With a clever mix of nostalgia and freshness, Metallica arrives with an 11e powerful studio album that shows that the wild instincts of the beast are still very much intact.
James Hetfield felt the urge to create somewhere in the midst of a pandemic, when he picked up his acoustic guitar to make a tamer version of Blackened. He had in his bag some good riffs laid during the rehearsals of the concerts following the release of Hardwired… to Self-Destructnuggets that were then cut as a group, when the leader of the Californian quartet was finally able to find his friends in the studio.
The result lives up to the reputation of the greatest metal band in history; 77 minutes of inspired music, which casts a wide net by drawing on the band’s vast background, but finding a way to dare. Crown of Barbed Wirefor example, is not worn by sacrosancts power chords by Hetfield, but rather steered by a suite of complex chords by Kirk Hammett which gives texture and richness to this excellent metal piece; the singer expresses here rather vocal registers that he has not often explored. The voices are also exploited in a beautiful way in Shadows Followthis time with the help of powerful harmonies that bring a dose of freshness to a song that is nevertheless heavy at will. You Must Burn! is another composition with almost Gothic flavours, the prog bridge metamorphosing into a Sabbath lament fueled by disturbing glissandos from Rob Trujillo’s guttural bass.
However, we are on familiar and reassuring ground with pure thrash metal. Lux Aeterna or of chasing lightor even with the most classic 72 Seasons, Too Far Gone? And Room of Mirrors, these last two pieces notably featuring satisfying guitar duos perfect for twirling your hair – if there is still hair, of course. Finally, we cannot ignore Sleepwalk my Life Awaya surprising cross between Enter Sandman and Stone Temple Pilots style grunge.
In short, an album that refers to the first 72 seasons of a life, 18 years that define our existence according to James Hetfield, depending on whether we decide to break up or embrace our past. For the leader of Metallica, it is obviously an excellent source of inspiration.
Metal
72 Seasons
Metallica
Blackened Recordings