Maps of Music

72 Seasons (2023)

Where the lyrics of 72 Seasons take you, and where it was really made.

Metallica's designer first pushed back on the album title because it was not 'hard-hitting' enough, yet the band kept it, and it went on to win a Grammy.

Key places

Recording sessions at Metallica's HQ (2023)

Recording site Metallica HQ — The proper recording sessions for 72 Seasons took place at Metallica's HQ in San Rafael, California, from March 2021 to November 2022. Greg Fidelman produced the album and Sara Lyn Killion and Jim Monti engineered it. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Cover objects shot in a San Francisco studio (2023)

Album cover Soapbox West — Photographer Stan Musilek shot the burned objects used in the cover artwork in his San Francisco studio, and Mark Welsh modeled for the shoot. The point is placed at the city center because only the city is named. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• 72 Seasons: eleventh studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica
• Released April 14, 2023 on the band's own label, Blackened Recordings
• Second studio album released through Blackened
• Produced by Greg Fidelman, who also produced the previous album Hardwired... to Self-Destruct (2016)
• Includes Inamorata, Metallica's longest original song to date at 11 minutes 10 seconds

Background

• In March 2019, bassist Robert Trujillo said the band had begun jamming on new material for its next album
• Guitarist Kirk Hammett said the band had tentative plans to enter the studio after the WorldWired Tour
• Hammett had lost a phone holding riff ideas at Copenhagen Airport in 2014 and contributed no writing to Hardwired... to Self-Destruct
• During the COVID-19 pandemic, the band kept in weekly contact and worked from home studios
• In January 2021, Lars Ulrich said progress on the album had been very slow

Recording

• Proper sessions took place at Metallica's HQ in San Rafael, California, from March 2021 to November 2022
• Greg Fidelman produced; Sara Lyn Killion and Jim Monti engineered
• The band wore masks and kept social distance in the studio but performed together to get a live sound
• Songs were composed more collaboratively, with each member contributing

Cover

• Artwork designed by David Turner and Jamie McCathie
• Distinct yellow and black color scheme
• Inspired by Lux Æterna, meaning eternal light, which is also the title of one of the album's songs
• Burned objects include an infant crib, a switchblade, cigarettes, pill packets and a destroyed guitar
• Objects shot by photographer Stan Musilek and modeled by Mark Welsh in Musilek's San Francisco studio
• Typography designed by Ian Conklin

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich, later based in San Francisco for most of its career.
• Founded as one of the "big four" of thrash metal alongside Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer.

Members

• Current lineup: Hetfield, Ulrich, Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo.
• Former members include Ron McGovney, Cliff Burton, Jason Newsted and Dave Mustaine.

Career

• Commercial breakthrough with Master of Puppets (1986), often cited as one of the best metal albums of all time.
• The self-titled 1991 album moved the band toward a more mainstream audience and became its best-selling record.
• Returned to thrash roots with Death Magnetic (2008) and released 72 Seasons in 2023.
• Led the lawsuit against Napster in 2000.
• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009.
• Sold more than 163 million albums worldwide as of 2023.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Critics gave the album generally positive reviews
• Praise focused mostly on James Hetfield's lyrics and vocal performance
• The album's length was criticized
• Classic Rock gave 4 out of 5, calling the album intense and the lyrics tormented and bleak
• The Daily Telegraph's Neil McCormick gave 4 out of 5 stars
• Rolling Stone gave 4 out of 5 stars, saying the band plays with more purpose than in its speed-demon days

Reappraisal

• Metacritic: 77 out of 100 from 22 reviews, indicating generally favorable reviews
• AnyDecentMusic?: 7.3 out of 10 from 18 reviews, collated from more than 50 media sources
• Metal Hammer gave a mixed review, calling Metallica an agreeably solid metal band while praising Hetfield's lyrics as genuinely moving
• Metal Hammer said much of the music keeps a similar tone and pace throughout

Records

• Debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200
• Sold 146,000 copies in the first week, 134,000 of them pure album sales
• Band's twelfth album to chart in the top 10
• First album since ...And Justice for All not to debut at number one, ending the band's streak of six number-one albums
• Kept from the top spot by Morgan Wallen's One Thing at a Time, which was completing seven weeks at number one
• Debuted at number one in 20 countries, including Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland and the United Kingdom
• 373,000 album-equivalent units in the United States as of May 2024
• Three nominations at the 66th Grammy Awards, winning Best Metal Performance for the title track
• Won the 2024 iHeart Radio Music Award for Rock Album of the Year

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Hetfield tied the title to the first 18 years of life, when people form their sense of self, which is how the 72 seasons are counted.
• The title drew early pushback for not sounding as hard-hitting as earlier titles, but Ulrich liked it for being so out of left field.
• Hammett said he felt deeply, emotionally uncomfortable when he saw the burnt crib in the cover artwork, and the other members then voiced their approval.
• On release day, the band announced a partnership with the online game platform Roblox to feature the album's songs in several games.
• On April 10, 2023 the band appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and on April 12 it performed Bob Seger's Turn the Page on Howard Stern's SiriusXM show.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Maps of Ages ↗ (mapsofages.com)

Privacy · Contact