Editing Load (album) (section)

==Artwork==
The cover of ''Load'' is an original artwork titled "Semen and Blood III". It is one of three photographic studies that [[Andres Serrano]] created in 1990 by mingling [[Bovinae|bovine]] blood and his own [[semen]] between two sheets of [[Plexiglas]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.artnet.com/usernet/awc/awc_workdetail.asp?aid=424202827&gid=424202827&cid=74183&wid=425106400&page=2|title=Semen & Blood II|publisher=Artnet.com|access-date=November 13, 2010|archive-date=October 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010054435/http://www.artnet.com/usernet/awc/awc_workdetail.asp?aid=424202827&gid=424202827&cid=74183&wid=425106400&page=2|url-status=live}}</ref> The liner notes simply state "cover art by Andres Serrano" rather than listing the title of the work. Hammett learned of Serrano's work from [[Godflesh]] frontman [[Justin Broadrick]] when he was shown the music video Serrano had directed for the Godflesh song "[[Crush My Soul]]". Broadrick claimed that no one in Metallica knew about Serrano before the "Crush My Soul" music video.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Wiederhorn |first1=Jon |title=GODFLESH: THE BIRTH, DEATH AND REBIRTH OF THE INDUSTRIAL-METAL GIANTS |url=https://www.revolvermag.com/music/godflesh-birth-death-and-rebirth-industrial-metal-giants |website=Revolver |date=October 2014 |access-date=16 March 2022 |archive-date=August 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817030544/https://www.revolvermag.com/music/godflesh-birth-death-and-rebirth-industrial-metal-giants |url-status=live }}</ref> 

In a 2009 interview with ''[[Classic Rock (magazine)|Classic Rock]]'', Hetfield expressed his dislike of the album cover and its inspiration:

{{blockquote|Lars and Kirk were very into [[abstract art]], pretending they were gay. I think they knew it bugged me. It was a statement around all that. I love art, but not for the sake of shocking others. I think the cover of ''Load'' was just a piss-take around all that. I just went along with the make-up and all of this crazy, stupid shit that they felt they needed to do.<ref name="www.blabbermouth.net">[http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/metallica-s-james-hetfield-explains-why-dave-mustaine-had-to-go/ METALLICA's JAMES HETFIELD Explains Why DAVE MUSTAINE 'Had To Go'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161228124617/http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/metallica-s-james-hetfield-explains-why-dave-mustaine-had-to-go/ |date=December 28, 2016 }} blabbermouth.net (June 3, 2009). Retrieved 12–27–16.</ref>}}

''Load'' also marked the first appearance of a new Metallica logo that rounded off the stabbing edges of the band's earlier logo, greatly simplifying its appearance. The M from the original logo was used to make a [[shuriken]]-like symbol known as the "ninja star", which was used as an alternate logo on this and future albums, and on related artwork. The album featured an expansive booklet containing photographs by [[Anton Corbijn]]. These photographs depict the band in various dress, including white [[A-shirt]]s with [[suspenders]], Cuban suits, and [[Gothic fashion|gothic]]. In the aforementioned 2009 interview, James Hetfield said:

{{blockquote|Lars and Kirk drove on those records. The whole 'We need to reinvent ourselves' topic was up. Image is not an evil thing for me, but if the image is not you, then it doesn't make much sense. I think they were really after a [[U2]] kind of vibe, [[Bono]] doing his alter ego. I couldn't get into it. The whole, 'Okay, now in this photoshoot we're going to be '70s glam rockers.' Like, what? I would say half&nbsp;– at least half – the pictures that were to be in the booklet, I yanked out. The whole cover thing, it went against what I was feeling.<ref name="www.blabbermouth.net"/>}}