72 Seasons

72 Seasons is a work on which METALLICA cuts into the inner self with heavy riffs and long construction, turning its gaze to the experiences that shape the first eighteen years of life. Sharp down-picking, surging bass and driving drums are at the core, and the songs build tension while layering riffs again and again. Even after a long career, the band’s creative drive has not dimmed in the least. On “72 Seasons,” “Lux Æterna” and “Screaming Suicide,” not only speed but the use of weight, repetition and space determines a strong impression. Songs like “Shadows Follow,” “Crown of Barbed Wire” and “Inamorata” house deep shadow and strength too. James Hetfield’s singing does not stop at anger, putting wounds and doubt directly into words. Rather than a work for quoting the band’s past, it is a full record on which a long-careered METALLICA sounded the emotions it holds now at huge sonic pressure.