Metallica's 90s era remains one of the most divisive and fiercely debated career points in all of metal. To many, the decade represents a time where Metallica loudly and proudly broke away from the pack, rewriting metal's rulebook while crafting some of their catchiest, most well-produced and most interesting work. To others, those years and the three studio albums they bore - 1991's Metallica, 1996's Load and 1997's Reload - marked the point where Metallica turned their back on the metal scene, chasing mainstream rock clout while abandoning the music that had made them a success in the first place.
In a 2009 interview with Metal Hammer's Mick Wall, Metallica frontman James Hetfield revealed what he thought beloved former bassist Cliff Burton would have made of it all. Burton brought another level of musicianship and musical intelligence to the Four Horsemen during their early days, his love of classical music famously influencing Metallica's direction as the 80s progressed. His death in 1986, the result of a horrific tour bus crash in Sweden, shook the band to its core.
