By Jay Broderick - For whatever reason, we hold onto our love, and don't want to share them with anybody. That's logical to some degree, but not at all expense. Nothing can be truer than with music. Especially when you were there from the beginning. There is something to be said for wanting to keep our world small. It allows for greater intimacy, and it allows us to feel more connected. We feel entitled. We feel like "that is ours". But then when it starts to grow, and strangers start to say "Hey, what's this?" we somehow feel betrayed. "Don't you dare look (or listen) to MINE!!!"
The Beginning
I think the analogy is more real for Metallica than with any other band that I have ever grown up listening to. They started off small... real small. Like every other band. But the thing with metal, is that we feel like that is OUR own little world, and outsiders, well, just keep yourselves on the outside! From Metallica's very first recording of "Hit the Lights" on the Metal Blade Records compilation Metal Massacre, through to Master of Puppets and ...And Justice for All, each album grew exponentially, and so did the band's fame. Then once they released what is actually a self titled album, but best known as The Black Album, the band exploded. And so did the heads of the faithful.
The Hate
For the fans that were there in the bars during the Dave Mustaine years, this new fame was considered a sellout by the band. Hey, I was no different. While I didn't fully feel this perceived sellout from The Black Album, I certainly felt it upon the next couple releases, Load and Reload. And I actually stopped listening for a long while. When the band tried their darndest to get back to their thrash roots with the failed (at least, from a popularity standpoint) St. Anger, I actually started listening again. After the next couple albums, I actually went back and revisited the 2 most loathed recordings in their catalogue (at least from my standpoint), and found that they're actually not horrible. For sure my least favourite, but not "BAD".
The thing is however, is that there is a huge hate on for one of the greatest band's of all time. Like they are really despised by mainly fans who once were, and feel like the band somehow sold them short, while the band took their own road to financial freedom, simply for the dollars. It's something I really don't quite understand. They didn't cease to be great musicians. They didn't start writing disco hits, or Polka music. It's still, at the softest, hard and heavy rock and roll. And I'll certainly argue that there has been a lot of "thrash" in the mix over the past few albums.
The Newest
So now, here we are... On April 14, 2023, Metallica released their 11th studio album 72 Seasons. The album's first signs came as a complete surprise when the band released its first single "Lux Aeterna" on November 28, 2022, seemingly out of nowhere. In fact, the band kept these new recordings under wraps and out of the prying minds of, well, everybody. Recording started on this new album in March 2021. Quite the feat to have kept things quiet until the first single hit us. So now, 4+ months after the first glimpses, and 77 months after their last release, the album has finally been released. Let's have a bit of a closer listen.
Record 1
The album starts off with the track that is its namesake, "72 Seasons". This song was the 4th single released from the new recording, hitting us on Mach 30, 2023. I'll admit here, that I hadn't been a huge fan of any of the singles that had been released ahead of this one. I enjoy them just fine, but wasn't specifically blown away in any fashion. This track for me was of the same ilk. But somehow, once I unwrapped the record and dropped the needle onto Disc 1, Side 1, things changed. I find a smile emerging from the intro of the fast strumming, the accompanying guitars, bass and drums. Lyrically, the song is about the first 18 years of life, and how we are all quickly succumbed to the "wrath of man". I don't know if it's the soft warmth that is typical of vinyl pressings, or the time I'm taking to sit and listen, but this is definitely a cool start.
"Shadows Follow" is up next. For me, this is a standout track on the album. Lyrically, it keeps in the same vein as the opening track. Anxiety ridden, and trying to escape the pain. No matter how fast we run, the pain is always right there. You can't run from it. We can't get through without facing our challenges head on, and dealing with them. Musically, "Shadows Follow" has the same thrashy tempo as the first song. The guitar solos and interludes towards the end of the track remind me of Hardwired's "Halo on Fire". My feet are going, my head is nodding with the tempo, and I grab the remote and give it some more volume. Because it's even better when it's loud!
The album's 2nd single "Screaming Suicide" closes off the first side of the double album, and "Sleepwalk My Life Away" starts side 2. It has that similar driving beat that I continue to nod my head to. With the 5th track "You Must Burn!", the beat slows down a tad. It's reminiscent to the band's Load and Reload sound for me and thus far is probably my least enjoyed song. It's not to say that the track is one you need to skip over. With its message about the mobs that feed off of tearing us down, and then persecute us for our struggles, it maintains the same theme we are seeing throughout the album.
"Lux Aeterna" closes out album #1. This was the first single released from the album. With it's torrid pace, short song length, and cut to the chase mantra, there's not a lot of room to breath. It's my favourite of the 4 singles released. If you've heard this and quickly made up your mind that the song sucks ass, give it a another listen. It'll grow on you. "LIGHT IT!!!"
Record 2
"Crown Of Barbed Wire" starts album #2. The beat continues the slower pace we heard from "You Must Burn!". It's much more melodic than any of the songs on the much heavier first record, and this carries into the next track "Chasing Light". For me, "Chasing Light" has the greatest message. Life is a battle, and the good times aren't handed to us on a silver platter. Even the seemingly "happy" people have lives full of shit that they suffer through. That filthy rich dude driving the Lamborghini still has to deal with the cheating spouse, a bad business deal that is going to bankrupt him, or a relative who is dying. We can't assume that this dude is getting off easy, just because he appears to have more than we do. "Withouot Darkness, There's No Light"!
The 3rd single "If Darkness Had A Son" picks the tempo back up from the previous tracks, but it's still more melodic than the thrashier songs on the first record. For me, this song is all about the vocals of frontman James Hetfield. The chorus is the hook, and Hetfield's vocals make this song. As with most of the album, the more I hear this track, the more I come to love it. Another example of me hearing this as a single and just being like "it's fine". It's actually much better than "fine".
"Too Far Gone" is the first song on the final side of this record. As the tempo picks back up, the song makes me think that I could be listening to The Black Album. "Room Of Mirrors" gives us a more thrashier sound with its moshy sounding rhythm and beat, and then the band comes in for the kill with the final song on the album "Inamorata".
"Inamorata" is the longest song in the Metallica library, coming in at 11:10. The song, in no way feels like that length though. In fact, it's quite the opposite. With its tempo changes like the instrumental "Orion", the time changes, the interludes, and the melody, the song seemingly finishes quite fast. If you didn't know the length of the song ahead of listening, you'd be amazed to find out after the fact. It's definitely another standout song on this album. It finishes the album on a high note.
Final Thoughts
Life wears us down. Regardless of who you are, it's a tough go. The band reflects on the "molding" of our first 18 years, and life's challenges. The photography on the inner sleeves depicts each band member, in a close up, revealing their weathered features. The wrinkles of time clearly visible. But it doesn't mean it needs to be a complete shit show forever. We get out what we put in. We can roll over and give up, or we can trudge on, forever moving forward. Ultimately, only you can choose which path you want to take.
The album contains some heavy, thrashy music, but it's certainly not a "thrash" album. This is rock and roll! It's a great mix of sound from the band's career. I hear the Bob Rock era. I hear a lot of what the band has done over the past couple albums. And I even hear some Justice. It's not the best album the band has ever released, but it definitely ranks among the upper echelon.
If you are a Metallica fan, you will enjoy this album. If you have watched and r heard the videos from the first 4 singles and are on the fence, give another listen or 2. It WILL grow on you.
And If you have a hate on for the band (and God only knows why), you're simply not going to like anything the band ever puts out. They could release the second coming of Master of Puppets, and it'll still be hated by those music fans. And for those awaiting an equal to the greatest metal album of all time, is that really a reasonable expectation?
Got any thoughts on this album? Share them in the comment section below.
I am really liking the new album! The boys did a great job writing and recording it.
Two fun facts about my Metallica heritage:
I have never listened to or intend to listen to Load/Reload
we named our son Hammett (3yearsold) after Kirk