Which Metallica studio album followed Load?

Which Metallica studio album followed Load? Reload. Released in 1997, Reload was Metallica’s seventh studio album and the direct follow-up to 1996’s Load.

The two albums came from the same broad recording project. Metallica initially considered releasing nearly 30 songs as a double album, but divided the material into two separate records. Reload therefore is not merely a later, unrelated sequel; much of it grew from the same sessions as Load, with additional work completed in 1997.

The album continued Metallica’s mid-1990s move away from its earlier thrash-metal sound toward hard rock, blues, country, alternative rock, and grunge influences. Its best-known tracks include “Fuel,” “The Memory Remains,” and “The Unforgiven II.” A common mix-up is Garage Inc., which came next in 1998 but was a covers album rather than the immediate studio-album follow-up.