I love Load and Reload, and have really only begun appreciating the latter in recent months (funny since it was the first Metallica album I owned). The first four tracks, Where the Wild Things Are, Low Man's Lyric, and (especially) Fixxxer are all top-notch songs. Unforgiven II may be a country song and the weakest unforgiven, but it's still quality. As I said previously, there's more emotion in these albums than most of Metallica's other works. I never cared for thrash, as after dozens of songs with chugging open Es at 200 mph I tend to get bored. For example, I'd take Bleeding Me over Kill 'Em All in its entirety.