An introductory note from the author and admin:
This article will take a deep dive into the making of 1996s Load album. This is the first studio album by Metallica where an enormous variety of guitar gear (and tones) were used - amps, guitars, pedals, and more.
While we strive to include all of the confirmed gear used on the album, the list will never be 100% comprehensive. That said, we've tried to compile as thorough of a list as possible through countless years of studio footage, pics, interviews, conversations with those involved with the album and more. All gear cited comes from a reputable and confirmed source. If anything mentioned is based on speculation, it will clearly be noted as such.
Many of the studio photographs taken at The Plant included in this article are courtesy of photographer Mark Leialoha. His amazing work gives us an intimate look at the band and provides a window into the studio in 1995. His photographs capture a creative period that we otherwise never would have seen.
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Without further ado, let’s jump in the fire!
-Jack Beard (Admin, Metallica Gear History)
By 1996, it had been nearly 5 years since Metallica released a new album with the 1991 blockbuster Metallica (Black Album). Destined to become one of the best-selling albums ever, it catapulted the band to near overnight superstardom and made Metallica a household name. Constant play on the radio - a medium that once shunned the band - and heavy rotation on MTV cast the limelight on the quartet like never before.
The subsequent tour took Metallica around the globe for an unprecedented 2 years on the road that left the band fatigued and worn. Somewhere along the way, the band and their outlook on life and music started to change. No longer were Metallica the cynical teenagers that thrashed relentlessly on Kill 'Em All, or the progressive metal titans spinning complex, government-averse tracks on And Justice For All that required a whiteboard to map out an arrangement. The band was now in their mid-30s, wiser to the world and starting to forge a home life for themselves that didn't involve a hotel room in a new city every night. It was inevitable that age, experience, and a changing musical landscape would bleed into the foundation of their music, but the question was how?
Let’s turn the clock back to 1996 and dive deep into the album that would become Metallica's most controversial to date - Load. We’ll look briefly at the circumstances surrounding the band, put a critical eye on how the album was tracked, and then dig obsessively into the specifics of the gear that we’ve been listening to for over 25 years. We’ll pick apart fact from fiction and examine all of the internet myths and misconceptions.
This is Album Analysis: Load…
THE HISTORY
It was May 20, 1996. I was driving home on the interstate in Charlestown, WV (USA) when I heard local radio station V100 announce what I'd been waiting on all day: the world premiere of Metallica's new lead single ("Until It Sleeps") was playing next. I had waited almost 5 years for that moment. I quickly pulled over on the side of the road, cranked up the stereo to an obscene volume, and nervously waited. Under normal circumstances, I would have been ecstatic - not nervous - to hear new music from my favorite band. These circumstances, however, were anything but ordinary.
In the months prior, the press embargo for Load had lifted and the first articles about the new album were being published in magazines. The internet was still in its infancy stages, and most of what was known about Load was published on the newsstand. I vividly recall the types of headlines splattered across every music magazine, from Hit Parader to Metal Edge:
"Metallica: Hair Cuts and a New Sound"
"Is Metallica Going Alternative?"
"No More "Metal" in Metal-lica?"
After what felt like an eternity, the track played and I listened to "Until It Sleeps" with sense of relief. It wasn't the ode to grunge that some magazines claimed it would be, but the track didn't quite feel like it would fit on any prior Metallica album either. This was Metallica treading new ground.
Into the Dungeon
By the fall of 1994, James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich entered Ulrich's basement home studio, dubbed the Dungeon, to start working on new tracks for the upcoming album. Bob Rock was once again tapped to produce the album, despite he and the band originally assuming they would part ways after Metallica (Black Album). The long tenure in the studio had left Bob nor the band eager to work together again, as tension mounted and frustration flared after such a long duration of working together on a single album. After Metallica (Black Album) became a crtitical success, though, all involved knew they "had to at least try," per Bob Rock.
During prior albums, a vast majority of material came from the collaboration of James and Lars. Hetfield would provide riffs, while Ulrich gave arrangement suggestions. Although Jason Newsted and Kirk Hammett provided occasional song ideas (such as the main riff in "Enter Sandman" coming from Hammett trying to imitate Soundgarden in his hotel room at 3 AM), they were typically given fully formed songs by James and Lars to work within. Load would see that dynamic start to shift.
After arriving at the Dungeon, James and Lars spent roughly 2 weeks just listening through all of the riff tapes from each band member, most of which came about while touring. Hetfield would place ideas onto an archaic 4-track Fostex recorder that he'd carried around since Ride the Lightning, while Hammett would crank up an old Pignose amp in his hotel room and jam on riff ideas routinely until 3 AM - 4 AM (much to the dismay of everyone in the surrounding rooms).
Unlike previous writing cycles, Kirk provided a tremendous amount of material to dig through. Over the course of sorting 12-14 full riff tapes from Hammett (loosely organized by the region or country they were touring in when it was recorded), countless riffs of Kirk's were selected for use. The abundance of material chosen resulted in Kirk having a writing credit on an unprecedented 50% of the tracks on the album.
"It was fuckin' crazy, man. There were bags and bags of tapes with riffs on them. Sifting through all that shit was difficult." -James Hetfield
Newsted - who submitted over 25 songs for consideration on Load - had none of his tracks selected for the album, despite basic tracks being recorded for some of them. In addition to being shunned on the album, Jason took criticism from the rest of the band regarding his 1994 demo for a side project called "IR8" that he recorded with Devin Townshend and Tom Hunting (Exodus). The 3 track demo was recorded in Newsted's new home studio, with Jason assuming vocal duties.
After passing a few copies of the demo among friends, it "spread like wildfire" per Newsted. Within days, one of the tracks was playing on LA's KNAC hard rock station, while fan mail from overseas started coming in a couple of weeks later. It wasn't long before the rest of Metallica noticed, asking him to stop participating in his creative side project. Hetfield in particular was "fucking pissed" that Newsted was playing outside of Metallica, per multiple sources. The resistance to use his original material coupled with the crippling creative control imposed by James and Lars would become prominent factors to Jason's discontent in subsequent years, leading to his departure from the band.
With the riff tapes organized and song ideas selected, James and Lars moved gear into the Dungeon and started to draft basic song structures and demos for the upcoming Load sessions. Much to the surprise of the Hetfield and Ulrich, there was a vast array of material they had selected, more than enough for a full "double album" of tracks. Consideration was given to recording a double album such as Pink Floyd's The Wall, or doing simultaneous releases of two single albums, as Guns 'N Roses had done with Use Your Illusion 1 & 2. That decision would come later in the studio, as the duo opted to put all the ideas into demo form and decide at a later date.
Load Demos - New Guitar Gear
After coming off of the road from the Metallica (Black Album) tour in 1993, Hetfield and Hammett started to acquire new guitar gear. During large tours, it's commonplace to keep touring guitar rigs consistent to avoid any potential issues that can result from things being changed. Given that Metallica had spent nearly 2 full years on the road touring the world, they had very little opportunity to incorporate much new gear into their rigs since 1991!
By the summer of 1993, James and Kirk had acquired new gear which was incorporated into new studio and touring rigs that saw a dramatic shift from their older setups. James acquired a 1993 Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifier (Revision F), with a black faceplate and chrome chassis. This was brought into the Dungeon alongside his new primary rig - 4 Mesa Boogie Triaxis Preamps (Version 2, Non-Phat Mod) running with a Custom Mesa 2X5 Rackmount Graphic EQ into a Mesa Strategy 400 Power Amp.
James used the Triaxis on Lead 2 Yellow (Mark IIC+) Mode to dial in the sounds of the Mark head units used on albums and on tour. The Rectifier, then a new offering from Mesa Boogie, became a new "blending" amp with Hetfield starting to shy away from the single amp sound he had been using and starting to transition into the dual amp setup he would use going forward. In his rig, Lead 1 Red (Vintage Rectifier) from the Triaxis would play that role live, while the Triple Rectifier would be relegated to studio use and occasional one-off shows.
The demo tones would be rounded out by James using various ESP Explorers with EMG 81/60 pickups and the amps being routed into a stack of Marshall 1960BV 4X12 Cabs with Marshall "Vinatage" Speakers (Vintage 30s). A 1980s (Made in USA) Roland JC-120 2X12 supplied the clean tones. The Rectifier sat atop a pair of 1980s Mesa Boogie Half-Back 4X12 Cabs, though the bulk of the demos appears to have been tracked with the Triaxis rack and JC-120.
These initial demos recorded in the Dungeon in 1994 contained numerous tracks that would show up on both Load and Reload. Many of the songs had alternate working titles, such as "Mouldy" ("Hero of the Day") and "F.O.B.D." ("Until It Sleeps"), and would later be incorporated into various releases like the MetClub Fancams and as b-sides to singles.
RECORDING LOAD
By the time James and Lars had finished the initial writing sessions in early 1995, they had 30-32 fully formed song ideas in hand. Ready to integrate the rest of the band and engage Bob Rock to start pre-production, the band entered The Record Plant (oftentimes just called "The Plant") in Sausalito, CA to jam on the demos and start the initial tracking.
