Metallica’s Decades-Old Album Becomes A Sudden Top 10 Bestseller

Nearly three decades after its release, Metallica's Reload debuts on multiple charts in the U.K., earning the hard rockers another top 10 on several lists. (MANDATORY CREDIT Koh Hasebe/Shinko Music/Getty Images) Metallica in photo session at a hotel, Tokyo, November 1986. (Photo by Koh Hasebe/Shinko Music/Getty Images)

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A decade ago, Metallica began an ambitious project which has seen the hard rockers remastering and reissuing its albums, turning them into bestsellers all over again. The venture began with Kill 'Em All and then Ride the Lightning, both of which excited longtime fans of the group in 2016.

So far in 2026, only one full-length, Reload, has enjoyed the same treatment, and its rerelease, which takes shape via multiple versions – one edition includes three live vinyl albums, 15 CDs, multiple DVDs, a book and a seven-inch vinyl single of "The Memory Remains."

Reload suddenly becomes a bestseller all around the world nearly 30 years after its initial release. In the United Kingdom, the set returns to multiple tallies and debuts on several others at the same time.

Metallica Debuts Reload on Multiple Charts

Reload is new to three of the half dozen charts it appears on in the U.K. this week. Metallica collects a new top 10 bestseller on both the Official Albums Sales and Official Vinyl Albums rankings, where Reload debuts at Nos. 4 and 5, respectively.

The set only fails to launch within the highest tier on the Official Album Downloads chart, where it begins its time at No. 36. That's not entirely shocking, as it seems that the Reload reissue largely appealed to diehard followers of the Grammy-winning troupe, and many of its special add-ons were only available when purchased via some physical format.

Metallica Scores Its Tenth Vinyl Top 10

As Reload arrives on the Official Vinyl Albums chart, Metallica collects its milestone tenth top 10. The group has sent a total of 15 projects to the roster, and two-thirds of those titles have risen into the highest tier. Reload matches the lofty position where Load kicked off its time last summer, also as part of the remaster and reissue campaign.

Here are all of Metallica's top 10s on the Official Vinyl Albums chart.

• ...And Justice for All
• 72 Seasons
• The $5.98 EP: Garage Days Re-Revisited
• Hardwired... to Self-Destruct
• Load
• Master of Puppets
• Metallica
• Reload
• Ride the Lightning
• S&M2

Reload Becomes a Sales Win for the First Time

On the Official Albums Sales chart, which includes all physical formats as well as digital downloads (streaming plays no role in where a title lands), Reload becomes Metallica's sixth top 10. Just under half of the 14 collections by the band that have become bestsellers in the U.K. have spent at least one frame between Nos. 1 and 10 on the competitive sales list.

Here are all of Metallica's top 10s on the Official Albums Sales chart.

• 72 Seasons
• Hardwired... to Self-Destruct
• Load
• Metallica
• Reload
• S&M2

Reload Hits a New High on One Additional Tally

Among the six lists where Reload appears, the set lands highest on the Official Rock & Metal Albums chart. Reload has never conquered that tally – unlike so many previous Metallica collections – but the project does reach a new high point as it reenters the genre-specific rundown. This period, Reload bounds back in at No. 3, establishing a new all-time high.

Metallica Has 21 Top 10s on the Rock Albums Chart

Metallica has now seen 21 titles break into the top 10 on the Official Rock & Metal Albums chart, the U.K.’s list of the top-performing titles in those genres. That roundup includes an even dozen champions. In fact, only two Metallica releases, Some Kind of Monster and Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité, Metallica! — Live at Le Bataclan, missed out on finding their way into the uppermost region.

Here are all of Metallica's top 10s on the Official Rock & Metal Albums chart.

• ...And Justice for All
• 72 Seasons
• Beyond Magnetic
• Death Magnetic
• Die, Die My Darling
• Garage Inc.
• Hardwired... to Self-Destruct
• Helping Hands - Live & Acoustic at the Masonic
• Kill ’Em All
• Load
• Lulu with Lou Reed
• Master of Puppets
• Metallica
• ReLoad
• Ride the Lightning
• S&M
• S&M2
• St. Anger
• The $5.98 EP: Garage Days Re-Revisited
• The Unnamed Feeling EP
• Through the Never

Reload Returns on Two More Lists in the U.K.

Reload also manages to rebound onto another two lists across the Atlantic this frame. On the Official Physical Albums chart, the Metallica classic is back at No. 4, its previously set high point. Reload is also a top 40 win once more on the Official Albums tally, where it settles at No. 39.