The cover of the album is original artwork entitled “Semen and Blood III.” It is one of three photographic studies by Andres Serrano created in 1990 by mingling the artist's own semen and bovine blood between two sheets of Plexiglas.

The Outlaw Torn is one minute shorter on original album version as Metallica went over the 80:00 limit on CD's and had to shorten the song to fit everything on a single CD. The 10:48 full version can be found on one of the Memory Remains singles.

Kirk: “Some of the tracks that are a departure from anything we've ever done show what we've been listening to for the past five years--like me being a total jazz and blues guy now. The blues influence is pretty evident. The jazz influence is more subtle, more in my phrasing than anything else. Of course, James listens to a lot of country, and we all listen to tons of late-70s hard rock. We've not been afraid to let that side of us show--after all, all our roots are in late-70s stuff like UFO, Deep Purple, Sabbath, Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Thin Lizzy.”

It is said that within this song James just wanted to say that “it” (something indefinite) ain’t his problem and to leave him alone.

The song is about an unnecessary resort to violence.  2 x 4 was the first Load song to be played live (on the 23rd August 1995 at Astoria II in London, England).

The song was an instant radio hit and marked Metallica's further departure from their previous thrash metal style into the realm of more alternative rock sounding music. The song itself is about cancer and how it killed both of Hetfield's parents. Being of the Christian Science faith, neither of James’ parents sought out medical treatment; believing that faith and God would heal them. Eventually, both of Hetfield's parents succumbed to cancer.

The song is about people who devote their whole lives to earning money until one day, they realize ("then it all crashes down") that all their money has gotten them nothing worthwhile. Instead, they have wasted their entire life in pursuit of money instead of being truly happy (where's your crown, king nothing?). Although the song is disliked by many fans, it shows Metallica’s diversity and creativity in song writing.

James wrote this song about people who are looking for heroes within the media and entertainment. The song says that those people searching for heroes do not realize that the people they should be "worshiping" are the people they come across in everyday life.

Jason explained that to him the song means that it is about a person who is being put through mental torture. The lyrics explain that the song’s meaning is “Don't abuse unless you can take the abuse, or don't dish out what you can't take.”

Many different theories exist as to what the meaning behind this song is, and everyone seems to have their own opinion.

Perhaps this song describes people who deliberately do things to put themselves in a shit position and then use the situation to pity themselves and gain sympathy from others.

The song is about being tired of wasting hate on anybody.

“Wasting My Hate” was a line that James got from his buddy Waylon Jennings who was sitting somewhere in a diner, and there was another guy outside in a car staring at him. So Waylon stared back with hate, and when he finally had had enough he went out to talk to the guy in the car, only to find out that he was sleeping. He thought “Oh man I've wasted my hate on this guy.” He told James the full story and James liked the line so much that he used it for writing a song about it.

Several fans accused it of sounding “country” after hearing the steel guitar, which is a mostly country instrument.

The song is a very personal song for James because it is about how he always wanted to distance from his mother until one day she died and he realized that he always took her love for granted.

Jason Newsted mentioned that is song is his favorite one from Load. He said that the song is about someone who is guilty and no one is willing to forgive for what he is blamed for and his father just feels as though he is a thorn.

The song is about a quite kid who one day went to school for a shooting. The lyrics to the song are actually based on a school shooting that occurred in 1995 in the state Washington. The shooter was named Ron Brown (or “Ronnie frown” as written in the lyrics).

James said that this song is about “loosing someone to death and longing to find a replacement that never comes.”

Because of the song’s length and position as the final track on the album, the song had to be edited by one minute to fit on Load. If the songs' total passed 78 minutes, 59 seconds, the Load CD would not play perfectly. With the fourteen songs completed, Metallica had recorded thirty seconds too much material. The jam at the end of the song had to be edited out.

“The Outlaw Torn (Unencumbered by Manufacturing Restrictions Version)” can be found on The Memory Remains Part 2 single in its entirety - 10 minutes and 52 seconds.