Yesterday heavy metal legends Metallica unleashed their much-anticipated 11th album, 72 Seasons, or as I like to call it, The Yellow Album. There are three types of Metallica fans: 1) The ones who stopped listening after … And Justice for All, 2) The ones who stopped listening after The Black Album, and 3) The ones who are die-hards and have been along for the entire ride. I am of the second category. I love the band’s first five albums pretty much equally. I got into Metallica in the summer of 1989 after seeing the “One” video on MuchMusic (Canada’s equivalent of MTV). A friend of mine had Justice on tape and loaned it to me. I was blown away by it and proceeded to buy that tape as well as Kill ‘Em All, Ride the Lightning, and Master of Puppets. When the self-titled album (or The Black Album, as it’s commonly referred to) came out in 1991, I was ecstatic and wasn’t disappointed by the direction Metallica had taken. My only gripe was that it didn’t feature an instrumental track as the previous four LPs had. Apart from that, I didn’t care that it was more commercial and less thrashy, it was great music!
Then came Load and Reload. Ugh.
Those two albums didn’t sit well with me. It wasn’t good music, in my humble opinion, and I quickly lost interest
in Metallica after those two CDs had been released. My interest peaked again
with 1998’s Garage Inc, their double
CD of covers. But in terms of new material, I was done with ‘Tallica and didn’t
care anymore. To this day, I’ve only heard a handful of tracks from St. Anger, Death Magnetic, and Hardwired…
to Self-Destruct and don’t feel I need to listen to any of those songs
aside from when they’re played live. That’s one thing about Metallica though, I
will always be up to see a live show of theirs, whether it’s on YouTube,
DVD/Blu-ray, at the theatre or live in the flesh. They always deliver and never
disappoint. In fact, when they put out the soundtrack to Through the Never in 2013—which is really a concert assembled from performances
taken from five different shows in 2012—I bought the double CD and to this day,
it’s one of my favourite live albums from any band.
Fast forward to November 2022
when 72 Seasons’ first single, “Lux
Aeterna”, came out without warning. It got my attention. A second single followed
and by the third single, I was all in. It was time to give Metallica a chance
after all those years. I was so excited in fact, that I bought a ticket for the
screening on April 13th and listened/watched the full album in a packed
theatre and had a total blast. I am now writing this Musings column after
having heard the LP from beginning to end four times. 72 Seasons is brought to you by James Hetfield on vocals/rhythm
guitar, Lars Ulrich on drums, Kirk Hammett on lead guitar, and Robert Trujillo
on bass. Here are my thoughts on it.
The
Yellow Album lyrically is much about James Hetfield opening up
about his torment and inner-demons. The record opens with the title track,
which was the 4th single, and on first hearing it, I was blown away.
I still like it a lot, but it goes on for about two minutes too long and loses
its momentum, in my humble opinion. “Shadows Follow” is growing on me, but it’s
not the best track on here despite a solid riff and bassline. “Screaming
Suicide”, the 2nd single, is a pretty good tune, but it didn’t hold
my attention as much as the 1st single did. “Sleepwalk My Life Away”,
the 5th single released on April 14th to accompany the LP’s
launch, has a slower tempo and also seems to get better on repeat listens, but
also runs a tad too long for its own good. From the 5th track
onward, it’s top-notch all the way through, starting with the superb “You Must Burn!”
which should have been a single instead of “Sleepwalk” since they also shot a
video for it. “Lux Aeterna” follows, the single that got things started. It’s got
an undeniable NWOBHM feel and while fans have criticized Kirk Hammett’s soloing
here, I think it suits the song well. It’s energetic and it fits right at home
in the middle of the record. I really dig “Crown of Barbed Wire”, it’s a fine
head-bobbing tune. “Chasing Light” is a standout track, it gives the impression
of constant motion as if you’re being chased, perfectly fitting with its title.
“If Darkness Had a Son” was the 3rd single and it’s what sealed the
deal for me. What a banger of a song! The chorus, especially the “Temptation”
part of it will make you wanna pump your fist and yell. I think this will feel
like an anthem when played live. It also features Hammett’s best solo of the
album, in my opinion. “Too Far Gone” is a shorter track that wears its punk
roots on its sleeve, a very cool song. “Room of Mirrors” is one of the
highlights of the album, and apparently the 6th single as an awesome
video for it was released today—which isn’t the one we saw at the global
premiere on Thursday, strangely enough—and I invite you to watch it on YouTube if
you haven’t already. Track number 12 closes the album in a major way:
the epic, 11-minute long “Inamorata” (sweetheart in English). It could have easily
been called “My Friend of Misery II”, but all kidding aside, this is a
beautiful song that takes the prize as my favourite track of the album. And
this time, its length never outstays its welcome. What a way to cap things off
after 77 minutes of music!
72 Seasons is Metallica’s best album since 1991’s The Black Album, in my humble opinion. It sustains a similar pace for the duration, has no ballads, no filler, and features the band clearly making the music they wanna make and love. They have nothing left to prove at this juncture in their career. Metallica’s fanbase seems to be bigger than ever and I have a feeling this album will only solidify their rabid fanbase. Chances are, if you stopped listening back in the ‘90s, this album might bring you back into the fold. While it lacks the killer hooks of their prime years, it’s still chock-full of memorable riffs and catchy lyrics with some cool guitar solos throughout. And I love what the band has planned tour-wise with their No Repeat Weekend Tour—two nights per city, two completely different setlists, and two different opening acts. What’s even more fun is that they announced at the global premiere that they’ll broadcast the Arlington, Texas shows of August 18 and 20 live in cinemas worldwide! Count me in, I’ll buy my ticket as soon as they go on sale. And that’s not all; you’ll also be able to buy the recording of the live shows of your city a few days after they’ve played on Metallica’s Live Recordings site. I’m already pre-ordering the two nights here in Montreal on August 11 and 13. I predict it will be one hell of a fun Metallica summer! So, check out the links below and see if there’s something you like. 72 Seasons might not reinvent the wheel, but overall, it’s a terrific album that will undoubtedly appear on many Year-End lists and will be near the top of mine.
Metallica’s Official 72
Seasons Store: https://www.metallica.com/store/72-seasons/
Metallica’s Official Film Site: https://www.metallica.film/
Metallica’s Official Live Recordings: https://www.livemetallica.com/default.aspx
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