Get ready because it’s Metallica season
Metal juggernaut Metallica breaks a seven year silence with “72 Seasons.”
Their creative approach is melodic and focused, so indulge in this audio opus if you’re in dire need of new riffs and lyrics from the LA quartet. Otherwise, the style of content is too varied at times making for a long-winded playback experience.
On paper, the turn of the century was kind to Metallica — one of “The Big Four” bands of Thrash Metal, along with Anthrax, Slayer and Megadeth. Their albums “St. Anger” (2003), “Death Magnetic” (2008) and “Hardwired ... to Self-Destruct” (2016) were certified platinum and above, reaching number one in the US and in other countries. Stats, however don’t tell the whole tale.
Recalling the band in the early ’80s, their classic lineup consisting of James Hetfield (vocals, rhythm guitar), Lars Ulrich (drums), Kirk Hammett (guitar) and then-bassist Cliff Burton (D. 1986) were largely responsible for establishing Thrash Metal’s aesthetic with their first three albums. So, it’s understandable that some listeners will continue to have such veneration for the band.
Catch particular Metallica fans in the wild and it doesn’t take much to get them lamenting how the band has strayed from their early, doom-drenched, anarchic Thrash roots.
Most purists sharing that opinion reference the band’s commercial, self-titled album aka “The Black Album” (1991) as the flash point where the band’s sound deviated beyond general acceptance. There’s enough fans united in this mindset that Metallica releases are still shadowed by tension separating die-hard traditionalists from others. “The Black Album” did however, gain Metallica a new following of those who were not into their earlier style of music.
In terms of structure, every album since “Load” (1996) has been over one hour, 10 minutes long. Keeping with that trend, “72 Seasons” boasts 12 tracks over one hour, 17 minutes. With that in mind, don’t expect many songs structured akin to the band’s classics such as “Motorbreath” (1983) and “Trapped Under Ice” (1986) that could be concussion-inducing from too much head-banging.
Disarming critics who had cross-hairs on the new material, the title track opener is a good example of Metallica’s current direction. Even in 2023, evolution is natural for the likes of Hetfield, Ulrich, Hammett and Robert Trujillo (bass). Coming to terms with that allows for the sum of the album’s strength: recalling the aggression of Metallica’s youth as they’ve sounded their best in years.
The title track depicts this balancing
act the best. The narrator struggles with the “wrath of man” and the lasting impact it has on his life. Hammett’s guitar tempo fluctuates between thrashes and grooves, where Hetfield’s gruff voice is more melodic than in recent memory. He agonizes about the protagonist’s tumultuous upbringing that was marred with internal conflict and darkness.
“Shadows Follow” (about being unable to shake darkness) and “Screaming Suicide” (written from the perspective of suicide itself) boast some of Hammett’s most memorable and snappy fretwork to offset the typical Metal imagery conveyed in both songs’ lyrics. In that vein, check out his Bluesy solo on “If Darkness Had a Son.”
The main contention is that if you’re the type of listener to pick out re-purposed musical phrases, “72 Shades” can become overwhelming. In addition to sifting through each song’s layered imagery and dynamics, you might get lost hearing references that hearken to older Metallica phrases and/or bands that influenced them. This style directive is owed to the album concept that Hetfield described in press material as, “Everything we become as adults is shaped by our first 18 years, or 72 seasons.”
That concept begs that when you hear strands of “The Shortest Straw” (1988) in the new song “You Must Burn,” or when catchy “Crown of Barbed Wire” recalls “The Black Album” era guitar and drums, you don’t become too judgmental.
Yes, “Too Far Gone?” is clad in Thin Lizzy-like leather. Plus, “Chasing Light” swigs from Motörhead’s liquor bottle and is expressed with panache befitting of the handlebar-mustachioed hellion that was Lemmy Kilmister. But Metallica is attempting to honor the successful sounds of their past as well as that of some of their influences.
If you’re still searching for examples of Metallica looking toward the horizon rather than behind them, check closing track, “Inamorata” (their longest song ever recorded) and “Lux AEterna” — a standout. In favor of the song instead of his own preference, Ulrich drums on the latter like a pyro setting the rhythm section ablaze with Trujillo in lockstep.
Digging deeper, the Latin term “Lux AEterna” translates to “eternal light” with origins from chants in Catholic requiem masses to honor the dead.
Coupled with Hetfield’s snarls, “A sea of hearts beat as one, unified, magnification, all generations, approaching thunder awaiting the light,” the song is a rallying cry for anyone experiencing pitch black, heavy darkness.