James and Kirk made the decision very early into pre-production that they wanted to not only change up the core guitar sound on the album, but also have a larger variety of tones. "The one thing that strikes me about Metallica (Black Album) is that there isn't enough variation in tone. I kind of stuck with the same sound" Kirk noted, his only differentiation being an occasional use of a wah pedal. James rarely deviated from his core rhythm sound, as was typical on all of the prior albums.
While Metallica had perfected dialing in the mid-scooped metal tones synonymous with the band, the downside to focusing on a singular guitar sound was that they weren't sure how to achieve anything different, despite now wishing to do so. Enter Bob Rock.
"We tried not to re-use that no-mids, scooped sound. That sounds incredibly dated to James and me." - Kirk Hammett
A broader tonal palette wasn't the only major change on the horizon for Load. The album would also feature a dramatic shift in how guitar parts were divided between James and Kirk.
A Twin (Rhythm) Guitar Attack
Coming into 1995, Metallica historically had a single approach to tracking guitars on albums: Hetfield would record all of the rhythms and most harmonies, while Hammett would record all of the leads (minus a select few). On this album, things were about to change.
After hearing the blues metal infused offerings that were selected for the album, it became evident to Hetfield that his surgically tight, layered guitar tracks would not showcase the new material properly. To accomplish this, Hammett would share guitar rhythm duties with Hetfield for the first time on a Metallica album.
"We wanted to get a looser sound on this record, and the best place to do that was with the guitars. The guitars breathe a lot more." - James Hetfield
In this context, James isn't referring to a looser guitar tone (which, with Metallica, is always tight). He is referring to the layering of guitar tracks with multiple players, the "greasiness" and wall of sound effect that occurs when two distinct guitar players are playing with one another. It lends a different feel to the tracks, as the subtle and slight variations in playing style between guitarists adds character to the sound that a single guitarist could never replicate.
"No matter how many fucking martinis I had, I could never get the guitar tracks to sound different enough," said Hetfield. "It was the same guitar player playing it fucked up. It wasn't a fucked up guitar player trying to play it right [laughs]."
For a majority of the album, James and Kirk played contrasting guitar parts on each song, rarely playing the exact same part as one another. The result was a more vintage sounding, inspired product unlike anything else Metallica had done in the past.
The Primary Amp Setup
With the guitar duties decided, the proper gear had to be chosen to transition the new vision into reality. Throughout the course of tracking Load, James and Kirk used numerous guitars and amps for color and variety. That said, the underlying, core guitar sound on the album can broken down into 3 primary guitar rigs.
GUITAR RIG #1 - and one of most prominently heard on the album - is a Mesa Boogie Triaxis rack. This rack included numerous Mesa Boogie Triaxis Preamps (Version 2, Non-Phat Mod) running with a Custom Mesa 2X5 Rackmount Graphic EQ into a Mesa Strategy 400 Power Amp.
During this era, Hetfield had acquired at least 4 Mesa Triaxis Preamps for his new "A" rig (initially seen during demo tracking in the Dungeon) and was soon to acquire another 4 for a backup "B" rig. Kirk had originally acquired and integrated a Triaxis into his Metallica (Black Album) tour rig in 1993, and had at least 2 additional units added to his new live rig on the floor of The Plant. Needless to say, James and Kirk had no shortage of Triaxis Preamps to use for tracking!
The Triaxis was typically used on 2 different settings for overdriven sounds: Lead 2 Yellow (Mark IIC+) as a primary distortion sound, and Lead 1 Red (Vintage Rectifier) to blend in with it. For some clean sections, the Triaxis would be used on Rhythm Green.
One important note to make is that during this early Load era, all of Hetfield's Mesa Triaxis Preamps appear to be completely stock with no modifications. Modifications would not come until later.
GUITAR RIG #2 - used liberally and heard prominently throughout - was Bob Rock's Jose Arredondo Modded Marshall Super Lead, affectionately dubbed the "Asshole Marshall" here at Metallica Gear History (for additional details, please see our corresponding article on the amp). The Marshall perfectly suited the midrange grind of the album, bringing a vintage modern flavor to the upper mids with that classic Marshall grind.
GUITAR RIG #3 was a long-time studio staple for the band - a 1985 Mesa Boogie Mark IIC++ head unit. This particular head unit was originally purchased by Kirk, but coopted by James for studio use starting with 1988s And Justice for All. Per James, "that amp always comes through in the studio."
