72 Seasons

Great album!

Easily the best METALLICA since the blockbuster Self Title "Black Album"! "72 Seasons" is the return to form we long time fans of the band have been waiting for, for way too long. I was there way back in the early Bay Area club days when we all thought we had our own little secret metal scene never dreaming it would explode in just a few years into a world wide thrash metal movement..then D.O.G. happen then the Ozzy tour..I was at both of those historical shows too..little did I know that the Ozzy COW Palace show would be the last time I would see Cliff and not only that but actually left the building that night discussing with friends how it was probably the last time we would ever see "Ozzy alive!" feeling that the changing of the guard had happened but still not realizing just how huge Metallica would become..knowing we were gonna have to share them with the rest of the metal fans of the world but had no clue that in just a couple albums that it would be the main stream music fans as well. Personally their 1st 4 albums will always be my favorites. While no Metallica album is bad we'll except maybe one and that was because of a certain drum sound more than anything else. The last few have been good and a improvement, but there were issues to my ears..the recordings themselves and it just seem that the writing and performances seem little to forced. So I'm glad to report that those things have been corrected and while not "M.O.P." "72 Seasons" is a rock solid Album on all fronts and the best Album the band has done in many a year. So crank it up and enjoy! 🤘

When I was 11, I picked my number one and two favorite bands, with one being Guns N’ Roses and two being Metallica. Jumping on those bandwagons when many rockers and metalheads were jumping off of those bandwagons in 1991 has proved to be a very interesting roller coaster. Each twist and turn in both bands respective careers proving to be exhausting and confounding. And yet, I continued on. I love 72 Seasons. In a perfect world, 72 Seasons would have come out instead of Load. It would have continued their melodic shift of the Black Album, while extending their songs to harken back to the glory days. This album shows a depth of maturity though, that was only possible through 32 years of weirdness. The confidence in their playing, the dark/light nature of the lyrics, actually giving Hammett and Trujillo writing credits, and packaging it in striking artwork. This is the first Metallica album since Justice where I don’t skip a track. I’ve had the CD in my car and I’m on my fourth full listen. The songs are catchy, the solos are hummable, and every song works for me. Are the songs too long? Yes. Is it thrashy enough? No. Does James need a thesaurus to learn words other than unforgiven, cyanide, and misery? Yes. Is this post too long? Yes. I love this album and I’m thrilled that my best friend since middle school is going to one of the Chicago dates for this tour. He and I saw Metallica three times together. I hope he has an awesome time.

So here we are Metallicheads (see what I did there?) with Metallica's first studio release in 7 years since 2016's "Hardwired" which I admit I've only listened to maybe twice. I got the album a day ahead of release due to pre-order, but I'm sitting here listening to it as I type this out on the day of official release. So what are we expecting from the entire album aside from the what? 3 or 4 singles already out? Well, I can say that I think Robert Trujillo had a lot of influence in the song writing on this album, because it's chalked full of bass lines that I think he loves playing. That said, this album has quite a bit of a Groove Metal feel to it than straight up Thrash Metal. A bit slower and groovier than you'd expect a Thrash Metal album to sound. Think "Sad But True" type rhythms. But that's not to say there's not faster riffing going on, there is, but not in the same style that James and boys typically do. There's a Hammett solo in every song, I believe. Oh, I know, this sounds a lot like what a Garage Band would sound like, just getting together and jamming up a storm. And that brings me to the songwriting... Are there any epic Metallica "Master of Puppets" or "Justice for All" style songs on here? Not so far. Every song hardly ever deviates away from its established riff rhythm and beat. Which is ashame as that's something I always look for in well written Metal songs. Metal has always the most interesting genre of music for me because of that very thing. Keeps the music interesting and the listener on their toes. Now that's not to say that there aren't any key changes and slight tempo changes in the riffs, but as for those nice atmospheric acoustic style breaks or high pitched Cliff Burton style bass licks, there's none of that here. With all that said, I think I'll go back to my original statement that I think this is a very Groove Metally record. Lots of big bass hits by Robert, and accompanied rhythm guitar riffs by James. What I'm saying here is that it's almost as if Robert is driving the rhythm with his bass, while James is just giving a slight mid-range sound to those bass lines. And then throw in the Kirk solo and that's what's ya got. Oh, I will say thar Lars drumming on this album is actually excellent. Very well placed in the mix, loud and hard, both with the bass drum kick and the others, along with the cymbals. So all in all, like my title says, very interesting record. Not exactly what I expected from the few Singles we got, but it's not bad by any means, just not top tier Metallica. I need to go back and listen to Hardwired and even Death Magnetic to compare to see if our boys are losing it or regaining it. So for now I give the album a 3.75 to 4.0 stars. Or perhaps a 7 or 8 on a 10 point scale.

