Metallica continues its resurgent comeback with 72 Seasons, a collection of hard-hitting metal gems that harkens back to the iconic band’s roots. Long gone is the bad aftertaste left by the likes of St. Anger and Lulu during the band’s underwhelming middle period. Death Magnetic in 2008 was a step in the right direction, but it was marred by terrible mixing and mastering that made good songs indistinct and unmemorable. It was with 2016’s Hardwired… to Self-Destruct that Metallica broke through and lived up to the high standard set by its early albums. With its crunching rhythms and hook-laden riffing, 72 Seasons picks up where Hardwired left off.
Like Hardwired, the new album sounds great. The guitar riffs are crisp, the low end is thick and heavy, the drums kick like a jackhammer, and there’s enough dynamic range to do the musicianship justice. Also like its predecessor, 72 Seasons combines the thrash styles of Metallica’s early work with some of the other styles that have appeared since the 1990s.
Metallica makes an early statement with the album-opening title track. Robert Trujillo’s rapid-fire bass and sparse guitars establish the ultra-heavy tone and then the song explodes into speed metal that recalls “Blackened,” the outstanding opener from …And Justice for All. Amid the frenetic tremolo picking and double bass drumming, James Hetfield sings about political division and violence. “Wrath of man, leaching through, split in two,” he sings. Though the song mostly jumps from fast to faster, the momentary shifts to a trudging pace hit the hardest.
Tracks like “Screaming Suicide” and “Lux Æterna” provide more crowd-pleasing thrash metal. “Full speed or nothing,” Hetfield sings on the latter and the song lives up to that mantra. Lars Ulrich’s bludgeoning bass drum attack coupled with Hetfield’s palm-muted riffing make it perfect mosh pit fodder.
While 72 Seasons offers no break from its heavy onslaught, it has more than just thrash. “Sleepwalk My Life Away” combines mid-tempo chugging metal with the biker blues riffing found on Load. Hetfield even tries to sing with some melody rather than just shouting. Kirk Hammett’s guitar solo, like most of his soloing on the album, is subtle and more about melody and tone than shredding.
Though it’s a bit disappointing to not have any full-blown guitar hero moments, Hammett’s solos fit well within their respective songs, complementing the compositions rather than showing off.
Metallica goes groove metal with “You Must Burn!” The Pantera-esque syncopated rhythm and nasty guitar tone make it one of the album’s catchiest songs. Hetfield’s lyrics use imagery of the Salem Witch Trials and the Spanish Inquisition as a call to take political action. “Smile as it burns to the ground; the perfect don’t want you around,” he sings. “Who’s the next witch you must burn?”
The album’s darkest song tonally, appropriately enough, is “If Darkness Had a Son.” Its verses, where Hetfield sings in a low growl over a galloping riff, carry more than a hint of a threat. “The nightmares search for infiltration, in domination, captivation,” Hetfield sings.
The album isn’t without its flaws. The album-closing “Inamorata” is overly long and meandering. Hammet is underutilized as a soloist and, as usual, overuses his Cry Baby pedal. And some Metallica fans will hate every song that’s not speed metal. Even so, 72 Seasons is an impressive metal album, not just for a band 11 albums and 41 years into its career, but for anyone. It packs a punch and doesn’t let up on the assault for over an hour of menacing guitars and head-banging rhythms. In the end, that’s what we want from a Metallica album, and that’s what 72 Seasons delivers.
