Metallica Detail ‘ReLoad’ Super Deluxe Box, a 15-CD Dive Into the Late-’90s Archives

Metallica’s campaign to document their back catalog continues. On June 26, Blackened Recordings will release a super deluxe edition of 1997’s ReLoad, the second half of the studio sessions that began with Load a year earlier. The remaster was handled by Reuben Cohen at Lurssen Mastering, with Greg Fidelman overseeing the process.

The set sprawls across 15 CDs and 4 DVDs, corralling nearly 29 hours of audio and video. Demos, rough mixes, and live recordings make up the bulk of the material, alongside the full album on 180-gram double vinyl. A triple vinyl pressing of Live at Ministry of Sound ’97 and a 7″ single for “The Memory Remains” are also tucked inside.

Physical ephemera rounds out the package: a lyric folder, an 11×17 “Gimme Fuel” poster, a Pushead print for “Fixxxer,” three tour laminates, Rorschach test cards, ten guitar and bass picks, a “Fully Loaded” sticker, and a 128-page book. The box does not pretend to be subtle. It leans into the era’s overcast aesthetic with the same commitment the band brought to their previous reissues.

With each oversized archival release, Metallica draws a fuller map of their working methods. This one captures a period when the band was absorbing heavy criticism for their stylistic turns and still pushing forward, session by session. The sheer volume of material here makes a case for the deep work behind the finished record, even when the final product divided listeners.