In prior years, James and Kirk had used an Aphex/B&B Audio EQF-2 to sculpt the tone of the Mesa Mark amps. With a desire to add additional midrange to the sound and move away from the hyper-scooped tone they felt was "dated," the Load era seems to be when James and Kirk started moving away from external EQs and relying only on the onboard graphic EQ on the amps. This is also true of the Triaxis rigs, where the only additional sculpting was coming from a rackmount 5 band graphic EQ.
By this time, the EQF-2s had been transitioned into a rack together with other gear that was seeing minimal use or no longer being used, such as the VHT Power Amp used only on one leg of the Metallica (Black Album) tour. Whether the EQF-2 was used in conjunction with the Mark IIC++ on the album is pure speculation at this time, therefore we rate it only as "possible," though no mentions of their usage has been found (despite them being mentioned by the band repeatedly in reference to prior albums).
GUITAR RIG #1 through GUITAR RIG #3 (Mesa Triaxis, Jose Marshall Super Lead, and Mesa Mark IIC++) form the central core of the sound on the album. Additional amps would be used in conjunction with these rigs to provide variety and tonal coloration (detailed in "Secondary Amp Setups" below).
While any number of cabs and speaker combinations may have been used for experimentation, the primary cabs used for tracking were Marshall 1960BV 4X12 Cabs with Marshall "Vinatage" Speakers (Vintage 30s).
Secondary Amp Setups
Although a small handful of rigs formed the foundation of the guitar tones, numerous other amps were used to fill in the tonal palette. Some gear was in a transition phase out of the racks and saw little to no use. Examples of this include the ADA MP-1 Preamp, ADA MQ-1 Midi Programmable EQ, Mesa Boogie Studio Preamp, and more. This gear was seen for the final time in the Load racks, but has never been documented to have been used. We rate this gear as "unlikely" to be on the album, or playing an inconsequential role.
One "heavier" amp of note used as a blender - particularly by Hammett - was a 1993 Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifier (Revision F). This particular amp - Hetfield's #1 Recto - made its way from the Dungeon to the tracking room. It sat on top of the Mesa Boogie Mark IIC++ in the control room and served as a differentiator on occasion to the Marshall and Mesa Mark based tones.
This would mark the beginning of Kirk's love for the Mesa Rectifier series, as he incorporated Mesa Rectifiers into his studio and live rigs, with the Dual Rectifier becoming his primary live tone on tour. When asked whether he preferred the Rectifier or the Mesa Boogie Mark IV which he had been using for leads on some legs of the Metallica (Black Album) tour, Hammett stated he preferred the Rectifier for live and studio work as it "had more bark."
Throughout the course of tracking, everyone in the band approached the tracks with an open mind, seeking to find the sounds that would make each song tonally unique. Whereas advances in electronic gear was on the rise (and put to use by Kirk), Metallica also opted to take the opposite route and look backwards to analog and vintage gear.
"When you start to use that (vintage) gear and certain combinations of guitars and amps, you feel like a part of the amp and it makes you play differently." - James Hetfield
Bob Rock, with a vast guitar gear collection and encyclopedic amp knowledge, introduced vintage and vintage modern gear to the band and helped them forge a new sound for the album. While many have attributed the change in Metallica's sound to the influence of Rock, it was exactly the opposite. James and Kirk wished to change, but needed Bob's help to perfect their tonal vision for the album.
"There isn't as much of that one-dimensional wall of heavy guitar with a clean guitar once in a while. I wanted a "medium" sound and was like "How do I get that? I don't fucking know." -James Hetfield
Bob helped introduce James and Kirk to the classic "mid gain" sound at Hetfield's request, as the songs called for tones that weren't extreme in either direction (i.e., super clean or fully distorted).
One amp that helped contribute was a '90s Matchless Spitfire 15. The 15W, EL84 driven amps could not have been simpler with 3 knobs for tone shaping - simply turn it up and play!
Alongside the Matchless, James employed an old tweed covered '50s Fender Twin-Amp. Bright and punchy, Hetfield once remarked the Fender (also routinely dubbed the "Tweed Twin") was "so sharp it'll take your nuts off!"
For additional color and contrast, particularly for mid gain sounds, both James and Kirk heavily used an old '60s VOX AC30. This legendary amp needs little introduction, used by everyone from The Beatles to Queen.
Those 3 secondary amps are confirmed numerous times by the band and production team of being used on the album. There are a host of other amps that were seen in the studio during tracking, but have never been confirmed as being used. Some of these include a vintage Fender Deluxe Reverb and a '70s HiWatt half-stack. While the common assumption is the HiWatt was a classic 4-input DR103 or DR504, James did acquire a later '70s HiWatt DR103 (2 Input) "Canadian Mod" model after hearing one owned by Bob Rock during the making of Metallica (Black Album).
