Metallica is back in a big way after 6 years with a thrilling new track, “Lux Æterna.” Clocking in at three and a half minutes it doesn’t overstay its welcome, with James Hetfield on fine husky vocals and Kirk Hammett enrapturing us with one of his best solos. Metallica is going back to its thrash metal origins on the new album, and Hetfield is even rocking a white Flying V-style guitar in the snazzy video. This instrument may bring the desire for some moshing for diehard fans, who will recognize the nod to the legendary Electra-built copy from the band’s Kill ‘Em All debut album.
The band announced dates on Monday for a monumental run of North American and European concerts in 2023-24 and dropped a blazing new video featuring a track from their forthcoming album, 72 Seasons. The record, which is features 12-tracks and is 77-minutes long, was produced by Greg Fidelman, Hetfield and Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich. It’s scheduled for release on April 14, 2023, and fans can submit preorders now for the record in multiple formats including CD, a vinyl double-album (in two different vinyl color variations), or digital file.
Hetfield gave us a breakdown of the meaning of the album in a press statement:
“72 Seasons. The first 18 years of our lives that form our true or false selves. The concept that we were told ‘who we are” by our parents. A possible pigeonholing around what kind of personality we are. I think the most interesting part of this is the continued study of those core beliefs and how it affects our perception of the world today. Much of our adult experience is reenactment or reaction to these childhood experiences. Prisoners of childhood or breaking free of those bondages we carry.”
The track list for 72 Seasons is as follows:
“72 Seasons.”
“Shadows Follow.”
“Screaming Suicide.”
“Sleepwalk My Life Away.”
“You Must Burn!”
“Lux Æterna.”
“Crown of Barbed Wire.”
“Chasing Light.”
“If Darkness Had a Son.”
“Too Far Gone?”
“Room of Mirrors.”
“Inamorata.”
