This winter, Metallica announced a new album, 72 Seasons. The band has been everywhere as of late, including a world tour to support the new release. Until May 3, you can hear Metallica music take over Chanel 105 on SiriusXM, and the band recently had a four-day residency on Jimmy Kimmel Live! They are also slated to perform at the Power Trip festival this October with other big-name acts like Ozzy Osbourne, Guns N Roses, and AC/DC. But now, the time has come. After four singles released via social media, James, Robert, Kirk, and Lars have graced us with a new album after seven years – one that manages to venture into new creative territory while harkening back to the style of their earlier discography.

The title reflects the album’s themes. “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. . . . 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.” James Hetfield explained it in an interview with ALT 105.1.

The album reflects these themes. Even the cover, a broken black crib surrounded by broken toys and instruments, reflects the themes of life and breaking free of whatever trauma or hardships we have experienced in childhood. Despite the solid yellow and black screaming in our faces, it’s still a bleak and dark image.

The album’s opener, as well as its title track, throws listeners back into the thrash metal attitude present in the band’s first three albums, preparing them for what they can expect for the next 77 minutes. Riffs and drumbeats that hit hard, emphasizing the traumatic, terrifying nature of the album’s themes. Lyrics like “Feeding on the wrath of man / Shoot back, erratic / Mad seasons take their toll” blend well the music to set the stage, and James Hetfield conveys the anger felt by someone who views the world, and their first 72 seasons, as insane and dog-eat-dog.

The following track, “Shadows Follow,” shows a bit more vulnerability, as the narrator is more fearful about their past, rather than angry, like in the previous song. Over and over, there are mentions of nightmares, hiding from a wolf coming to get them, and hanging onto the last thread of sanity that is left. Just before the bridge, they hope to wish it away, like a child afraid of some unseen monster lurking beneath their bed or in their closet. But no matter how hard he wants to wish it away, he can’t. The shadows of his past will follow him forever.

“Screaming Suicide” is not a song that requires a lot of deep-thinking to interpret, but that does not overshadow its power in conveying something very real and very dark, which many people struggle with. Lyrically, it calls back to “Fade to Black” off 1984’s Ride the Lightening. Suicide itself is manifests as a person who commands, “Don’t ever speak my name” while Hetfield reminds us of the crippling loneliness and hopelessness that someone may face. The track shatters the taboo of discussing suicide and mental illness in a way only a metal band could.  A later track, “If Darkness Had a Son” has a similar vibe to this.

“Lux Æterna,” or “Eternal Light” in Latin, was the first of four singles that were released between November 2022 and March 2023. It is easily a standout track with its pulsating rhythm and guitars wailing in a rush of thrash and power. The whole song feels like the musical equivalent to someone’s heartbeat while they’re being chased, which given the themes this album touches upon, is not too far off. The instrumentation is tight and pumps out fast, quick beats to keep listeners hooked and headbanging on the 72^nd replay.

Although a few slower tracks (“Sleepwalk My Life Away” and “You Must Burn!”) may drag through their runtimes, and the 77-minute album may be a bit much for some, the rest of the album holds up as a welcomed return for Metallica. They may be getting older and grayer, but they can still pack an album with enough energy to satisfy listeners both at home and at a stadium, which they are sure to achieve on their upcoming world tour to promote the album.