The "Canadian Mod" was a slight modification performed by the importer in Montreal, Canada starting in the mid-'70s. As the Marshall crunch sound started to dominate rock albums, the modification was done on amps imported to try and compete with the gainier sounds of their competitor. The result was a deviation from the traditional HiWatt formula, with the mod providing roughly as much gain on tap as a stock Marshall JMP 2203 or JCM 800 2203. This style of amp can also be heard on late '70s albums by Prog rock band RUSH. While the HiWatt was noted as being in the studio, there is no confirmation it was ever used. For this, we rate the chance of its use as "doubtful."
Another amp to note is a '79 Marshall JMP 2203 that Kirk purchased while on tour for Metallica (Black Album). The amp had been modded to some degree prior to Kirk purchasing it, and has a "240 Volts Only" sticker on the front. It can be seen pictured below in the live room during Load jam sessions, sitting on top of the Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifier (Rev F).
During the '90s after it was acquired, it was seen in use with a step-down transformer for 117V operation in the US. In later years, a "Not" label was placed alongside it to read "Not 240 Volts Only," as the amp may have been converted for US voltages. Kirk does not appear to use the amp for tracking on Load, but did use it for writing and live jams. It would later become a studio staple for Hammett.
Given the original 240V operation requirement, by reviewing the tour schedule for Metallica (Black Album) when the amp was acquired, we can speculate there is a high degree of probability that the amp was purchased in Australia. Aside from fitting the voltage requirements, the band played 9 shows in Australia spanning 6 cities and stayed for roughly 2 weeks. This also would have given Kirk ample opportunity to shop for gear in a proper voltage region, as opposed to areas where the voltage doesn't sync up or the band was only in town for 1-2 nights before leaving. Kirk has also cited additional gear purchased in Australia during this time (such as his beloved '60s Fender Strat), lending credibility that he was buying gear while on the Australian leg of the tour.
The amp list provided delves only into confirmed gear used and seen in the studio. There were undoubtedly countless other amps available, multiples of each type, and many others were likely used in some small capacity (such as Hetfield noting he had "14 amps going at once for a clean sound" on a track). If other amps are later confirmed on the album, we will update the article accordingly.
Guitar Effects & Pedals
During the recording of Load, an enormous amount of experimentation occurred, particularly by Kirk as he started acquiring what was then cutting edge technology for sound design. Hammett also started digging into his arsenal of vintage stompboxes, inspired by the grunge movement in Seattle and their use of low dollar effect pedal finds in pawn shops. Oddly enough, their use of the pedals helped shift the used market in the '90s and drive up the cost of vintage stompboxes that were - at that time - going for next to nothing!
The first and primary pedal of note - without question - is an '80s Ibanez TS-9 Tube Screamer that was used liberally by Kirk. The TS-9 is likely the pedal most closely associated with Hammett, second only behind the wah.
Kirk had started to use the TS-9 almost exclusively to boost his lead tracks by this era, whereas prior years had seen other variations mixed in.
Interestingly, Kirk used Hetfield's setup for a majority of his rhythm tracks. To differentiate his sound from James, he would sometimes add in the TS-9 as a slight boost, or would blend in an additional amp with Hetfield's rig, typically the Matchless Spitfire, VOX AC30, or Mesa Triple Rectifier depending on the track. This, coupled with his vintage guitars compared to Hetfield's EMG-loaded Explorers, helped set their tones apart and provide a more diverse tonal foundation.
During this era, Kirk also rediscovered his love for classic MXR stompboxes. After acquiring some in the earlier '90s, both Hammett and Hetfield started using some with more regularity. During the making of Load, one of the most prominently used was an '80s - early '90s MXR Phase 100.
The Phase 100 was initially released in the mid-'70s, but was revised around 1981-1982. The script logo had been previously changed to the now iconic block design, and a status LED and 1/8" mini adapter jack were added. MXR closed shop in 1984 before being acquired by Dunlop and brought back to market in 1987.
The Phase 100 was arguably the most used MXR pedal during the Load sessions. When listening carefully through the album for individual guitar parts, you will find the Phase 100 on countless tracks in some capacity, whether it was featured prominently (such as on "Bleeding Me") or buried and blended into the mix (such as during the breakdown in "2X4").
