72 SEASONS

"72 Seasons" is the eleventh full-length studio album by US heavy/thrash metal act Metallica (not counting "Lulu (2011)", which is a collaboration album with Lou Reed, and therefore shouldn´t be considered a Metallica album). The album was released through Blackened Recordings in April 2023. It´s the successor to "Hardwired... to Self-Destruct" from November 2016.

Stylistically Metallica pretty much continue the heavy metal style of "Hardwired... to Self-Destruct", although they also add the occasional thrash/speed metal part to their music. The music is centered around heavy hard rocking riffs and rhythms, Kirk Hammet´s wha-wha effect laden blues rock influenced guitar solos, and James Hetfield´s distinct sounding commanding vocals. It´s the sound of a Metallica with nothing to prove and completely at ease with what they´re doing. There´s a mature confidence in the way the songs are constructed and the way they are performed, only a seasoned act like Metallica can produce. That unfortunately also means that some tracks are a bit too safe and predictable, and could rightly be called filler material, but "72 Seasons" is predominantly a good quality release.

Featuring 77:10 minutes of music "72 Seasons" is a very long album, and had the most unremarkable material been cut, it would arguably have made for a more intense and consistent quality release. Highlights include the opening title tracks, first single "Lux Æterna", and the closing 11:10 minutes long stoner metal/doom metal influenced "Inamorata". The latter is probably the only song on the album, where Metallica try something a bit different and I´d say it´s THE standout track on the album.

"72 Seasons" features a sound production which is powerful, organic, and detailed. It´s a sound production, which suits the material well and again it´s a feature of "72 Seasons", which is relatively similar to how "Hardwired... to Self-Destruct" sounded. Compared to some of their most successful releases from the 90s, the sound production on "72 Seasons" is more stripped-down, simple, and organic. It works relatively well on most of the material, but the slightly faster tracks could have prospered from a more sharp sounding production.

Upon conclusion Metallica have created another good quality late career release (like they´ve done a few times post-2000). It won´t surprise you, and it won´t dethrone your favorites from the 80s/90s, but it´s a release which shows that Metallica still have a little fuel left in the tank. As mentioned above I think it would have been a stronger release, had some of the fat been trimmed and the playing time been shorter, but I´m sure the hardcore fans won´t complain. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives)