72 Seasons Explained

72 Seasons
Type:studio
Artist:Metallica
Cover:72 Seasons.jpg
Recorded:March 2021 – November 2022
Studio:Metallica's HQ (San Rafael, California)
Genre:
Length:77:14
Label:Blackened
Producer:
Prev Title:S&M2
Prev Year:2020
Year:2023

72 Seasons is the eleventh studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica, released on April 14, 2023, by their own record label Blackened Recordings. 72 Seasons was produced by Greg Fidelman, who produced the band's previous studio album, Hardwired... to Self-Destruct (2016), and is the band's second studio album to be released through Blackened.

The album generally received positive reviews from critics, who mostly praised Hetfield's lyrics and vocal performance but criticized the album's length. In 2024, 72 Seasons received three nominations at the 66th Grammy Awards, winning Best Metal Performance for the title track "72 Seasons".[3]

72 Seasons includes Metallica's longest original song to date, "Inamorata", which runs for over 11 minutes.[4] The medley cover song "Mercyful Fate" on Garage, Inc. runs one second longer.

Background

In an interview with Australian magazine The Musics official podcast in March 2019, bassist Robert Trujillo said that Metallica had begun jamming on new material for its next studio album. "I'm excited about the next record because I believe it will also be a culmination of the two [previous] records and another journey. There's no shortage of original ideas, that's the beauty of being in this band." He estimated that the album would be released "a lot sooner than the previous two did... this time around I think we'll be able to jump on it a lot quicker and jump in the studio and start working. We've all vowed to get this one going sooner than later."[5]

In an interview with Australian magazine Mixdown the following month, guitarist Kirk Hammett said that the band had tentative plans to enter the studio after the conclusion of its WorldWired Tour in support of Hardwired... to Self-Destruct. He stated, "We're in our third year since Hardwired. Maybe we can get a bit more focus and go into the studio a bit sooner."[6] Having not contributed any writing to Hardwired... to Self-Destruct after accidentally losing his phone containing riff ideas at Copenhagen Airport in 2014,[7] [8] Hammett said regarding his ideas for the new album, "I have a ton of material. I've over-compensated, so I'm ready to go anytime."[6]

In April 2020, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, drummer Lars Ulrich said in an interview with Marc Benioff that Metallica could work on its next studio album while in quarantine.[9] Trujillo told The Vinyl Guide in June that the band was "excited about cultivating new ideas" for its new album. "We communicate every week, which is really great, so we have our connection intact [...] what we've started doing is basically just really concentrating on our home studios and being creative from our homes and navigating through ideas and building on new ideas. And that's where we're at right now". He also said that the band was working towards eventually entering a studio to record the album.[10] In November, Ulrich said in an interview with Phoebe Bridgers for Rolling Stone that the band was "three, four weeks into some pretty serious writing"[11] [12] and stated that "It's the heaviest thing, the coolest [...] but all kidding aside, if it wasn't because we thought that the best record was still ahead of us, then why keep doing it?"[13] [14] [15] He followed up in January 2021 by saying that progress on the album had been "glacial",[16] [17] while vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield said in March that "It's either touring or writing, so COVID chose for us [...] but, yeah, [we will release] a bunch of songs. We wrote quite a few songs."[18]

Title

On November 28, 2022, Hetfield commented on the meaning of the album's title:

Release and promotion

See main article: M72 World Tour. On November 28, 2022, Metallica announced the album's title, release date, tracklist and a promotional tour of North America and Europe, featuring Pantera, Five Finger Death Punch, Ice Nine Kills, Greta Van Fleet, Architects, Volbeat, and Mammoth WVH, titled the M72 World Tour. The band subsequently released the album's first single, "Lux Æterna", along with a music video.[19] On January 19, 2023, Metallica released a new music video for "Screaming Suicide".[20] After teasing a new song on TikTok over the last few days of February, Metallica released a new music video for "If Darkness Had a Son" on March 1.[21] The next single, title track "72 Seasons", was released on March 30.[22]

On April 10, to further promote the album, the band appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. They were interviewed by host Jimmy Kimmel and gave recorded live performances of 72 Seasons singles "Lux Æterna" and "If Darkness Had a Son", as well as the tracks "Master of Puppets" and "Holier Than Thou", which were each broadcast over the next few days.[23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] On April 12, Metallica sat for an extensive interview with Howard Stern on his Sirius XM satellite radio show. The band performed three songs during this appearance: Bob Seger's "Turn the Page", an acoustic rendition of their song "Blackened", and "Lux Æterna".[29] On April 14, the day of the album's release, the band announced a partnership with the online game platform Roblox to feature the new album's songs in several of its games, along with virtual items being released onto the platform.[30]

Critical reception

72 Seasons received generally positive reviews,[31] with critics singling out Hetfield's lyricism for praise, though the album's length was criticized. On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 77 out of 100 based on 22 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". At AnyDecentMusic?, that collates critical reviews from more than 50 media sources, the album scored 7.3 points out of 10, based on 18 reviews.

In the first review published for 72 Seasons, Classic Rock gave the album a score of 4 out of 5, describing the music as "titanium-plated modern metal" and describing the lyrics as "tormented and bleak". This review summarized 72 Seasons overall as an "intense album, one that goes hard for virtually every second of its 77-minute running time", and also stated that even though "ballads are absent and even big melodies are scarce", the album "won't disappoint anyone but the most truculent fan". In The Daily Telegraph, Neil McCormick rated this album 4 out of 5 stars.[32] Similarly positive sentiments are shared in a Rolling Stone review, which says that the album shows Metallica "[playing] with more purpose than in their speed-demon days" and features segments that "don't sound like anything the thrashers have recorded before". The review gives the album 4 stars out of 5, remarking that Hetfield "[breaks] the facade of brash metal rage as he searches for his own truth" with an "agony [that] sounds authentic".

A more mixed review from Metal Hammer stated that 72 Seasons is an album where Metallica comes across as "simply [an] agreeably solid metal band", but it is still "worth taking a moment [for]" on account of James Hetfield's "genuinely moving" lyrics in which he "[digs] deeper into his early trauma [than] ever before". Although remarking that the music of the album "[nails] massive, crunching, half-time stadium metal", the review points out that much of it "maintains a similar tone and pace throughout" and often "can't match [the] dynamic range" that Hetfield's lyrics display. The review concludes by stating "the fact that Metallica have still found something new to say (if not play) deserves respect", and is "the best we realistically could have hoped for".

Commercial performance

72 Seasons debuted at number 2 on the US Billboard 200, selling 146,000 copies in the first week with 134,000 coming from pure album sales; this marked the band's twelfth album to chart in the top 10 and the first since ...And Justice for All not to debut at number 1 on the US Billboard 200, thus ending the band's streak of number one albums at six. It was kept off the top spot by Morgan Wallen's One Thing at a Time, which was completing seven weeks atop the chart.[33]

The album debuted at number one in 20 different countries including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Scotland, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

As of May 2024, the album has collated a total of 373,000 equivalent album units in the United States.[34]

Personnel

Metallica

Production

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2023)! scope="col"
Peak
position
Croatian International Albums (HDU)[37] 1
Greek Albums (IFPI)[38] 1
Icelandic Albums (Plötutíðindi)[39] 4
Japanese Rock Albums (Oricon)[40] 3
Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[41] 4
Lithuanian Albums (AGATA)[42] 25
Slovak Albums (ČNS IFPI)[43] 5
South Korean Albums (Circle)[44] 97
Swedish Hard Rock Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[45] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (2023)! scope="col"
Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[46] 99
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[47] 14
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[48] 32
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[49] 38
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[50] 81
French Albums (SNEP)[51] 60
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[52] 3
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[53] 62
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[54] 15
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[55] 53
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[56] 6
UK CD Albums (OCC)[57] 10
US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[58] 19
US Top Current Album Sales (Billboard)[59] 15
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[60] 23
US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)[61] 16

Release history

Region! scope="col"
DateFormatLabel
VariousApril 14, 2023Blackened[62]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Richardson. Mark. '72 Seasons' by Metallica Review: Heavy-Metal Monotony. The Wall Street Journal. April 11, 2023. April 11, 2023.
  2. News: Hadusek. Jon. Metallica's 72 Seasons Is a Monument to an Illustrious Career: Review. Consequence. April 10, 2023. April 11, 2023.
  3. Web site: 2024 GRAMMYs: See The Full Winners & Nominees List | GRAMMY.com. grammy.com. February 11, 2024.
  4. Web site: Millspublished . Matt . 2023-11-25 . The 10 longest songs by 10 iconic heavy metal bands . 2024-05-15 . louder . en.
  5. News: Metallica's Next Album 'Will Come A Lot Sooner Than The Previous Two Did,' Says Robert Trujillo. Blabbermouth.net. March 14, 2019. August 2, 2019. March 17, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190317041600/http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/metallicas-next-album-will-come-a-lot-sooner-than-the-previous-two-did-says-robert-trujillo. live.
  6. News: Kirk Hammett: 'I Have A Ton Of Material' For Metallica's Next Album. Blabbermouth.net. April 14, 2019. August 2, 2019. April 15, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190415032604/http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/kirk-hammett-i-have-a-ton-of-material-for-next-metallica-album/. live.
  7. Web site: Metallica's Kirk Hammett Says He Tracked His Missing iPhone To Copenhagen Airport. Blabbermouth.net. August 12, 2015. August 2, 2019. November 8, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201108110500/https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/metallicas-kirk-hammett-says-he-tracked-his-missing-iphone-to-copenhagen-airport/. live.
  8. Web site: Kielty. Martin. Why Kirk Hammett didn't write much for new Metallica album. TeamRock. September 23, 2016. August 2, 2019. August 16, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170816180304/http://teamrock.com/news/2016-09-22/why-kirk-hammett-didn-t-write-much-for-new-metallica-album. live.
  9. News: Metallica Could Make New Album In Quarantine, Says Lars Ulrich. Blabbermouth.net. April 28, 2020. July 4, 2020. April 29, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200429145818/https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/metallica-could-make-new-album-in-quarantine-says-lars-ulrich/. live.
  10. News: Metallica Is 'Excited About Cultivating New Ideas' While In Quarantine, Says Robert Trujillo. Blabbermouth.net. June 30, 2020. July 4, 2020. July 2, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200702010900/https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/metallica-is-excited-about-cultivating-new-ideas-while-in-quarantine-says-robert-trujillo/. live.
  11. Grow. Kory. Metallica's Lars Ulrich and Phoebe Bridgers: Musicians on Musicians. Rolling Stone. November 20, 2020. July 15, 2021. August 11, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210811185432/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/lars-ulrich-phoebe-bridgers-musicians-on-musicians-1092219/. live.
  12. News: Ruskell. Nick. Metallica Are A Month Into Some "Pretty Serious Writing" For Their Next Album. Kerrang!. November 23, 2020. July 15, 2021. July 15, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210715031935/https://www.kerrang.com/the-news/metallica-are-a-month-into-some-pretty-serious-writing-for-their-next-album/. live.
  13. News: Scarlett. Elizabeth. Lars Ulrich: The next Metallica album will be the best one yet. Classic Rock. December 30, 2020. February 7, 2021. January 26, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210126035108/https://www.loudersound.com/news/lars-ulrich-the-next-metallica-album-will-be-the-best-one-yet. live.
  14. News: Schaffner. Lauryn. Lars Ulrich: New Metallica Album Is the 'Heaviest Thing,' Best One Yet. Loudwire. December 30, 2020. February 7, 2021. February 14, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210214050729/https://loudwire.com/lars-ulrich-new-metallica-album-heaviest-best-one/. live.
