METALLICA - LOAD (sealed 2XLP copy) (2014 Blackened Recordings re-issue on Double Black gatefold vinyl). Load is the 6th full-length studio album originally released on June 4th, 1996, by Elektra Records in the United States and by Vertigo Records internationally.  --  Blackened – BLCKND011-1
The album showed more of a Hard Rock side of Metallica than the band's typical Thrash Metal style, which alienated much of the band's fanbase. 
It also featured influences from genres such as Southern Rock, Blues Rock, Country Rock, and Alternative Rock. 
Drummer Lars Ulrich said about Load's more exploratory nature, "This album and what we're doing with it – that, to me, is what Metallica are all about: exploring different things. The minute you stop exploring, then just sit down and fucking die."
At 79 minutes, Load is Metallica's longest studio album to date.