“Never gave the album a chance”: Lars Ulrich on the punching bags of Metallica’s catalogue
Fortunately for Metallica, many of their songs and albums have become synonymous with the ultimate hard rock and metal greatness. However, unfortunately for Metallica, many have failed to enter the spotlight, eclipsed by the high standards of some of their more obvious creativity and biggest accomplishments. For Lars Ulrich, this is something they will never be able to change.
Despite their shortcomings, the one thing that is always commendable about Metallica is that they do exactly what they feel is right. While some bands, particularly in the rock and metal spaces, often face questions about whether it’s appropriate to turn towards more commercial sensibilities to up their sales, Metallica usually pays those conversations no mind, instead opting to follow their instincts.
Most of their discography has reaped the rewards of taking this approach, though some records haven’t lived up to the success of some of their other releases. This is completely normal, especially given the unpredictable nature of musical resonance and addressing fan expectations, even when bands desire to go in a completely new direction. For Metallica, however, their failure stems from poor decision-making when it comes to appearances and marketing processes.
At least, that’s how Ulrich approaches the disappointment surrounding Load and Reload. It’s no secret that the band has developed a complicated and estranged relationship with those albums, particularly Load, mainly because they decided to entertain ambition and take a daring step towards new sonic territories, which would have been a risk for anybody, but in this case, didn’t pay off.
At the same time, Ulrich—and James Hetfield—came to regret the aesthetic choices they made during the album’s creation, regarding their play into the cultural zeitgeist as a huge hindrance to the album’s success. During an interview with Playboy, Hetfield expressed his disdain towards their physical choices, recalling fans asking questions like, “What happened to Metallica, the rebel, longhair, greasy-biker, fuck-you band?”
Ulrich feels a similar way, though he claims their marketing decisions—the hair, makeup, and general change in attitude—became a major turn off and impacted the album sales as a result. He revealed this during an interview with Louder, saying, “I do remember that as the Load album cycle continued I had more and more people coming up to me and saying that they never gave the album a chance because of how it was presented to them.”
He continues, “That makes me wonder how Load would have gone across had we not done the hair thing, not done the make-up thing and had the album in Pushead artwork,” adding that he feels Load and Reload have become a “Metallica punching bag for the fans” because of their appearance at the time. However, he also appeared somewhat defensive, saying, “It was all what we wanted to do… so fuck you!”
Though music almost always speaks for itself, and there’s a high chance both albums would have faltered in exactly the same ways had Metallica kept their mullets, Ulrich’s last remark is the only thing that ultimately matters. Some records aren’t going to land as perfectly as others, which is a normal aspect of being a musical act. However, this also holds far more respectability when it’s underscored by authenticity and not driven by a desire to pander to the fashion of the time.