  15. News: Lochrie. Conor. Look out 2021, Lars Ulrich says Metallica's new album will be their best yet. Tone Deaf. December 31, 2020. February 7, 2021. December 31, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201231055723/https://tonedeaf.thebrag.com/lars-ulrich-says-new-metallica-album-will-be-their-best-yet/. live.
  16. Web site: Ling. Dave. 40 years of friendship and one Zoom call: Lars Ulrich and Brian Tatler catch up. Classic Rock. January 20, 2021. July 15, 2021. July 15, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210715031931/https://www.loudersound.com/features/40-years-of-friendship-and-one-zoom-call-lars-ulrich-and-brian-tatler-catch-up. live.
  17. News: Carter. Emily. Lars Ulrich says Metallica are making "glacial" progress on their new album. Kerrang!. January 20, 2021. July 15, 2021. July 15, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210715031937/https://www.kerrang.com/the-news/lars-ulrich-metallica-are-making-glacial-progress-on-their-new-album/. live.
  18. News: Erel. Eray. James Hetfield breaks silence on new Metallica album: "We wrote quite a few songs". Metal Castle. May 7, 2021. July 15, 2021. July 15, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210715031934/https://www.metalcastle.net/james-hetfield-breaks-silence-on-new-metallica-album-we-wrote-quite-a-few-songs/. live.
  19. News: Monroe. Jazz. Metallica Announce Huge Tour and New Album 72 Seasons, Share Video for New Song: Watch. Pitchfork. November 28, 2022. November 28, 2022. November 28, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221128155349/https://pitchfork.com/news/metallica-announce-huge-tour-and-new-album-72-seasons-share-video-for-new-song-watch/. live.
  20. News: Singer. Quentin. Metallica Stealth Release New Single & Video, "Screaming Suicide". Forbes. January 19, 2023. January 25, 2023. January 25, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230125151916/https://www.forbes.com/sites/quentinsinger/2023/01/19/metallica-stealth-release-new-single--video-screaming-suicide/. live.
  21. News: Kreps. Daniel. Metallica Drop New Seven-Minute Epic 'If Darkness Had a Son'. Rolling Stone. March 1, 2023. March 24, 2023.
  22. News: Grow. Kory. Metallica Rage About the 'Wrath of Man' on '72 Seasons' Title Track. Rolling Stone. March 30, 2023. March 30, 2023.
  23. News: Zemler. Emily. Watch Metallica Power Through 'Master of Puppets' on 'Kimmel'. Rolling Stone. April 13, 2023. April 13, 2023.
  24. News: Metallica Setlist at Jimmy Kimmel Live, Los Angeles, CA, USA. Setlist.fm. April 10, 2023. April 14, 2023.
  25. News: Watch: METALLICA Kicks Off 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' Residency. Blabbermouth.net. April 11, 2023. April 14, 2023.
  26. News: See METALLICA play thrashing "If Darkness Had a Son" on 'Kimmel'. Revolver. April 14, 2023. April 14, 2023.
  27. News: Brandle. Lars. Metallica Rocks out With Full-Length 'Master of Puppets' Performance on 'Kimmel': Watch. Billboard. April 13, 2023. April 14, 2023.
  28. News: Enis. Eli. See METALLICA rip through "Holier Than Thou" on 'Kimmel'. Revolver. April 12, 2023. April 14, 2023.
  29. News: Stern. Howard. Metallica Talks Million-Dollar Guitars, Making It Onto MTV, and How Opening for Ozzy Osbourne Got Them Out of Clubs and Into Arenas. Howard Stern. April 12, 2023. April 13, 2023.
  30. News: Savage. Shaun. Metallica x Roblox This Weekend: Free Items and New Album Tracks. Try Hard. April 13, 2023. April 15, 2023.
  31. News: Acovino. Vincent . Chang. Ailsa. Ailsa Chang . Mehta. Jonaki . Metallica's new album, '72 Seasons,' has met critical acclaim. What's their secret?. NPR. April 30, 2023. May 6, 2023.
  32. News: McCormick. Neil. Metallica are on mighty form, Natalie Merchant wants to unite the world – the week's best albums. The Daily Telegraph. April 14, 2023. April 15, 2023.
  33. News: Caulfield. Keith. Morgan Wallen's 'One Thing at a Time' Nabs Seventh Week at No. 1 on Billboard 200. Billboard. April 23, 2023. April 23, 2023.
