Being released less than two years apart, Metallica's Load and Reload have become two defining albums for the rock band. They aren't considered defining because of the millions of records they sold or the awards they won, but more because of the new sounds and image of Metallica that were introduced through them.

Alienating Fans or Creating New Ones?

If Metallica didn't alienate a certain fan base with 1991's self-titled album, then they definitely did so with 1996's Load. Leaving their thrash roots almost completely behind, the band adopted a bluesier sound than fans were used to. The alienation of a few was exchanged for the introduction to many as Load debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart and has sold 5 million records in the U.S. to date.

Reload accomplished the same thing, debuting at No. 1 and selling nearly 4 million records stateside, not to mention it helped the band pick up a Grammy for Best Metal Performance for "Better Than You."

Listen to Metallica's "Better Than You" From Reload

This is no surprise as many of the songs from both albums were conceived at the same time. In fact, Metallica initially wanted to release a double album but opted to do two single albums instead. Also worth noting, these would be the final two studio albums that bassist Jason Newsted would be featured on. Newsted only received one writing credit over the course of Load and Reload, that coming from the song on the second album, "Where the Wild Things Are."

Which Album Is Your Favorite?

What we want to know is, if you had to pick just one of the two albums, which would you go with?

According to an interview with Lars Ulrich before Reload was released, he believes each album can stand up on its own. “I was very adamant that we would have two records which would balance out with each other, not be an A record and a B record," the drummer said. "They would be two records you would be able to put up against each other as strong, equal records from one songwriting and recording session.”

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So which is it? Load, an album that features ragers like "Ain't My Bitch," "King Nothing" and "Ronnie," or is it Reload, which of course features several fan favorites like "Fuel," "The Memory Remains" and "The Unforgiven II"?

Vote below and then send us a message in the Ultimate Metallica app and tell us why you picked the one you did.

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