It is a very nice quality. The color is very bright. I loved listening to it in my home it felt like I was there when it was being made in the studio!

Yeah this is a pretty good album

I have to admit, it took me a few times of listening to it to fully appreciate this album. It seems to be more of a Concept Album. Watching the Limited Edition Production in the Movie Theater helped to put the pieces together and now just like any other Metallica Album, I Love It.

Can't go wrong with this one.🤘🤘

METALLICA - "72 Seasons" (2023) Sieben Jahre nach "Hardwired", erscheint heuer mit "72 Seasons", der von mir langersehnte 11. Longplayer der Metal-Veteranen aus dem sonnigen Kalifornien. Ich bin schon seit "Kill 'em All" ein großer Fan der Band und ignoriert man einmal die grausamen Alben aus der Mitte der 90er und Anfang der 2000er-Jahre, haben sie immer geliefert. Wie bei solch "alten" Bands inzwischen üblich, kriechen mit jeder neuen Veröffentlichung Kritiker unter ihren Steinen hervor, die alles Neue sofort mal niedermachen und offensichtlich nicht mitbekommen, dass Musiker und Bands sich im Laufe von Jahrzehnten, im Gegenteil zu ihnen, weiterentwickeln. Auch METALLICA haben das getan und mit der Band aus den 80ern nur noch bedingt was zu tun. Vielleicht sollte man einfach mal erwähnen, dass JAMES HETFIELD eine grandiose Gesangsleitung abliefert. Er singt unheimlich ausdrucksstark, sehr emotional, bei Bedarf aggressiv oder eben auch einfühlsam - grandios! Auch ROBERT TRUJILLO sollte man lobend erwähnen, denn ich finde, dass er auf "72 Seasons" seine bisher beste Leistung abliefert. Er tritt nicht nur bei 3 der Songs als Co-Songwriter in Erscheinung, auch sein Bassspiel ist extrem prägend und hat mir enorm gut gefallen. Hört euch stellvertretend einfach mal "Sleepwalking My Life Away" an, wo er mal richtig derbe hinlangt und den Song dominiert. Dazu der düstere Gesang von JAMES HETFIELD - geile Nummer! "72 Seasons" besticht auch durch die abwechslungsreichen Kompositionen, die eigentlich für jeden Geschmack etwas zu bieten haben. Da sind schnelle und aggressive Nummern, wie der Titelsong "72 Seasons", "Lux AEterna" oder "Screaming Suicide", dabei, aber eben auch gemäßigte und groovige Midtempo-Nummern, wie das bereits erwähnte "Sleepwalking My Life Away" oder "If Darkness Had a Son". Ein Markenzeichen von METALLICA sind schon seit vielen Jahren die ausschweifenden und Komplexen Kompositionen, dieser Vorliebe frönen sie auch auf ihrem neuesten Longplayer. Die meisten Songs bewegen sich irgendwo zwischen fünf und sieben Minuten, was man nun wahrlich nicht als langatmig oder in die Länge gezogen bezeichnen kann. Auch hat das schon seit "Master of Puppets" Tradition, wo sich alle Songs zwischen 5 und knappen 9 Minuten bewegten .... also nichts Neues. Was mir an METALLICA schon immer gefallen hat, sind die Songs mit diesen treibenden und "galoppierenden" Melodien, wie hier etwa "Shadow Follow", "Chasing Light" oder dem grandiosen "Screaming Suicide". Solche Nummern packen mich einfach immer, die sind einfach mein Ding und das haben METALLICA einfach drauf. Aus dem Rahmen fällt diesbezüglich eigentlich nur "Inamorata", der mit 11:10 Minuten, der mit Abstand längste Song des Albums ist. Diesen dann aber als "langatmig" oder "in die Länge gezogen" zu bezeichnen, kann man nur mit mangelndem Sachverstand erklären. Die Nummer ist bombastisch, einer der besten Songs des Albums, was nicht nur am grandiosen Gesang von JAMES HETFIELD liegt, sondern eben auch an ROBERT TRUJILLO und seinem prägenden Bass. Vor allem der Mittelteil ist echt hörenswert, insgesamt ist die Nummer schön abwechslungsreich, eine ganz tolle Komposition. Insgesamt bin ich mit dem Album sehr zufrieden und es kann problemlos mit "Hardwired" mithalten. Bei 12 Songs und einer Laufzeit von 77 Minuten, kann man nicht meckern, vor allem, weil diese 77 Minuten recht kurzweilig gehalten sind. Der eine oder andere Songs braucht tatsächlich ein paar Runden, bis er ankommt, aber diese Zeit sollte man sich unbedingt nehmen. "72 Seasons" ist keine Musik für oberflächliche und festgefahrene Hörer, für den einen oder anderen Hörer eventuell auch ein bisschen zu anspruchsvoll. ;-) Meine Highlights sind der Titelsong "72 Seasons", "Lux AEterna", "Screaming Suicide", Sleepwalking My Life Away", "If Darkness Had A Son" und natürlich "Inamorata". Insgesamt hat mir das Album sehr gut gefallen, der eine oder andere Song hat tatsächlich Zeit gebraucht, andere wiederum, wie etwa "Crown of Barbed Wire", reißen mich auch nach mehrmaligem Hören nicht zu Begeisterungsstürmen hin. Aber mal ehrlich, wie viele Alben gibt es, bei denen einem alle Songs zu hundert Prozent gefallen? Zur Produktion selber muss man bei einem Album von METALLICA nicht viel sagen, die ist gewohnt fett und bis ins Detail perfekt. Die Songs rauschen mit voller Wucht aus den Boxen, da gibt es wirklich nichts dran auszusetzen. Mein Fazit: Ich bin mit dem neuesten Album von METALLICA sehr zufrieden, ich finde es wirklich klasse und kein bisschen "langatmig". Die Kompositionen sind komplex, was nichts Neues ist, musikalisch ist das erste Sahne, da dürfte es keine zwei Meinungen geben. METALLICA sind ein Stück weit "back to the roots" gegangen, verbinden Altes mit Neuem und bieten eigentlich für jeden Geschmack etwas. Wie bewerte ich dieses Album? Normal würde ich 4,5 Sterne vergeben , weil mir 10 der 12 Songs wirklich richtig gut gefallen haben. Das geht natürlich nicht, weswegen ich mich für 5 Sterne entschieden habe. Vor allem wer "Hardwired" mochte und nicht unsinnige Vergleiche zu den Alben aus den80ern und frühen 90ern zieht, dürfte hier auf seine Kosten kommen.