The Phase 100 would also become a standard in Hetfield's live rig starting in this era. Examination of the model used by Hetfield shows a block letter logo and red status LED with a black plastic bezel. While an LED could have been added to a late '70s to '80-ish non-LED model, the one used by Hetfield had the exact LED and bezel used by MXR from the factory, with an identical placement. Due to this, we feel it is relatively safe to assume the model used by James was a block letter with LED and 1/8" adapter jack produced from roughly 1981-1984 and then again from the late '80s to early '90s.
Below are the settings used by James on his MXR Phase 100. The live settings are taken from Hetfield's typical mid-to-late '90s rig (though some variance may occur among shows). A careful listen to Load seems to indicate different "intensity" settings were used on a song by song basis:
Speed: 10:00-11:00
Intensity (Live): Far Left
Intensity (Studio): Varies Per Song
In addition to the Phase 100, Hammett had been using MXR pedals through the '90s both live and in his home studio. Two of the most notable are the MXR Dyna Comp and MXR Blue Box. Though Hammett loved the quirky nature of the Blue Box, he noted that he was still attempting to find a track to use it on during the Load sessions.
Another noteworthy MXR pedal that was seen getting studio use by Hammett was a '70s MXR Ten Band Graphic Equalizer. This classic hardwired pedal was typically seen in use with Hammett's Fender Stratocaster guitars to sculpt the tone of the single coil pickups.
One typical setting seen in use with Strats was a slight cut in the sub-lows (31.2), upper mids (2k and 4k), and high presence frequencies (16k) while boosting an enormous amount in the upper-lows and low mids (125, 250, and 500). Using this configuration helps tame the piercing highs of single coils while providing extra weight to the sound.
Another effect that Kirk had started experimenting with at the time was flange, notably bringing out vintage models by Electro Harmonix - the '70s Electro Harmonix Electric Mistress and Deluxe Electric Mistress.
Jimi Hendrix has often been cited by Hammett as his biggest guitar icon and influence, so when Prescription Electronics launched in 1993 with a Hendrix inspired line of pedals, it should come as no surprise that Kirk was quickly in line to purchase them. The primary pedal from the line used by Hammett was a '90s Prescription Electronics Experience.
This octave fuzz pedal was likely used in conjunction with Kirk's vintage Fender Stratocasters to mimic Jimi's iconic Band of Gypsies sound, with footswitches for fuzz, the octave effect, and a swell mode causing notes to pulse in and out producing a near backward guitar sound depending on the decay of the notes.
One noteworthy guitar effect that wasn't used often but was critical to one particular song was a vintage Heil Talk Box. Popularized by players like Peter Frampton and Joe Walsh in the '70s, then immortalized on Bon Jovi's hit "Living on a Prayer" in the '80s, the Heil Talk Box allows the user to create vocal expressions similar to someone talking while playing the guitar.
To operate the talk box, a long plastic tube is connected to the device and the guitarist is able to shape sounds with their mouth. This is the effect heard on the lead break in "The House Jack Built." Interestingly the Talk Box solo was played by Hetfield, not Hammett (who was unfamiliar with how to use the effect). James would also contribute additional bluesy leads on some parts of the album. For example, the outro lead break in "The Outlaw Torn" was also played by Hetfield!
Rounding out the list of primary effects used would be a collection of wah pedals used by Kirk in his home studio. By this era, Hammett had acquired and was using countless standalone wah pedals from Dunlop, VOX, Colorsound and more. The wah sound on any given track by this era could have been any number of different pedals, and it would be impossible to speculate which was used on what track. Kirk's live rig still contained an EMB Audio Rack Wah, but it was losing favor with him and he was eager to replace it (later moving on to the more reliable Dunlop DCR-1SR Rack Wah).
"The (EMB Wah) was a thing a guy made for me in the Bay Area. Nobody knows where he's at any more, so if anything goes wrong with it, I'm shit out of luck." -Kirk Hammett
Additional effects pedals may have been used (and likely were), but we've highlighted the pedals confirmed to be used on the album and those that played a prominent role. If additional pedals are discovered to play a pivotal role on particular songs, this article will be updated accordingly.
Kirk Goes High Tech
By the mid-'90s, Hammett had fully embraced the new wave of technology coming onto the market, both in the studio and at home.
"I have so many electronic gadgets at home...the newest VCR, Laser Disc, Walkman, computers...I'm just a gadget head!" -Kirk Hammett
Kirk's newfound love for technology led him to acquiring new synth related gear for his home studio, driven by the influence of players like Robert Fripp and Adrian Belew. "I've been listening to a lot of Robert Fripp," noted Hammett. "He uses a lot of synth guitar and there is a lot of synth on the album (Load)." The influence of Belew also pushed Kirk to try and create leads and solos that were more conceptual, textural, and part-based as opposed to more traditional guitar licks and phrases.
