Metallica - 72 Seasons

Although my musical taste is wide-ranging, I have been listening to this particular band for over 35 years. I have seen them live more than any other touring act, and when I need a pick-me-up—one that tips the loudness meter, this band does just that. I’m talking about Metallica. I had been looking forward to the release of their new album 72 Seasons ever since the first track “Lux Æterna” was released. The signature double bass drum thump produced by Lars Ulrich, paired with their dueling guitars and signature riffs of Hetfield and Hammett are the material that they have built their careers on.

The title track “72 Seasons” kicks off the album with a fast and heavy fist and lyrics like, “Wrath of man, Thrive upon feeding on, 72 seasons gone!” I’m sure there are plenty of references to what 72 Seasons could mean. Six years time—past, present, future. Who knows. That isn’t for me to figure out.

James Hetfield, Metallica’s lead singer noted many times before that he really wanted Metallica’s sound to feel like a wall of guitars, and that is precisely what you get. In earlier albums, most notably when Jason Newsted was on the bass guitar, his instrument always seemed to be buried and took a back seat. Once Robert Trujillo stepped in, so did more of the bass. It’s especially prominent on the track “Sleepwalk My Life Away”—just listen to the intro. I can see Trujillo moving back and forth on the stage crouched down like a spider or an MMA fighter moving slowly toward his prey.

The riff and drum pattern of the track “If Darkness Had A Son” feels like an evil march of Stormtroopers coming our way. The tempo and one of the riffs feels similar to an earlier track they wrote, “Cyanide” off of their Death Magnetic album. Another thing that caught me on this track was the word James yells out, “Temptation”. During the making of their documentary Some Kind Of Monster, he started to write a track with that word but it got scrapped. I’m glad he found a proper fit for it here.

These dudes are almost sixty years old and they are playing as fast and furious as they did when they were pushing their first album Kill ‘Em All. The twelve tracks on this album are loud, in your face, and to the point. Take a look at the bright yellow cover of this new album. Baby Metallica just broke through their crib and burned the fucking place down! Don’t get in their way……they ain’t done yet!