There are those who are always expecting a new 'Master Of Puppets' or '... And Justice For All' from Metallica. However, they must understand that, due to the band achieving everything that they have sort after, defining personal issues & possibly just 'growing older', they have evolved into a different beast than their 80s version. Here, on 72 Seasons we have a more focused and very well executed collection of 12 songs, with very little filler. Yes, some parts & riffs are reminiscent of previous Metallica....but, that's the point. The '72 Seasons' refers to the first 18 years of a person. In this case, mostly being that of singer/rhythm guitarist James Hetfield (& possibly the band as a whole). It has been said (by others in the band) that this is a more personal album and delves deeper into one's own psyche.... whether it be Hetfield himself or the listener. As regards to the music production, the album 'sounds' great. Not too polished but extremely listenable. Immense guitars. Amazing vocal performance. And you can really here the bass guitar & writing input from Rob Trujillo. Even the lead guitar lines from Kirk Hammett are (mostly) refreshing and poignant. It seems as though great care has been taken to ensure that this sounds like a band who have been in the music business for 40+ years and know their way around a studio....as opposed to the recent 'let's try and make it sound rough and naive like when we were kids' (St. Anger, Death Magnetic, Hardwired....etc). Although, the hi-hats and cymbals on drummer Lars Ulrich's drum set could be a little lower in the mix, in my opinion. Having grown up with Metallica's music since '86, I have seen the band (quite rightly) do whatever they strive to do. Sure, they take chances. Some paid off (Load & Reload.... mostly). Some haven't (St. Anger, Lulu). However polarising some of their output has been received; it remains that, without their creative vision and dominance, thousands (possibly 10s of thousands) of bands and musicians, regardless of genre owe Metallica a huge thank you for just 'doing what they do'. And with members at the age of 60 (and approaching).... they're doing it very well! To sum up, 72 Seasons is Metallica's best album for 35 years. If this was to be their last ever album.... Metallica have nothing left to prove! 🤘😎🤘

Best Metallica album since the 90s. As much as I loved Hardwired (I’m a younger fan), this album speaks all generations of Metallica to me. Although my favourite albums will always be Master of Puppets and And Justice for all, this album is up there for me. Would recommend

Hay gente que a mucha gente le gustó, a otra no y a otra le dio igual. Para mi es un album muy bueno y se merece darle una oportunidad, canciones como Lux Aeterna o Screaming Suicide son de mis favoritas. El paquete llegó en excelentes condiciones, empaquetado de una manera aún más cuidadosa que en anteriores compras con discos. Y el empaque es sencillamente hermoso, minimalista con tonos negros y un llamativo color amarillo. El empaque se abre como una flor mostrando a los cuatro integrantes. Grandes detalles para un gran album.