THE BEAST

METALLICA   has shared the official music video for the title track of the band's 12th studio album,   "72 Seasons" . The   Tim Saccenti -directed clip, which was filmed in Los Angeles, California on February 12, can be seen below.

The   "72 Seasons"   LP will be released April 14 via the band's own   Blackened Recordings . Produced by   Greg Fidelman   with guitarist/vocalist   James Hetfield   and drummer   Lars Ulrich , and clocking in at over 77 minutes, the 12-track   "72 Seasons"   is   METALLICA 's first full-length collection of new material since 2016's   "Hardwired…To Self-Destruct" . The album will be released in formats, including 2LP 140g black vinyl and limited-edition variants, CD and digital.

METALLICA   and   Trafalgar Releasing   will hold a worldwide   "72 Seasons"   listening party. For one night only on Thursday, April 13,   "72 Seasons"   will be played in full in pummeling surround sound, exclusively for cinema audiences worldwide — with every one of the new songs featuring its own music video and exclusive commentary from the band. The result will offer fans an unforgettable night as they experience   "72 Seasons"   first and fully on the eve of its April 14 release date.

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   "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.

In a recently released behind-the-scenes look at the making of   "72 Seasons" ,   Hetfield   stated about the LP's first single,   "Lux Æterna" : " 'Lux Æterna'   is an upbeat, kind of fast and joyous song, I would say — really indicative of New Wave Of British [Heavy] Metal stuff, so kind of a harkening-back-to-'80s kind of riff. It's just fun and makes me move. It was fun making the video, fun recording a song that comes out really easy, that was a real easy song to write and to perform, like I said, very much like the early '80s for us."

As for the inspiration for the   "72 Seasons"   album title,   Hetfield   said: " '72 Seasons'   came out of a book I was reading about childhood, basically, and sorting out childhood as an adult. And 72 seasons is basically the first 18 years of your life. How do you evolve and grow and mature and develop your own ideas and identity of self after those first 72 seasons? Some things are more difficult than others — you know, some things you can't unsee and they're with you for the rest of your life, and other things you're able to rewind the tape and make a new tape in your life. So that's the real interesting part for me, is how you're able to address those situations as an adult and mature."

He continued: "There's been a lot of darkness in my life and in our career and things that have happened with us, but always having a sense of hope, always having the light that   is   in that darkness… Without darkness, there   is   no light, and being able to focus a little more on the light in life instead of all of the… how it used to be and how horrible it is... There's a lot of good things going on in life — focusing on that instead, and it helps to balance out my life. And there's no one meaning to it — everyone has some sense of hope or light in their life, and, obviously, music is mine. And the song specifically talks about gathering of people at a concert and [being] able to see the joy and the life and the love that comes out of music and the family and the kinship in that, and just a sense of uplifting."

In November,   METALLICA   released the   Tim Saccenti -directed music video for   "Lux Æterna" , along with details about the album's accompanying   "M72"   world tour featuring two-night stops in nearly two dozen cities. Presented worldwide by   Liquid Death   and   Blackened American Whiskey   (in North America only) and promoted by   Live Nation , the 46-show trek will launch in Amsterdam on April 27 and will include shows all over Europe and North America through 2024. Each "No Repeat Weekend" on   "M72"   will feature 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 the debut of discounted tickets for fans under 16 years of age. Opening acts for the tour include   PANTERA ,   MAMMOTH WVH ,   FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH ,   ICE NINE KILLS ,   ARCHITECTS ,   VOLBEAT   and   GRETA VAN FLEET .

In the six years since the arrival of   "Hardwired… To Self-Destruct" ,   METALLICA   has reissued some of its classic albums, released a second live album with the   San Francisco Symphony , commissioned a covers album featuring the likes of   GHOST ,   VOLBEAT ,   WEEZER ,   Corey Taylor   and   THE HU , and landed on the   Billboard   songs chart with   "Master Of Puppets"   after a prominent placement in the hit Netflix show   "Stranger Things" . Via Blabbermouth