused a backlash among fans) and internal struggle (the band hired a mediator to diffuse internal tensions, which resulted in bassist Jason Newsted’s departure, singer/rhythm guitarist James Hetfield seeking treatment for alcohol abuse, the polarizing 2003 album St. Anger and the hiring of Suicidal Tendencies bassist Robert Trujillo – all of which was chronicled in detail in the 2004 documentary Metallica: Some Kind of Monster).

Until that chapter is revisited, the remastered, revisited Reload is available to order now at the links below. (As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.) It’s due out June 26.

Reload (Deluxe Edition) (Blackened, 2026)

15CD/5LP/7″/4DVD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
3CD (* included on bonus discs): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
1CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
Cassette: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

LP 1-2/CD 1: Original album remastered (originally released as Elektra 62126, 1997)

1. Fuel
2. The Memory Remains
3. Devil’s Dance
4. The Unforgiven II
5. Better Than You
6. Slither
7. Carpe Diem Baby
8. Bad Seed
9. Where the Wild Things Are
10. Prince Charming
11. Low Man’s Lyric
12. Attitude
13. Fixxxer

LP 3-5: Ministry of Sound ’97

1. Intro Jam
2. Helpless (released on “The Unforgiven II” U.K. CD single – Vertigo METCD 17, 1998)
3. The Four Horsemen (released on “The Unforgiven II” U.K. CD single – Vertigo METCD 17, 1998)
4. Of Wolf and Man (released on “The Unforgiven II” U.K. CD single – Vertigo METCD 17, 1998)
5. The Thing That Should Not Be (released on “The Unforgiven II” CD single – Elektra 64114, 1998
6. Fuel
7. The Memory Remains (released on “The Unforgiven II” U.K. CD single #2 – Vertigo METDD 17, 1998)
8. King Nothing (released on “The Unforgiven II” U.K. CD single #2 – Vertigo METDD 17, 1998)
9. Bleeding Me (released on “Turn the Page” U.K. CD single #2 – Vertigo 566 591-2, 1998) *
10. No Remorse (released on “The Unforgiven II” U.K. CD single #3 – Vertigo METCX 17, 1998)
11. Am I Evil? (released on “The Unforgiven II” U.K. CD single #3 – Vertigo METCX 17, 1998)
12. Stone Cold Crazy (released on “Turn the Page” U.K. CD single #2 – Vertigo 566 591-2, 1998)
13. Encore Jam
14. The Wait (released on “Turn the Page” U.K. CD single #2 – Vertigo 566 591-2, 1998) *
15. Master of Puppets
16. Encore Jam #2
17. Damage, Inc. (released on “Turn the Page” U.K. CD single – Vertigo 566 590-2, 1998)

All tracks recorded live at Ministry of Sound, London, England – 11/13/1997

7″ Single: The Memory Remains b/w For Whom the Bell Tolls (Haven’t Heard It Yet Mix) (released as Vertigo MET 15 (U.K.), 1997)

CD 2-5: Shadowcast

1. Fuel (Riff)
2. Fuel (Riff II)
3. Fuel (Riff III)
4. Memory (“The Memory Remains” Riff)
5. Devil Dance (“Devil’s Dance” Riff)
6. Devil Dance (“Devil’s Dance” Riff II)
7. Better (“Better Than You” Riff)
8. Drivin’ (“Slither” Riff)
9. Drivin’ (“Slither” Riff II)
10. Skimpy (“Carpe Diem Baby” Riff)
11. Bastard (“Bad Seed” Riff)
12. Bastard (“Bad Seed” Riff II)
13. Martini (“Where the Wild Things Are” Riff) *
14. Martini (“Where the Wild Things Are” Riff II)
15. Fish Tank (“Prince Charming” Riff)
16. Lenny (“Attitude” Riff)
17. Lenny (“Attitude” Riff II)
18. Fixer (“Fixxxer” Riff)
19. Bastard (“Bad Seed” Demo)
20. Better (“Better Than You” Demo)
21. Devil Dance (“Devil’s Dance” Demo) (released on Mucho Demo disc in Fan Can #3 – Metallica Club FC-003, 1998)
22. Drivin’ (“Slither” Demo)
23. Fixer (“Fixxxer” Demo) (released on Mucho Demo disc in Fan Can #3 – Metallica Club FC-003, 1998)
24. Fuel (Demo) (released on “Fuel” U.K. CD single #3 – Vertigo METCX 16, 1998)
25. Lenny (“Attitude” Demo)
26. Fish Tank (“Prince Charming” Demo) *
27. Skimpy (“Carpe Diem Baby” Demo) (released on Mucho Demo disc in Fan Can #3 – Metallica Club FC-003, 1998) *
28. Memory (“The Memory Remains” Demo) (released on “The Memory Remains” U.K. CD single – Vertigo METCD 15, 1997)
29. Martini (“Where the Wild Things Are” Demo)

