So I've been wanting to do this for some time now, and as you can see, it's taken me almost a year since the original release. Time really does fly. Feels like it came out a few months ago. Well, to start off...geez. The album hype began with an incredibly surprising single in Lux Æterna - it came out of nowhere, entirely unannounced, and had everyone talking instantly. The song is like a hard-hitting, greasy-slick reincarnation of Hit the Lights that nobody knew they needed. It performs its role admirably - short, to the point, and tasty. The video alone made my head explode with ideas of where the album as a whole was headed, and even with heavily reined expectations for my own sanity, I couldn't help but wonder. They left a HUGE impression with just the first single! It's not risky to say that Lux Æterna is quite a bit more fun than the first single off the last album. Not to mention, it's uniquely (for Metallica) in the key of A! It wouldn't stop there, either. Fans got hold of the song titles, and fuck - there's some serious-sounding, dark shit in there. As with Hardwired...to Self Destruct, they seemed a bit unusual, but this time they seemed to have leaned into that even more. And I loved that. Still hard for me to pick a favorite in that regard. Words can carve up so many great images all on their own. As the later singles rolled out, I quickly realized - the songs were getting simpler...a lot simpler. To be fair, Metallica songs are usually more exhausting than complex (which is the only reason I am any good at them) but there are more than a few monotonous moments this time around, which I will discuss in detail. And 72 Seasons otherwise seems to be their "writing songs we can still play when we're 70, after Battery doesn't work anymore" record. Which I'm not docking them for in any way - it's a smart move. Judas Priest did one of those a couple albums back, but unlike Judas Priest, I don't honestly know if Metallica have a "Firepower" (or two!) left in them down the road. First though, it needs to be said that for two albums in a row now, there is a distinct, sore need for another consultant of sorts, somebody to trim their arrangements to fit the world of today better. Just like on Hardwired, a riff is repeated ad nauseum. They can't keep getting away with that - genres like dance metal have re-proven the age-old truth that you should always leave the audience wanting more, not less.
72 Seasons is our opening title track. After Rob's single-note spam in the intro, and following a very Metallica-sounding buildup, we quickly dive headfirst into an alright main riff. I don't really feel the payoff we were set up for. But the verse riff - also not particularly enthralling, is where the arrangement problems first rear up. It begins before James starts singing by several bars, and there is no need for it. It should have just dropped you straight into the vocal. By the time you get to the verse, you're going to already have tuned it out. That's not a good start. It's always better to perk up and have to take the time to learn it out on your own. The chorus at large is also extremely repetitive - we hear "Wrath of man" so many times - twelve per listen - and it grates on the ears after just one spin. In general, get ready for a lot of the same tempo on this record. This mid-paced song teases you with some early sixteenths, but it slows to cut things in half almost alarmingly quickly. You get just barely (subjective?) enough of the feel you're looking for, and a lot of plodding in between. My favorite section of this song is the lead break. It feels good, and the harmony is extremely earworm-y. Of course, it also repeats itself one too many times beyond what is intuitively "enough", and so it loses a bit of magic for this. From here on, I'm going to try not to fall victim to the same thing they did, and keep my talks of arrangement to a limit. I think overall, it's undeniable that pound for pound, this is the weakest Metallica opener.
Shadows Follow is next. Boy, the snap and bite of the intro is golden, and while the second half of it drags a little, this is the prelude to some otherwise pure, distilled Metallica. The pounding snare mixed with the heavy guitar...right from the FIRST NOTE, you know the band, the kind of song, the tempo, and that it's gonna be good. And it certainly is. You feel at home straight away. The main riff is the best on the album, and has a slightly uncomfortable twinge to its G bend that I can't get enough of. The verse riff is a bit boring despite its relative constant movement, but luckily the vocals support it with more than enough vitriol and, as James has said himself, percussiveness - enough be another whole instrument! Following is a quick chorus harmony they've never quite done before, and I welcome this new feel with open arms. Lars will absolutely never play this section properly in a live setting because it involves hitting the snare drum in time with both hands, and he hasn't done that in over a decade. The layered chugging at about the halfway mark and beyond is ridiculously indulgent, and it is shocking how easily you can forget the simplicity of these passages in the face of their onslaught. But what's even more interesting is the way the riff is slightly slower in each first go-around, and deceptively faster the next. I don't believe they have ever done something like this, and it's a really cool and sneaky song moment! I really enjoy the riff salad toward the end - it harkens back to Death Magnetic with its "recap maze", shifting between all the places we've established in the song. This track is also the first to have some interesting and inescapable lyrics - indeed, we can never outrun our demons, our past, or even our own shadows. You can tell how much they were feeling this one. Overall, the elements really come together on Shadows Follow, and make you go, "Fuck, that was just awesome."
