During the mid 90's, Metallica surprised and enraged fans in equal measure with the arrival of their albums Load and Reload marking not only a lighter sound, but a change in aesthetic with shorter haircuts and a (temporary) wave goodbye to their thrashier image.
The change caused some listeners to suggest that the biggest band in metal were "selling out"; and still to this day, the era is scrutinised and pulled apart, with the two albums commonly sitting at the lower end of ranked listings of their catalogue.