1. Unforgiven 2 (“The Unforgiven II” Demo) (released on “The Unforgiven II” U.K. CD single #3 – Vertigo METCX 17, 1998)
2. Mine Eyes (“Low Man’s Lyric” Demo) (released on Mucho Demo disc in Fan Can #3 – Metallica Club FC-003, 1998)
3. Voodoo Queen (“Fixxxer” Vocal Idea) *
4. Sweat (“Attitude” Vocal Idea) *
5. Bad Seed (Vocal Idea)
6. Devil Dance (“Devil’s Dance” Vocal Idea)
7. Unforgiven 2 (“The Unforgiven II” Vocal Idea) *
8. Mine Eyes (“Low Man’s Lyric” Demo from The Plant) *
9. Mine Eyes (“Low Man’s Lyric” Demo Idea)
10. Better (“Better Than You” Take 7 – 5/18/1995)
11. Fuel (Take 2 – 5/18/1995)
12. Fish Tank (“Prince Charming” Take 11 – 5/23/1995)
13. Drivin’ (“Slither” Take 12 + Take 47 Edit – 5/24/1995)

1. Fixer (“Fixxxer” Take 4 – 5/24/1995)
2. Skimpy (“Carpe Diem Baby” Take 11 – 5/30/1995)
3. Martini (“Where the Wild Things Are” Take 25 – 5/31/1995) *
4. Lenny (“Attitude” Take 11 – 7/24/1995)
5. Bastard (“Bad Seed” Take 9 – 7/25/1995) *
6. Devil Dance (“Devil’s Dance” Take 11 – 7/31/1995) *
7. Memory (“The Memory Remains” Take 18 – 11/6/1995)
8. Mine Eyes (“Low Man’s Lyric” Take 2 – 12/5/1995)
9. Unforgiven 2 (“The Unforgiven II” Take 4 – 12/6/1995)
10. Memory (“The Memory Remains” Marianne Faithfull Outtake – 8/21/1997) *
11. Fixer (“Fixxxer” September ’95 Rough Mix)
12. Fuel (“Fuel for Fire” October ’95 Rough Mix) (released on “The Memory Remains” U.K. CD single – Vertigo METCD 15, 1997) *
13. Better (“Better Than You” October ’95 Rough Mix) *
14. Fixer (“Fixxxer” July ’97 Rough Mix)

1. Better (“Better Than You” July ’97 Rough Mix)
2. Bad Seed (August ’97 Rough Mix)
3. Martini (“Where the Wild Things Are” August ’97 Rough Mix)
4. Unforgiven 2 (“The Unforgiven II” August ’97 Rough Mix)
5. Fuel (August ’97 Rough Mix)
6. Mine Eyes (“Low Man’s Lyric” August ’97 Rough Mix)
7. Skimpy (“Carpe Diem Baby” September ’97 Rough Mix)
8. Fixer (“Fixxxer” Intro Piece) *
9. Lenny (“Attitude” September ’97 Rough Mix)
10. Memory (“The Memory Remains” September ’97 Rough Mix)
11. Drivin’ (“Slither” September ’97 Rough Mix) *
12. Devil Dance (“Devil’s Dance” September ’97 Rough Mix)
13. Fish Tank (“Prince Charming” October ’97 Rough Mix)
14. Memory (“The Memory Remains” Instrumental Mix) *

CD 6-7: Escape from the Studio ’97 (Live At Reading) and The Mixes That Should Not Be

1. Intro Jam
2. So What
3. Master of Puppets
4. King Nothing
5. Sad But True
6. Fuel
7. Hero of the Day *
8. Ain’t My Bitch *
9. One
10. Until It Sleeps
11. For Whom the Bell Tolls
12. Wherever I May Roam
13. Nothing Else Matters
14. Enter Sandman

1. Encore Jam
2. Stone Cold Crazy
3. Creeping Death
4. Battery
5. Last Caress
6. Motorbreath
7. For Whom the Bell Tolls (The Irony of It All) (from Spawn: The Album – Immortal/Epic/Sony Music Soundtrax EK 68494, 1997)
8. For Whom the Bell Tolls (Haven’t Heard It Yet Mix) (from “The Memory Remains” CD single – Elektra 64126, 1997)
9. Fuel (Boymerang Viper Mix)
10. The Unforgiven (Whipping Boy Mix)
11. Enter Sandman (Overseer Mix)

Disc 6 and Disc 7, Tracks 1-6 recorded live at the Reading Festival, Reading, England – 8/24/1997