Screaming Suicide, a title parents are sure to love! Oddly, it's not nearly as dark as one would expect. It's very inspired from their roots, and feels like this album's version of Atlas, Rise! off the previous record. Everybody hated this single, but I quite liked it, and it helped me cling to existence during a time when I was slipping. The opening melody (which also closes out the song) is extremely catchy, and serves its purpose well. It's not a mindblowing song, but its subject material is indefinitely vital for the upcoming generation. My only real knock against this one is that, per usual since ~2016, Kirk is still phoning in a sad majority of his lead work, looping the same licks until you're sick of them and branding it all as "lively" in order to (unsuccessfully) attempt to obscure his lack of real effort. The rhythms are pretty fast here, and you get some of that "Through The Never elbow" going on by trying to match them if you're not warmed up. This track, for whatever reason, is also slightly quieter than all the others, and James is buried further in the mix on this one too, especially noticeable when not wearing headphones. I know, who does that anymore, right? Overall, this song has a great driving feel, if only mildly repetitive starting in the mid-section.
Sleepwalk My Life Away - Rob intros for another song, yay! Once again, the intro sections are repeated too much here. When things do get going, we get a sludgy fuck-you of a main riff that I could jam on forever. The lyrics are great, and some of their best. By now though, I really should emphasize that this album does not feature the same vocal clarity as their 2016 effort. This is unfortunate, due especially to James having found far more passion on his tracks this time around. The vocals are often so strongly felt in fact, that many have said it feels like he might be over-compensating a bit for some run-of-the-mill involving the other guys. The verse riff is a bit repetitive, even though I kinda like it anyway, sorta? It's fun-ish for about half as long as you hear it. While I like the chorus vocal, the underlying riff isn't great, despite the juicy bend that Hetfield puts on one of the final notes of its tail. The rest of the song is just plain boring - the riffs, the solo, and the closer will all fatigue any fan of the genre. The rhythm leading into the solo is almost exactly a mirror from ManUNkind on HTSD - it even belongs to the same song part! There are some nice bits here and there, but my god this shit needed to be trimmed the fuck down. This should have been a real killer, and instead it's stuck with some unfortunate bloat. While I've seen many comment that this record is back-loaded, I'm not convinced it's so clear-cut, mainly because it's difficult to love a song all the way through, or more than halfway.
You Must Burn! is an interesting one for me. I didn't like it at all to start, but it grew on me more than any other track. The intro riff is very gripping, but what follows is a slothy, weird main riff that somehow also wastes no time in trying to hook you! I find myself trying to resist this; while I like the groove, I don't really care much for the uninteresting notation. It's a weird experience, exacerbated by the riff's regrettable persistence into the verse. I generally do not like when people duplicate the main riff for use in the verse whenever the music lacks keyboards. Especially in such a bare setting as guitar/bass/drum/vocal, you've got to be more creative than that. Build on the part and give each section a unique flair and purpose. It just isn't enough to hold my attention otherwise, when hundreds of other groups know this and skillfully avoid that pitfall. Lyrically, this is an obvious commentary on the nightmarish social conditions we find ourselves in on the western side of the world, and James makes sure to detail the consequences of cancel culture at large. I'm sure these words are felt by each member of the band, and I hope the song ushers us even just a bit closer toward something better. The vocal performance is one of my favorites on the album. It's so twisty and bendy, and full of great digs. He particularly bites down on the second chorus. Love that shit. "The perfect don't want you around" is such a kickass line. Well done James! The chorus riff is a bit more abnormal here, and the subsequent jam is anchored beautifully by Rob's massive bass slides, which are impossible to ignore. The "impending doom" riff that leads into Kirk's solo is my least favorite part for the same reason I didn't like this style on Sleepwalk - it just doesn't do anything. I know James loves this riff, and admittedly the chugging tail is good. Eh. Maybe I'm being too harsh. I'll let this one slide. There's also the first real vocal appearance from Rob on this song. If you aren't paying attention, you might miss it since it's mixed in with James, but the breakdown has a really cool Reload vibe that is definitely better for having Rob's input! It feels he has stepped up a bit. I would have liked more stuff like this on the album as a whole; they do it very well and no one does it like them. This song is a bit lengthy, owed largely to the verse riff's sheer bloat. It could have smashed a bit harder if not for that.
Already discussed Lux Æterna. It suffers none of the arrangement problems of the rest, and it almost doesn't even belong on the album as a result. Very strange circumstances surrounding this one.
Crown of Barbed Wire is one I recall many fans being particularly excited to hear. The atmosphere is very reminiscent of Load. I love that. This is basically the sequel to King Nothing, and there's no denying it - right down to the surprisingly fun guitar solo! What doesn't work for me is that similar to the title track, the lyrics here seem to say a whole lot of the same vague stuff over and over, and aren't particularly illuminating. They feel played out and washed up to me. The main riff is a bit uncomfortable-sounding, and has a mildly fun game of ping pong with the hammer-on injections in between repetitions. Conceptually, I like what they're doing here. Neither chorus riff is very good. The latter is lazily based on the former, and so that only makes it more boring. This is sad - James is utilizing some very nice melody there, and the way he hangs on the word 'Wire' is borderline infectious. It's absolutely dripping with character. I feel that the song could have used a bit more of this charismatic insanity/mystique throughout the non-singing parts to round it out. As is common on the record already, the riff transitioning us toward the solo is repeated too many times, vastly overstaying its welcome. The closing riff is heavy as shit though, and one of my favorite moments on 72 Seasons. There is something painfully missing on Crown in particular that I cannot pinpoint, but it's the closest we're likely to ever get to its predecessor again.
Chasing Light...phew. Okay, here we go. This is one of my least favorites. First, a clawing, tedious intro accomplishes absolutely nothing - its vibe is instantly reset by the following main riff, thereby pointlessly killing a serviceable but "easy" Metallica moment. This, combined with Kirk's worthless octave-ing, and I am already annoyed. The main riff is odd, but pretty fun once you digest it. It's a bit confusing to play at first. The vocal pitches are a bit unusual too - something about this whole song lacks a cohesive "nucleus" if that makes any sense. My favorite lyric is surely "Oh, he will break". Chasing Light has got a more storytelling feel going on, kind of like Here Comes Revenge from the last album. I generally like this in music. The chorus is very repetitive lyrically though, and features James shouting "Lean on me" every other line until I'm sick of it. After lots of doomy-gloomy vibes, at about halfway through we suddenly give another middle finger to the established tone, and go full fucking Sabbath. Why?! This abrupt turn to a bluesy riff ruins the vibe, and would seem to show they really don't know what it is they're piecing together when they're doing it. Afterward, the lyrics repeat "One step down" every alternated line, just to make sure the words are drilled into the goldfish brains of today's young people, I guess. The guitars quickly follow suit, turning into a mindless loop that would surely have any hater of St. Anger in a rabid frenzy. When the key drops to E for the solo, there is one rhythm guitar moment in there which I very much like. Of course, it is buried beneath Kirk's generic weedling, and has to be dug out using audio tools in order to get the full clarity. Closing out, the start-stop transition into the final chorus is simply irritating. It could not sound more randomly-generated, directionless and filler if somebody tried. This song also has what is likely the worst ending to any Metallica song ever. A textbook waste of an evocative title.
