SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Metallica continues to celebrate the legacy of Load with a striking double release in their ongoing limited-edition poster series, unveiling two new designs that blend visual artistry with the raw power of one of their most divisive yet enduring eras.
Unveiled on November 4, 2025, the latest additions feature distinctive interpretations of two Load classics — “2 x 4” and “The House Jack Built” — created by artists Andrew Cremeans and Max Loeffler. Both posters, measuring 18” x 24”, come individually numbered and will be shipped with the chance for lucky buyers to score a rare foil variant.
Available exclusively through The Metallica Store and the Probity UK Shop, these posters pay homage to the band’s bold mid-’90s period, a time when Metallica redefined its image and sound, pushing boundaries that both challenged and expanded its audience. The Load era, marked by experimentation and evolution, continues to spark conversation nearly three decades later — and these new designs offer fans a fresh way to reconnect with that creative spirit.
Alongside the posters, Metallica has also released limited-edition T-shirts featuring the same artwork — a nod to collectors who have followed the band’s ongoing Load poster series since its inception. Each release in the series has become a sought-after item, combining high-end visual art with the iconic energy of Metallica’s music.
But that’s not all the band is offering this week. In a major treat for fans and collectors alike, Metallica has expanded The OverLoad Exhibit at The Metallica Black Box, debuting a rare piece of live history — a complete concert recording titled Metallica: Live at The Odeon (Cleveland, 1997).
This show, recorded on February 19, 1997, at The Odeon Concert Club in Cleveland, Ohio, captures Metallica in peak Load form — gritty, raw, and energized by the intimacy of a club setting. At the time, the band was performing two gigs in one day, with the Cleveland club show serving as a warm-up before their arena performance at the city’s Gund Arena later that night.
The footage, shot by Otto Weyer for 100.7 WMMS’s Coffee Break Concert series, had long been circulating in fan circles as a low-quality bootleg. Now, for the first time, Metallica’s official archive has restored and released the complete set — including the opening track that was never broadcast during the original radio airing.
“Getting this full performance out to the fans feels like opening a time capsule,” said a representative from Metallica’s team. “It’s a chance to experience the raw, unfiltered power of Metallica playing small stages again during one of their most creatively daring periods.”
The performance setlist showcases a powerful blend of Load and Reload material, seamlessly mixed with the band’s foundational classics. Among the eight songs are “2 x 4” and “The House Jack Built” — the same tracks now immortalized in the new poster releases — alongside longtime fan favorites “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” “Whiplash,” and the blistering closer “Motorbreath.”
For members of Metallica’s official fan club, known as the Fifth Members, the full concert is now streaming exclusively through metallica.com as part of the band’s ongoing effort to preserve and share their rich live legacy.
The addition of Live at The Odeon marks another milestone for The Metallica Black Box, the band’s expansive digital archive that curates artifacts, footage, and memorabilia spanning their more than 40-year career. Launched as a collaboration between the band and archivists, the Black Box serves as both a museum and an interactive experience — bridging the gap between die-hard fans and the band’s evolving story.
For longtime followers, The OverLoad Exhibit serves as a love letter to the Load and Reload era — a period often remembered for its creative risk-taking. With shorter haircuts, experimental blues-rock influences, and striking visual aesthetics that divided opinion in the late ’90s, Metallica dared to reinvent themselves while still commanding the stage with the same ferocity that defined their thrash roots.
Now, with these new poster designs and the archival concert release, Metallica invites fans to revisit that era with fresh eyes. Cremeans’ artwork for “2 x 4” captures the swagger and grit of the song’s groove-heavy riffing — a piece that practically vibrates with energy — while Loeffler’s take on “The House Jack Built” channels the song’s dark introspection and industrial mood through haunting, surreal imagery.
Each print tells a story that extends beyond the music, merging the visual and sonic worlds of Metallica into a unified artistic statement.
As part of their Load anniversary celebration, the band continues to explore how the album’s creative DNA continues to influence their present. “That period was about breaking molds,” frontman James Hetfield said in a recent interview. “We were trying things that scared us — musically, visually, even personally. Looking back, I think that’s what keeps Metallica alive. We don’t repeat. We evolve.”
The renewed attention on Load and Reload reflects a broader reappraisal among fans and critics alike. Once seen as controversial departures from the band’s thrash metal roots, the albums have since earned recognition for their bold songwriting, blues-inspired riffs, and lyrical depth — with songs like “Bleeding Me,” “Until It Sleeps,” and “The Outlaw Torn” now regarded as essential parts of Metallica’s evolution.
The Load poster series, paired with archival releases like Live at The Odeon, continues to serve as a visual and historical bridge — connecting the band’s risk-taking 1990s reinvention to the modern era of global tours and continued innovation.
In a world where Metallica could easily rest on nostalgia, the group instead keeps curating, expanding, and reframing its legacy — transforming every release, print, and rediscovered performance into another chapter of its ongoing creative saga.
With two new posters, a restored live concert, and a dedicated fanbase that still craves every detail, Metallica once again proves why, after four decades, their fire hasn’t dimmed — it’s only found new ways to burn.
