By: Jesse Striewski
Que the old school fans still too cool to listen to anything post-Master of Puppets from Metallica, who will quickly shun their latest effort, 72 Seasons, before even giving it a chance. While I don’t claim to be well-versed on later releases such as their most previous album, Hardwired…to Self Destruct, I still try to maintain as much of an open mind as possible.
The world first caught a glimpse of this new album (their eleventh overall) after the band dropped it’s first single, the catchy enough thrash anthem “Lux Aeterna.” But it’s once you dig a little further that you really find the good stuff; the title track itself introduces things here with a punk-driven bass/drum combo that eventually turns into seven-plus minutes of pure adrenaline – and that’s just for starters.
“Shadows Follow,” “Sleepwalk My Life Away,” and “If Darkness Had a Son” are just a few more numbers to make note of before things finally accumulate with the epic, eleven-minute opus, “Inamorata” (if you’re not won over by the time you reach said track, you’re never going to be).
It’s also interesting to note the concept behind the album’s artwork and title; according to frontman James Hetfield, it refers to the first eighteen years of life (our most developmental), and how we as humans are constantly “Prisoners of childhood or breaking free of those bondages we carry.” Between this sentiment and Hetfield’s darker lyrics found within here, it’s a stark reminder of just how little time we have to actually make our marks on this Earth.
Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