If Darkness Had a Son. Jesus. I don't even want to talk about this next one. It has an extremely black album atmosphere, and that alone is enough to make you book a tour with your agent. But you get inside, and there's this mind-numbing chug that seems to go on for infinity. It only ever supplements with a tiny, equally repetitive diddly that you aren't thankful for, because you've already grown fatigued by the early structure of the song. After the squandering of nearly a whole god damned minute-and-half, you suddenly hear the first real change, and immediately realize that this riff sounds way fucking better an octave down. That'll get your hopes back up in a jiffy, but this rollercoaster has more than one ace up its sleeve. Some might say this song owes to a bit of repetition, in order to underscore the cyclical nature of its lyrical content. Perhaps. But I'll just say that this isn't how I'd do it. The verse features the biggest drumming moment on the album. There is a fun octave duo between lower James and higher James here, and it's pretty sinister-sounding. He's definitely speaking from experience, and the intensity with which each verse concludes is easily enough to confirm this theory. The chorus is alright, but it doesn't progress enough toward the end for my taste. A bit flat, dynamically. The worst part though - we get dumped straight into more repetitive "non-riffing" when it ends. Ugh. The riff leading us into the solo is a bit bonkers, and sounds like the narrator has finally lost his or her mind. Following is by far the most infuriating Kirk solo on 72 Seasons. It drowns out the fun, swinging rhythm/drum parts underneath, rehashes passages from his previous guitar solos, and of course, it wouldn't be a modern Metallica song if it didn't repeat itself beyond belief. Things become quite humorous when Lars just drops him off a cliff with his snare drum into the third verse. There is zero ceremony, as if they had no idea what else to do after that monumental slog. I have no clue either. But then, I wouldn't have let him put that solo on tape. Never before have I wished a Metallica song could actually have its solo removed, but I guess there's a first time for everything. There are some awesome lyrics here by the way, like "Dragging home this heathen harvest". I relate to his pain here a lot more than I wish I did. The low register guitars create an exciting brick wall that feels ooey-gooey and saturated in the best way possible, but overall, 'Darkness' showcases near-all of 72s's weaknesses in one. Disappointing, and by far the weakest single. I could hardly believe they chose to play "duet" on social media with this. It's just so BASIC.
Too Far Gone is a desperately-needed return to brevity. Even if you don't like the song, you'd probably still admit that it doesn't get in the way for too long. Hetfield has some great barking presence here, and seems to be speaking from the heart once again. There is definitely some exorcism going on in their 2023 release. I'm sure we could all stand to partake in it with him a little, if not a lot. "Am I too far gone to save? Help me make it through the day - just for today" ... Very powerful stuff. Kind of leaves you speechless. We've all felt that. While the pace of the chorus riff gets a bit zoomy, none of the riffing in this song has a spot reserved in my brain's long term memory. None of it is terrible, either, but I don't need to hear any of it again. This song is carried entirely by the vocals, along with a pretty good setup for Kirk to blaze through with a heavily palm muted start to his solo. These elements feel very natural and good. The punk rock vibe of the verse combined with the very sing-along-ready chorus stand out just a tad.
Room of Mirrors. I do quite like it. I'm so happy one of the more mysterious titles panned out for me. The song structure is mostly well-groomed outside the intro riff, and the pacing and variety are great. The verses feverishly begin laying the writer's insecurities on the table. We could have used something like this on Hardwired, but I'm glad we've gotten it here. The riffs do their jobs well, and I have no complaints. The vibe created during the chorus is just iconic. The lyrics are again on point here - "So I stand here, before you - you might judge, you might just bury me" is a lovely casting out of one's arms to the wind, standing fearlessly before a flurry of arrows fired by those who never understood. There is a particularly compelling itch to process the message on this song, owed part to James's conviction, and part to the tight arrangement's insistence that things get done before bedtime. I would be remiss without mentioning the guitar harmonies. They only get better each time they're introduced, and the progressively thickening layers are just candy for the soul. The double bass moments are short but sweet, and I really like the snare rolls during the solo. This song packs it on in a timely fashion, and comes cloaked in that "beautiful metal assault" feeling. Dammit, I wish this one was longer! Oh, no, no. Please not longer.
