Metallica
“The 72 Seasons Singles” (2023)

When we mention Metallica and a new release in the same sentence, people get nervous. Some want to desperately listen to new music; others desperately want to badmouth the band. It is a Love/Hate relationship, I guess. I remember being young and loving Megadeth, and for that you would have to hate Metallica! Like you need to ignore one to prove you love the other. Childish things that, thankfully, some people are able to put behind.

Musically speaking, I have to say that I honestly enjoyed the band’s last 2 releases. Are they Thrash Metal? Well, “Hardwire…” has some pretty aggressive tunes. But Metallica has not been a Thrash Metal band since the 80ies. And this is not badmouthing the band in any way. I do not consider “Metallica” to be a real Thrash Metal album. Yes, its name is not “Black Album”, people! Is it a cool album? Yeah. It was my gateway to Metallica, I still like it, and went to the Portuguese show that celebrated the album, but that is not a Thrash Metal album. The thing about Metallica is that they have their own sound, which they started crafting once they jumped into the mainstream in a larger way. Is it Rock n’ Roll? Nah. It is harder than that, of course. It is Metallica, let us leave it to that.

“72 Seasons” is out today and it is the biggest thing that has happened this shitty week. Lots of work and plenty of pricks to deal with, grab a beer and blast Metallica; it will cheer you all up. Where to begin? We have had access to 4 tracks: “72 Season”, “Screaming Suicide”, “Lux Aeterna”, and “If Darkness had a Son”. What do they sound like? Well, they seem to sound more melodic than “Hardwire…”, as a whole, less aggressive, and furious. “Lux Aeterna” has great drumming, in my opinion. Lars is a cool drummer, and a bit like Ringo, he provides the music with what the music asks for. Although I find Ringo a better drummer, to be honest. Back to it. As I said before, a new Metallica release is always an event. Love it, hate it, spit on it, break it, worship it… no one in the Heavy Metal community is “immune” to Metallica, and everyone has an opinion, even if they stick to the singles, which is what we are doing now…

I am not going to dissect every one of these 4 tracks but go for an overall view on the music. I do not want to bother that one guy how is going to read this. Some of the tracks are more Thrashy than others, more in line with what the band has been producing for a while. “72 Season” could easily fit “Hardwire…”, as it has that characteristic Metallica sound. I like it, I like it. The drums are really Metallica if that ever be a thing. Worth of mention is James’ vocals: the man is getting better and better. This is a lengthy track, but as dynamic as Metallica can be. “Screaming Suicide” is, again, a Metallica track in all its glory. Softer than the previous one, it has all the qualities we see, and hear, in the band. Kirk’s guitar does… kirk’s things. Nothing extraordinary, but the band was never this extraordinary group of musicians. 

They are, no doubt about it, very effective and can create tunes that reachable even to those that have very little, if any, connection to Heavy Metal. And “Metallica” was that gateway. “Lux Aeterna”, at first, made me go “meh”; after a while I started to enjoy it a lot more. I dare say it is, of these 4, the most accessible one. It is more in your face! More straightforward! It might be the less complex one, more minimalistic, perhaps. “If Darkness Had a Son” is a cool tune. That guitar riff that sustains the song is really addictive, and James’ vocals are spot-on. Even Lars did a good job on this one! Unfortunately, Robert is buried beneath all this… I bet Metallica has an issue with the bass.

In the end we went through all the tracks, pointed out a little of everything, enjoyed the tracks, analyzed the music and all that. Will it please Metallica fans? Depends on who we are talking about. The ones that came out from the 80ies, or the ones that picked up on the band in the 90ies. Well, that is a question we have no answer to, and we will have to wait until Friday night to read a bit more about it. Overall, cool return, I like it. ‘Brace yourselves for the complete album.