What is Metallica’s new album about? What did their live performances on the Jimmy Kimmel Show look like? How is James Hetfield? Did the quartet come close to breaking up? Why did they buy a vinyl pressing plant? We tell you everything.
When the metal giants release a new album, it is necessarily an event. And it’s been going on for over forty years. Metallica’s youngest is called 72 Seasons and James Hetfield ruminates on childhood experiences and their impact on the adults we become. The frontman of the Californian metal band looks his demons in the face and it’s not a walk in the park. Here’s what you need to know about this disc available on Friday, and more.
1 What did Metallica play this week on The Jimmy Kimmel Show?
On the occasion of the release of the highly anticipated 72 Seasons, Metallica was in residence this week at The Jimmy Kimmel Show. On Monday April 10, the metal titans kicked off with Lux Aeterna, the punch single from their new album. The next day they looked in the rear view mirror with Holier Than Thoufrom the famous Black Album of 1991 which blew up their career. On Wednesday, they set fire to Jimmy Kimmel’s modest set (below) with their hit Master of Puppets dated 1986, the longest title ever played in this American television show. Thirty-seven years later, the Californian quartet has in any case proven that it is still ready to make the noise on all the world stages.
2 Who produced the new album? How many songs does it include?
This album is Metallica’s eleventh studio album. It comes out seven years after the group’s previous album, Hardwired to Self Destruct released in 2016. 77 minutes long on the clock, 72 Seasons features 12 songs, including several calibrated for stadiums like You Must Burn! It closes on a piece of bravery, Inamorata, longer than 11 minutes. It is produced by Greg Fidelman, a regular collaborator with the band since 2008, along with James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich.
3 What is the album “72 Seasons” about?
The title of this 11th album, 72 Seasonsrefers to the number of seasons we experience before reaching adulthood, these “first 18 years that shape our true or false moI“. 72 Seasons is therefore a rumination on childhood, on the influence of our parents and on the way in which the beliefs they pass on to us “affect our perception of the world“, explains James Hetfield in essence in the note of intent. “Much of our adult experience is a re-enactment or reaction to these childhood experiences.“, he unfolds. So we are either “prisoners of childhood” either “freed from these chains that we carry.”
4 Which singles have already been released?
The title song 72 Seasons, more than 7 minutes long and which opens the album, is the last to be released, at the end of March. Previously, Metallica unveiled If Darkness Had a Son And ScreamingSuicide. As for Lux Aeterna (Eternal light in Latin, an expression taken from the Catholic liturgy), it set the tone from November 2022, James Hetfield evoking the “demons that strangle your life”.
5 How is James Hetfield doing?
The Metallica vocalist and rhythm guitarist has never hidden his inner turmoil – “it’s hell in there”, he used to say, pointing to his head – or his sessions on the couch of the shrink. Since the previous album, he had to return to rehab and divorced the woman he had been with for 25 years. In a river interview published on the group’s website, he also says that in 2020 he felt the need for outside help with his mental health. While perceiving how bad the pandemic had been “horrible“for many, this period was a ray of hope for him, he admits. Especially since he does not live in town but “in the middle of nowhere“, in a mountainous valley where the pressure of confinement and the fear of the virus were less strong. This parenthesis above all allowed him to take a break”positive” in his life. He therefore seems to be getting better and ensures that he is now looking his demons in the face. His vulnerability is also on the surface like never before on this new album.
6 Is the group on the verge of separation?
Rumor has been circulating in recent years about a possible separation from the group. Without formally denying it, James Hetfield acknowledges that over time he and Lars Ulrich had gained the upper hand over the group, the duo doing a lot without including the other members. During the pandemic, he realized this. During weekly connections via Zoom, he says he pushed Kirk Hammet and Robert Trujillo to express their creativity and ideas more. “All these rumors are coming out of fear because people want Metallica to keep going. So do I. I’m doing my best for it,” he assures in the same river interview.
7 When is the tour going to France and what to expect?
Metallica’s European tour kicks off April 27 in Amsterdam. The second stop is planned in France, at the Stade de France, on May 17 and 19. In each city where it stops, the group sees double with two dates, two different setlists, and different opening acts (in this case Five Finger Death Punch and Ice Nine Kills on the 17th and Architects and Marmoth WVH on the 19th). The setlists will have no title in common during the two evenings, James Hetfield makes it a point of honor. A real headache for the group, but a strong incentive to buy a pack for both shows. And it’s not the 60,000 people who attended their electrifying concert in July 2021 at Hellfest who will tell you otherwise. Nor those who applauded them during the two unique shows in December 2021 in San Francisco to celebrate their 40th anniversary. “For two hours, they played at least one track from each of their studio albums, with a mix of hits, lesser-known tracks and fan favourites,” wrote RollingStone.
8 How did the group become so popular with young people again?
The bosses of metal have been raging for more than forty years and its members will soon all be in their sixties. So how come their audience has gotten so dramatically younger in recent months? This phenomenon, the group owes it to the placement of their hit Master of Puppets (1986) in the last episode of the series Stranger Things (on Netflix). In a memorable epic scene, filled with suspense, one of the characters, a metal fan, plays the song to scare demonic creatures away from his comrades in great danger. Result: 325% increase in listening to the song on Spotify the day after the broadcast of the last episode of the season. “The end result blew us all away,” wrote Metallica on his Instagram account on July 6, 2022, thanking the creators of the series. Today, they still can’t believe it. On the Jimmy Kimmel Show these days they were blown away that the song could appeal to such young people. “It’s just insane”, drummer Lars Ulrich wondered. “Who could have thought?“
9 Why did they acquire a vinyl pressing factory?
In the United States, vinyl sales are exploding. For the first time since 1987, they exceeded those of CDs in 2022 (41 million against 33 million). The enthusiasm for this format is such that stars like Taylor Swift, Harry Styles or Billie Eilish are running the pressing factories at full speed, which are overwhelmed with orders and can no longer supply. At the beginning of March, Metallica bought a pressing plant, Furnace Record Pressing, one of the largest in the country: based in Virginia, this company produces more than 25,000 vinyl records a day. If Metallica hasn’t released an album for six years, those in its back catalog are selling like hot cakes in vinyl format. Last year, the group sold 387,000 albums, and was one of the biggest sellers of vinyl records in the United States. However, the congestion is such in the pressing factories that it sometimes takes several months between the release of an album and its availability in vinyl format. By acquiring the majority stake in Furnace Record Pressing, Metallica, whose fans clearly like to own their music in physical format, is ensuring that demand is met, both for reissues and for 72 Seasons.
Metallica’s “72 Seasons” (Blackened Recordings/Universal Music) out Friday, April 14