"I'm bored with standard rock guitar solos. I've done it for 5 albums now and this time I wanted to go in a different direction." -Kirk Hammett
The band was fully supportive of Kirk exploring a new textural method of playing, though they acknowledged some tracks required a more standard rock solo approach, such as on "Bleeding Me."
The new approach wasn't without argument. Kirk's new style - coupled with atypical Metallica stylings such as soloing in a major key as opposed to minor - led to disagreement on some tracks. On "Hero of the Day," for example, James and Kirk clashed over the bright tonality of the lead, with Hetfield swearing it was out of key. After hours of debate (and Kirk walking James through every individual note in the solo), Hammett changed 1 single note which led to James giving his nod of approval.
To enable this new conceptual and textural style of playing, Kirk stocked his home studio with an array of latest generation tech for pre-production. One primary piece of gear was a '90s Roland Super JV-1080 Synthesizer Module.
The JV-1080 was released in 1994 and became an instant hit in studios around the world. Virtually every major motion picture movie released in theaters in the mid-to-late '90s and early '00s seemed to have a JV-1080 featured somewhere on the soundtrack. Although it wasn't designed for guitar, it didn't stop Kirk from using it in that manner. Hammett would experiment and plug straight in, use it with fuzz pedals, plug it into Marshalls and more to create sounds that would complement the songs.
Another component of Kirk's studio rack was a '90s Eventide DSP4000 Ultra-Harmonizer. Released in 1994, the DSP4000 was a cutting edge signal processor and pitch shifter that was fully programmable.
Along with the DSP4000, Kirk looked to the new market entrants for additional delay and reverb modules, purchasing a '90s Oberheim Echoplex Digital Pro for his home studio. This unit, initially released in 1994, was a modern digital delay with algorithms based on classic analog and tape-based delay units. It also featured the capability to create and layer loops with an enormous amount of memory for overdubs. Gibson would later reissue the Echoplex Pro in 2001 after acquiring Oberheim.
Although the Echoplex Pro had looping capability, Kirk acquired a couple of dedicated looping and sampling units to create a foundation on which to build his textural parts. One tool for providing loops used by Hammett was a '90s Kurzweil K2000 Digital Workstation. Released around 1991, the K2000 was a popular sampling tool during the era.
In addition to the K2000, Kirk also employed another new looping tool, a '90s Lexicon JamMan. The JamMan was originally devised by Lexicon to be a modification to the legendary PCM-42, eventually becoming its own separate product.
Kirk would oftentimes link multiple units together, such as dialing in a texture on the JV-1080, modulating and pitch shifting it with the DSP4000 and Echoplex Pro, then layering the sound over loops he created with the K2000 and JamMan.
This type of experimentation in Kirk's basement home studio proved to be inspiring, with many conceptual sounds on the album being taken direct from his home studio sessions rather than trying to recreate them in the studio with the band. "The House Jack Built" is a great example of this, where the Leslie-sounding guitars as well as the backwards guitar soundscapes present during the first instrumental break were taken directly from Hammett's home studio recordings.
Although Kirk used numerous devices not originally designed for guitar to create sounds for the album, one new piece of gear specifically designed for guitar became an instant favorite - a '90s Roland VG-8 Virtual Guitar System. This device, released around 1995, came with a midi pickup to attach to your guitar. Playing into the unit allowed the user to emulate a variety of instruments, from acoustics to strings and flutes!
Hammett would frequently use the VG-8 during this era, heard prominently on tracks like "Until it Sleeps" and "Hero of the Day." It was used so often that Kirk incorporated one into his live rig, complete with a guitar set up with a midi pickup. Although somewhat glitchy and primitive by modern standards, it was a revolutionary tool in the '90s.
The Guitars on Load
The '90s saw James and Kirk using a larger variety of guitars. Bob Rock introduced them to an array of vintage instruments, while the massive success of Metallica (Black Album) allowed the band to afford any gear they desired. Despite having an arsenal of axes to choose from, James and Kirk each seemed to favor 1 single guitar as their primary instrument and then used others for tonal variety.
Hetfield's primary guitar of choice was his white finish '80s ESP "So Fucking What" Explorer with EMG 81/60 pickups. "It's the first one they made for me...for some reason, it just sounds better than the rest of them," per Hetfield. "That guitar doesn't travel. I save it for studio work."
Hammett, wanting to contrast his sound with the EMG-driven tone of James, opted to go in the opposite direction and chose a classic, vintage guitar - his newly acquired 1958 Gibson Les Paul Standard with original '50s PAF pickups.
Hammett started gravitating toward more vintage sounding pickups and fell in love with the "PAF sound," which according to Kirk, had become his "favorite sound."
After his prized '58 Les Paul, the second most used guitar by Kirk during tracking was his stock '62-'64 Fender Stratocaster (Seafoam Green). Although Kirk has routinely called the Strat a '63 consistently in recent years, it was cited as being between '62 and '64 in the past. Hammett has frequently noted this particular Strat is his favorite of all of the ones he owns.
The '58 Les Paul and '60s Seafoam Green Strat were also the primary instruments used by Hammett for his lead work on Load.
"The (Seafoam Green) Strat is beaten to shit, the finish is falling off and it barely stays in tune, but it sounds so fat!" -Kirk Hammett
Those weren't the only vintage instruments used by Kirk on the album. An early 1962 Gibson Les Paul Jr with P90 pickup was used for the slide solo on "Ain't My Bitch," while other various slide work on the album was performed on a 1963 Gibson ES-335.
By this era, James and Kirk had acquired matching '50s to '60s era Gibson Flying Vs and Explorers, with Kirk's 1958 Gibson Flying V being used sporadically on a few tracks. A few other guitars saw a reduced workload for Kirk, namely his 1988 Gibson Les Paul Custom with EMG 81 pickups and various signature ESP models. A Parker Fly was used briefly on some clean sections. The Custom and occasional ESP were the only times Kirk appeared to use EMGs or active pickups on the album, as likely 50% or more of the album was tracked with vintage and passive pickups!
Hetfield also used a variety of guitars to augment his core sound, each one filling a specific purpose within a song. James once again brought out his white Gretsch White Falcon, using it "Mama Said."
A Fender Stratocaster Stevie Ray Vaughan model with Texas Special pickups was also used during pre-production tracking, but there is no indication that made it into the final studio track.
By the '90s, Hetfield had also become enamored with Fender Telecasters, owning several variations by the Load sessions. James used them in a variety of places, notably as his primary guitar on "Ronnie." The 2 noteworthy models used on Load were a slightly modified Fender Telecaster Danny Gatton model and a '52 Reissue Fender Telecaster with a B-bender.
One final guitar of note was a stock 1963 Gibson SG that was given to Hetfield as a birthday present from producer Bob Rock. This guitar was of particular interest because it corresponded with Hetfield's birth year (1963).
This Gibson SG would also be favored by Hammett in the following years as his interest in vintage guitars continued to grow.
Production Notes
Guitar sounds weren't the only area of experimentation on Load. This album marked a change for James recording vocals. On prior albums, Hetfield was locked away into a vocal booth by himself, standing in one spot marked on the floor and continuously repeating lines. This time, a different approach was taken. In addition to standard vocal booth takes, James would also track in the control room with mic in hand.
"I would just walk around the control room (with mic in hand) and yell. It was very liberating...there's a little bleed, but fuck it. You've got to go for vibe." -James Hetfield
Aside from Bob's array of priceless vintage mics, a wider variety were also used to capture the "feel" on the album. Mics like a Shure SM-57 were used for dynamic pieces in the control room, while a small Shure Bullet mic - not designed for vocal work, primarily used on harmonica - was used for distorted vocal passages on songs like "Poor Twisted Me" by overdriving it on the studio console.
Although there is no known record of what mics were used on the guitar cabs, Bob Rock typically likes to use a mix of a Shure SM-57 and Sennheiser MD421 under the belief that the mics complement one another and fill out the sonic spectrum with frequencies that the other is lacking.
In terms of the mix, the band approached Load to deliberately achieve a much more "in your face" mix than Metallica (Black Album), where the guitars sat further back compared to the drums.
"I wanted the guitars back in your face again. I think on Metallica (Black Album), something had to be in the back and it ended up being the guitars." -James Hetfield
Preferring the guitar-led sound of prior albums like Kill 'Em All, James wanted the guitars back in the front, with the drums driving the rhythm as opposed to leading the band. The result was a thicker sound driven by the guitars akin to the classic guitar albums of the '70s.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Load may not have been what some fans expected, but looking back on it 25+ years later shows a solid, guitar driven album that stands out among the grunge albums ruling the airwaves at the time. It was an inherently unique album that - along with Reload - not only sounded nothing like anything else in Metallica's catalog before it or since, but also like nothing else that was happening at the time. Load truly is an album without peer. Whether that is a good thing is only for the listener to decide.
If there are aspects of Load not covered here that you’re curious about, please leave a comment or send a message. We can edit the article to include additional information if there is a demand for it.
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