Metallica’s studio album released on November 18, 1997, was Reload. It was the band’s seventh studio album and followed Load, which had arrived the previous year.
Reload grew out of the same broad writing and recording period as Load. Metallica had accumulated enough material for a possible double album, but the songs were divided between two releases. Additional sessions took place in 1997, and producer Bob Rock worked with James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich on the project.
The album’s release date can cause confusion because the band’s neighboring records came quickly: Load appeared in 1996, Reload in 1997, and the cover-album project Garage Inc. followed in 1998. Reload also had different label arrangements by territory, appearing through Elektra in the United States and Vertigo internationally.
Its best-known singles included “The Memory Remains,” “The Unforgiven II,” and “Fuel.” The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, despite mixed critical reactions to its more hard-rock-oriented sound.