Inamorata is the fascinating title of our closing track. Everyone was chomping at the bit to dig into this one for the first time, and I think that's because we all kinda knew what it was going to be - an epic Metallica closer. We are first introduced to a pendulum-swing of barraging chords which then take us into a sludgy minor riff tail. People seem to really like that aspect of this song. It feels like it's burdened by something, if I were to personify it a little. I hate to say it though, the repetition is back. My god, just stop playing the same damn thing over and over. This isn't a jam session where we are feeling a vibe out for the first time. It's a professionally-recorded track that's supposed to cover some ground, preferably today. There is a shit ton of overused C sharp in this track, and that is a plague I've personally found to be common among songs written in this key - monotony. It's why I scrapped the one track I planned to do in this key many years ago. If you can get past that, you'll notice the verse riff tail has just a tad of great Metallica chug to it, and that James's lyrics have taken the helm once more. The rhythm guitars are a bit...shall we say, unhelpful at times in this song. They could have had more presence, or more workload. Instead they carry on almost obligatorily at times. In general, the song feels a bit empty in places, in need of some extra instrumentation that could be provided either by a guest musician or a cherry-picked sound library. I know - Metallica likes bare-bones, but people are getting bored by that, and Metallica is a business now, no matter what anyone says. You can't get away with it unless you've got a stellar track with no weakpoints, and we've already established that isn't the situation here. The chorus is an incredible let-down due to the repetition and lack of pitch dynamics, and follows this album's trend of droning phrases four times in a row ("Wrath of man" 4x, "Lean on me" 4x, "One step down" 4x, "Temptation" 4x, and now "Misery" 4x). It's seriously a chore to persevere through the first half of the song, which I should add feels very copy-paste at times. I am sorry if you blindly accepted this song because of what you wished it to be, but I'm a jaded idealist. I'm going to tell it like it is. What you might have been expecting is something closer to what's found in the second half. Aside from an obnoxiously narcissistic and overbearing hi hat loop from Lars, who has barely contributed a memorable hit on this record, there is a haunting, tender moment between the clean guitar and the bass which we haven't heard in quite some time. Decades, in fact. Here, James builds vocally from a soft and vulnerable retracing of the choruses past up to a soul-igniting eruption that segues perfectly into the best melody of the album. My Friend of Misery is now the final track referenced by 72 Seasons, and in general the callbacks found throughout this record are a nice touch. The dual guitar harmonies make the riffs we've heard in the song up until now suddenly seem worth it, as if it was all about this particular coming moment from the beginning. It's beautiful, and the way the instruments bounce off each other in an almost classical style of communication is very noteworthy. This section is breathtaking, and it makes the final chorus much sweeter than the first two. I should also mention that the song's key works out much better for Kirk here than typically. His leads remind me a lot of the Load era, and I disagree with people who say this solo is lazy. I think it's by far the most felt of the bunch, and it certainly flows a lot better. The ending takes its time just a little, but before you know it those final chords are already ringing out, and it's hard not to feel a little sad. Is this the last Metallica studio note we'll ever hear? The truth is, Inamorata could easily be their swan song. A part of me fears it may well be. I know I will eventually live in a world where Metallica no longer exists as it does today...and that honestly bothers me.
Outside of Shadows Follow or Lux Æterna, 72 Seasons lacks a veritably "instant" song which makes any fan go, "Oh hell yeah." It is an album full of growers - for those in this world still willing to give it that kind of time. There's also a lot of by-the-numbers, spotty to no creativity from Lars/Kirk, and a noticeable compensation by James through his vocals. ...And if you ask me, Kirk's got more going on than a lost phone. He had "so many ideas" for this next record. Then where are they? They certainly aren't part of his leads. You could probably invent an AI "Kirk-like" and come up with more. Hell, someone probably already has. Rob's got more input here, and it's about time, isn't it? Days seem to be mere seconds in Metallica's world. While it may not seem he has contributed much at first, it shows in lots of little ways, and I'm glad he's been given that chance. He's been the quiet sensei of Metallica for a while now - totally comfortable in his role, yet capable of far more. And he still sounds exactly like a tractor which has parked outside your window. Regarding percussion, there is sparse variety to chew on outside base-level intuition and pure necessity. This area lacks breathing room, and unlike all previous albums, it seems Lars now absolutely needs a drum hit to be happening at all times - no matter how the dynamics suffer as a result. Any fan knows this is only going to get worse as time marches on. The repetition is the greatest weakness of this record, and can hinder your ability to enjoy what would otherwise be an alright effort. If you have the Audacity program, I highly recommend you do what I did and try your hand at some rearrangement. Trust me, you'll get way more out of it if you do. Overall, 72 Seasons is a ride. Though you may not love all that you hear, I suggest you go fishing anyway. It might be your last chance.