New album is due April 14th
Metallica has unveiled the title track of its forthcoming 12th studio album, 72 Seasons. A seven-and-a-half-minute opus that opens the new record, “72 Seasons” is the fourth advance offering from its namesake—following the recent release of “If Darkness Had A Son,” as well as “Screaming Suicide” and the first single “Lux Æterna.”
“72 Seasons” sets the tone for the expansive and unrelenting 12-song, 77-minute album. The Hetfield/Ulrich/Hammett-penned epic is nothing short of an embodiment of the concept behind the new record’s title, as previously detailed in James Hetfield’s own words: “72 seasons. The first 18 years of our lives that form our true or false selves. The concept that we were told ‘who we are’ by our parents. A possible pigeonholing around what kind of personality we are. I think the most interesting part of this is the continued study of those core beliefs and how it affects our perception of the world today. Much of our adult experience is reenactment or reaction to these childhood experiences. Prisoners of childhood or breaking free of those bondages we carry.”
“72 Seasons,” the song, is available now to stream and download, and as an instant grat track with all pre-orders. The album, will be released April 14th via Metallica’s own Blackened Recordings. Produced by Greg Fidelman with Hetfield & Ulrich, 72 Seasons is the first new Metallica studio album since 2016’s Hardwired…To Self-Destruct. It will be released on 2 LP 140-gram black vinyl and limited edition variants, CD, digital, and in Dolby Atmos, streaming where available.
The band has teamed with Trafalgar Releasing to premiere the album on Thursday, April 13th with Metallica: 72 Seasons – Global Premiere, offering fans an unforgettable night as they see and hear the complete album on the big screen. Tickets are on sale now for the worldwide listening party which will play exclusively for cinema audiences worldwide, with each one of the new songs featuring its own music video and exclusive commentary from the band. Fans can also experience Metallica like never before in Dolby Atmos, an audio experience that will immerse listeners inside each song to reveal details with unparalleled clarity and depth.
The 72 Seasons global premiere sees Metallica and Trafalgar joining forces once more, having previously worked together on the October 2019 worldwide cinematic release of Metallica and San Francisco Symphony: S&M², which documented Metallica and San Francisco Symphony reuniting to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their original S&M (Symphony & Metallica) concerts and releases.
Tickets are on sale now for all shows on Metallica’s M72 world tour. Presented worldwide by Liquid Death and Blackened American Whiskey in North America only, and promoted by Live Nation, M72 will see the band playing two nights in every city it visits, with each No Repeat Weekend featuring two completely different setlists and support lineups. The M72 tour will feature a bold new in-the-round stage design that relocates the famed Metallica Snake Pit to center stage, as well as the I Disappear full-tour pass and more.
A portion of proceeds from every ticket sold will go to Metallica’s All Within My Hands foundation. Founded in 2017, AWMH’s efforts to assist and enrich the lives of members of the communities who have supported the band have raised nearly $13 million – providing $5.9 million in grants to career and technical education programs in the US, over $2.5 million to combat food insecurity, and more than $3.2 million to disaster relief efforts worldwide.
Metallica’s All Within My Hands Foundation has donated $250,000 to Direct Relief and World Central Kitchen for relief efforts of those affected by a massive earthquake that struck Turkey last month. It was recently announced that the band’s organization raised more than $3 million at its third Helping Hands Concert & Auction that took place in Los Angeles in December 2022. Additionally, the first donations generated by 2021’s The Metallica Blacklist compilation have been made, totaling over $1 million. More than 50 artists contributed songs to the project with all profits divided evenly between All Within My Hands charities chosen by the participating artists.