  34. Web site: Metallica Achieves This Feat for the First Time on Mainstream Rock Airplay Chart. Billboard. Rutherford. Kevin. May 10, 2024. May 21, 2024.
  35. News: Dunworth. Liberty. Bassist Robert Trujillo makes Metallica vocal debut on new album '72 Seasons'. NME. March 28, 2023. March 28, 2023.
  36. Web site: 2023-05-21. Metallica Discography: 72 Seasons. www.metallica.com.
  37. Web site: Lista prodaje 16. tjedan 2023. (10.04.2023. – 16.04.2023.). April 10, 2023 . hr. Top Lista. April 25, 2023.
  38. Web site: Top-75 Albums Sales Chart (Combined) Week 16/2023. IFPI Greece. April 26, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230426130638/https://www.ifpi.gr/charts_en.html. April 26, 2023.
  39. Web site: Tónlistinn – Plötur – Vika 16 – 2023. Plötutíðindi. is. The Music – Albums – Week 16 – 2023. April 26, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230424093501/https://plotutidindi.is/tonlistinn/. April 24, 2023.
  40. Web site: Weekly ROCK Album Rankings. Oricon. April 16, 2023. April 19, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230419180816/https://www.oricon.co.jp/rank/ra/w/2023-04-24/. April 19, 2023.
  41. Web site: Billboard Japan Hot Albums – Week of April 19, 2023. Billboard Japan. ja. April 19, 2023.
  42. Web site: 2023 16-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100). AGATA. lt. April 21, 2023. April 21, 2023.
  43. Web site: Slovak Albums – Top 100.. ČNS IFPI. April 25, 2023. Note: On the chart page, select SK - Albums - Top 100 under the left field and "202316" on the field besides the word "Zobrazit", and then click over the word to retrieve the correct chart data.
  44. Web site: Circle Album Chart – Week 20 of 2023. Circle Music Chart. ko. April 14–20, 2023. November 23, 2023. November 17, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221117021911/https://circlechart.kr/page_chart/album.circle?nationGbn=T&serviceGbn=&targetTime=46&hitYear=2022&termGbn=week. live.
  45. Web site: Veckolista Album, vecka 16. Sverigetopplistan. sv. April 21, 2023.
  46. Web site: ARIA Top 100 Albums Chart for 2023. Australian Recording Industry Association. January 12, 2024.
  47. Web site: Ö3 Austria Top40 Jahrescharts 2023. November 8, 2019 . Ö3 Austria Top 40. de. December 28, 2023. December 28, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20231228085855/https://oe3.orf.at/charts/stories/oe3austriatop40longplay/. live.
  48. Web site: Jaaroverzichten 2023. Ultratop. nl. January 7, 2024.
  49. Web site: Rapports annuels 2023. Ultratop. fr. January 7, 2024.
  50. Web site: Jaaroverzichten – Album 2023. dutchcharts.nl. nl. January 3, 2024.
  51. Web site: 2023: La dynamique de la production et de la consommation musicales en France. SNEP. fr. January 8, 2024. January 13, 2024.
  52. Web site: Jahrescharts 2023 Album. GfK Entertainment charts. de. December 10, 2023.
  53. Web site: Album Top 100 - digitális és fizikai értékesítés alapján - 2023. MAHASZ. January 25, 2024. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20240125132708/https://slagerlistak.hu/archivum/eves-osszesitett-slagerlistak/album/2023. January 25, 2024. hu.
  54. Web site: Top 100 OLiS – albumy 2023. OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. pl. February 16, 2024.
  55. Web site: Top 100 Albums Yearly. Promusicae. El portal de Música. January 20, 2024.
  56. Web site: Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2023. hitparade.ch. December 31, 2023.
  57. Web site: The UK's Official Top 40 best-selling CDs of 2023. Official Charts Company. Ainsley. Helen. January 4, 2024. January 11, 2024.
  58. Top Album Sales – Year-End 2023. Billboard. November 26, 2023.
  59. Top Album Current Sales – Year-End 2023. Billboard. November 26, 2023.
  60. Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2023. Billboard. November 23, 2023.
  61. Top Hard Rock Albums – Year-End 2023. Billboard. November 26, 2023.
  62. Web site: 72 Seasons . . April 15, 2023.

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