By Jennifer Paccione
After a 6-year (and post-Covid-19) recording hiatus, Metallica has hit the ground running—and kicking—and screaming—with “72 Seasons,” their 11th studio album. The metal opus contains 12 tracks, 1 hour and 17 minutes long. It was released on April 14, 2023.
The album possesses mature, syncopated rhythms which change up many times without notice, keeping the listener constantly on edge waiting for the next unpredictable musical turn. The frequent twists and turns make the listener question where each song is going next, but Metallica answers just at the right moment by threading all elements and phrasings together. Throughout the album, the guitar riffs are plenty, fresh and polished, but still first cousins to Kirk Hammett’s core style.
A couple of track highlights:
The title track,”72 Seasons,” first to hit you in the face, is like a tied-up dog pulling on its leash and finally breaking free to run, growl and even attack. The song quickly kicks into high gear with its fierce tempo. Tempos frequently shift to create a powerful push and pull throughout. This punchy first track sets the stage (and the boxing ring) for the power and grit of what’s to come.
“Sleepwalk My Life Away,” the fourth track on the album, comes out of the gate with Robert Trujillo’s pulsing, syncopated bass guitar and Lars Ulrich’s thunderous bass drum kicking against your heartbeat, followed by Hammett’s simple guitar hook that sneakily talks back. The extra-long intro pulls you in, making you beg for more (as Metallica intros so often do)…..and finally, when all the instruments come together, a thunderous groove forces you to partake with slow and steady head-banging. James Hetfield’s familiar gravelly vocal style is blended with a bit of blues in this one, giving the melody some added dimensions. And who says metal can’t be peppered with deliberate harmonies? They are spot on in this track, as well as throughout the rest of “72 Seasons.” Undoubtedly “Sleepwalk” is one of their best tracks on the album.
Dare I say an almost “experimental metal” album, “72 Seasons” tackles complex musical and rhythmic challenges with both primal rawness, harkening to the early days of “Kill ‘em All” and “Ride the Lightning,” as well as a polished finesse that only Metallica’s 40+ years as a band can deliver. Much like fine-aged wine—or whisky—the time and effort for this album were well worth waiting for. I’d say that the quarantine did Metallica quite a bit of creative good.