CD 8-9: Poor Acoustic Me

1. Low Man’s Lyric (Live at Bridge School Benefit, Mountain View, CA – 10/19/1997) (from Live At Bridge School Benefit – Blackened BLCKND052-1, 2022)
2. Helpless (Live at Bridge School Benefit, Mountain View, CA – 10/19/1997)
3. Tuesday’s Gone (with Jerry Cantrell) (Live at Bridge School Benefit, Mountain View, CA – 10/19/1997)
4. Poor Twisted Me (Live at Bridge School Benefit, Mountain View, CA – 10/19/1997) (from Live At Bridge School Benefit – Blackened BLCKND052-1, 2022)
5. Fade to Black (Live at Bridge School Benefit, Mountain View, CA – 10/19/1997) (from The Bridge Collection digital album – Bridge School Recordings, 2006 and Live At Bridge School Benefit – Blackened BLCKND052-1, 2022)
6. The Four Horsemen (Live at Bridge School Benefit, Mountain View, CA – 10/19/1997) (from The Bridge Collection digital album – Bridge School Recordings, 2006 and Live At Bridge School Benefit – Blackened BLCKND052-1, 2022)
7. Nothing Else Matters (Live at Bridge School Benefit, Mountain View, CA – 10/19/1997)
8. Last Caress (Live at Bridge School Benefit, Mountain View, CA – 10/19/1997)
9. Low Man’s Lyric (Live at Virgin Radio – 11/14/1997)
10. The Four Horsemen (Live at Virgin Radio – 11/14/1997)
11. Nothing Else Matters (Live at Virgin Radio – 11/14/1997)

1. The Four Horsemen (Rehearsal at KSJO Studios, San Jose, CA – 12/17/1997)
2. Poor Twisted Me (Rehearsal at KSJO Studios, San Jose, CA – 12/17/1997) *
3. Tuesday’s Gone (Rehearsal at KSJO Studios, San Jose, CA – 12/17/1997)
4. Last Caress (Rehearsal at KSJO Studios, San Jose, CA – 12/17/1997)
5. Low Man’s Lyric (Live at KSJO Studios, San Jose, CA – 12/18/1997)
6. Helpless (Live at KSJO Studios, San Jose, CA – 12/18/1997)
7. The Four Horsemen (Live at KSJO Studios, San Jose, CA – 12/18/1997)
8. Poor Twisted Me (Live at KSJO Studios, San Jose, CA – 12/18/1997)
9. Nothing Else Matters (Live at KSJO Studios, San Jose, CA – 12/18/1997)
10. On the Phone with Mike Piazza (Live at KSJO Studios, San Jose, CA – 12/18/1997)
11. Creeping Death (Live at KSJO Studios, San Jose, CA – 12/18/1997)
12. Intro to Tuesday’s Gone (Live at KSJO Studios, San Jose, CA – 12/18/1997)
13. Tuesday’s Gone (Live at KSJO Studios, San Jose, CA – 12/18/1997) (from Garage Inc. – Elektra 62299, 1998)d
14. Last Caress (Live at KSJO Studios, San Jose, CA – 12/18/1997)

CD 10-11: Poor Australian Me

1. Intro Jam
2. So What
3. Master of Puppets
4. King Nothing
5. Sad But True (released on “Fuel” U.K. CD single – Vertigo METCD 16, 1998)
6. Guitar Doodle
7. Fuel (released on “Fuel” U.K. CD single #3 – Vertigo METCX 16, 1998) *
8. The Memory Remains
9. Bleeding Me
10. Bass/Guitar Doodle
11. Nothing Else Matters (released on “Fuel” U.K. CD single – Vertigo METCD 16, 1998)
12. Until It Sleeps (released on “Fuel” U.K. CD single #3 – Vertigo METCX 16, 1998) *
13. For Whom the Bell Tolls

1. Wherever I May Roam (released on “Fuel” U.K. CD single #2 – Vertigo METDD 16, 1998)
2. One (released on “Fuel” U.K. CD single #2 – Vertigo METDD 16, 1998)
3. Kill/Ride Medley
4. Low Man’s Lyric (Acoustic)
5. The Four Horsemen (Acoustic)
6. Motorbreath (Acoustic)
7. Creeping Death
8. Enter Sandman
9. Battery

All tracks recorded live at Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane, Australian – 4/20/1998

CD 12-13: Poor North American Me

1. The Ecstasy of Gold
2. Breadfan
3. Master of Puppets
4. Of Wolf and Man
5. The Thing That Should Not Be
6. Fuel
7. The Memory Remains
8. Bleeding Me
9. Bass/Guitar Doodle
10. Nothing Else Matters
11. Until It Sleeps
12. King Nothing *

1. Wherever I May Roam
2. One
3. Fight Fire with Fire *
4. Low Man’s Lyric (Acoustic) *
5. The Four Horsemen (Acoustic)
6. Last Caress (Acoustic)
7. Encore Jam
8. Sad But True
9. Enter Sandman
10. Creeping Death

All tracks recorded live at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ – 7/17/1998

CD 14-15: Poor Retouring Me ’97-’98: The Soundboard Tapes

1. Intro Jam (Live at Yoyogi Daiichi Taiikukan, Tokyo, Japan – 5/8/1998)
2. Helpless (Live at Blockbuster Pavilion, Charlotte, NC – 6/27/1998)
3. Master of Puppets (Live at Meadows Music Theater, Hartford, CT – 7/21/1998)
4. Of Wolf and Man (Live at Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, Houston, TX – 8/2/1998)
5. The Thing That Should Not Be (Live at Den Grå Hal, Copenhagen, Denmark – 11/16/1997)
6. Ain’t My Bitch (Live at Sydney Entertainment Centre, Sydney, Australia – 4/4/1998)
7. Fuel (Live at Starplex Amphitheatre, Dallas, TX – 7/31/1998)
8. The Memory Remains (Live at Retama Park, San Antonio, TX – 8/1/1998)
9. Whiplash (Live at Fukuoka Kokusai Center, Fukuoka, Japan – 5/3/1998)
10. King Nothing (Live at Queens Wharf Entertainment Centre, Wellington, New Zealand – 4/17/1998)
11. Bleeding Me (Live at Winnebago County Fairgrounds, Pecatonica, IL – 7/5/1998)
12. Bass/Guitar Doodle (Live at Pine Knob Music Theatre, Detroit, MI – 7/10/1998)
13. Nothing Else Matters (Live at Perth Entertainment Centre, Perth, Australia – 4/11/1998)
14. Until It Sleeps (Live at Nippon Budokan, Tokyo, Japan – 5/7/1998)

1. Devil’s Dance (Live at Perth Entertainment Centre, Perth, Australia – 4/12/1998) *
2. For Whom the Bell Tolls (Live at Osaka-jou Hall, Osaka, Japan – 4/30/1998)
3. Wherever I May Roam (Live at The Supertop, Auckland, New Zealand – 4/18/1998)
4. One (Live at Olympic Gymnastics Arena, Seoul, South Korea – 4/25/1998)
5. Fight Fire with Fire (Live at Sandstone Amphitheater, Kansas City, KS – 7/29/1998)
6. Low Man’s Lyric (Acoustic) (Live at Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre, Denver, CO – 9/8/1998)
7. Poor Twisted Me (Acoustic) (Live at Yoyogi Daiichi Taiikukan, Tokyo, Japan – 5/8/1998)
8. Motorbreath (Acoustic) (Live at Polaris Amphitheater, Columbus, OH – 7/4/1998)
9. Encore Jam (Live at Cal Expo, Sacramento, CA – 9/1/1998)
10. Sad But True (Live at Cal Expo, Sacramento, CA – 9/1/1998)
11. Creeping Death (Live at Nippon Budokan, Tokyo, Japan – 5/6/1998)
12. Enter Sandman (Live at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, Irvine, CA – 8/28/1998)
13. Encore Jam #2 (Live at Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia – 4/6/1998)
14. Damage, Inc. (Live at L’Élysée Montmartre, Paris, France – 11/18/1997)

DVD 1: Studio Shit + Music Videos + TV Appearances

Studio Shit: November 1995

1. Writing in Lars’ Dungeon Pt. 2
2. Rehearsals at The Plant Pt. 2

Music Videos

1. The Memory Remains
2. The Unforgiven II
3. Fuel
4. Fuel (Hot Rod Edit)

MTV’s Reload, Rehearse, Request (recorded live at Baker Hamilton Square, San Francisco, CA – 3/21/1998)

1. Low Man’s Lyric
2. Helpless
3. Last Caress
4. Fuel
5. Devil’s Dance
6. One
7. For Whom the Bell Tolls
8. King Nothing
9. Creeping Death
10. Motorbreath
11. So What

TV Appearances

1. The Memory Remains (with Marianne Faithfull) (Live on Top of the Pops – 11/21/1997)
2. The Memory Remains (with Marianne Faithfull) (Live on TFI Friday – 11/14/1997)
3. King Nothing (Live on Recovery TV – 4/7/1998)
4. Fuel (Live on Recovery TV – 4/7/1998)
5. Credits

DVD 2: Banned in Philly (released on VHS in Fan Can #4 – Metallica Club FC-004, 2001)

1. Intro
2. Helpless
3. The Four Horsemen
4. Of Wolf and Man
5. The Thing That Should Not Be *
6. Fuel
7. The Memory Remains *
8. King Nothing
9. Bleeding Me
10. No Remorse
11. Am I Evil?
12. Stone Cold Crazy
13. The Wait
14. Master of Puppets
15. Damage, Inc.
16. Credits

Recorded in the parking lot of CoreStates Arena, Philadelphia, PA – 11/11/1997

DVD 3: Poor East Asian Me