That’s right! You heard correctly.The most iconic metal band in the world, also one of the Big Four just released a new song called “Lux Æterna,” is releasing a new album “72 Seasons” and going on tour. They will be supported by Five Finger Death Punch, Pantera, Ice Nine Kills, MammothWVH, Architects, Greta Van Fleet and Volbeat. 

The tour includes two nights in each city and is a “no repeat weekend,” with two different sets and two different opening bands for each night. Legacy Members’ presale started Wednesday, Nov. 30 at 9 a.m., while Fifth Member presale was later in the day. A general sale started at 9 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 2. “72 Seasons” is the follow-up to 2016’s “Hardwired…To Self-Destruct.” 

The album will come out on April 14, 2023. Their new album is produced by Greg Fidelman, James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich. 

“72 seasons. The first 18 years of our lives that form our true or false selves. The concept that we were told ‘who we are’ by our parents. A possible pigeonholing around what kind of personality we are. I think the most interesting part of this is the continued study of those core beliefs and how it affects our perception of the world today. Much of our adult experience is reenactment or reaction to these childhood experiences. Prisoners of childhood or breaking free of those bondages we carry,” frontman/guitarist James Hetfield said in a press conference about the upcoming album.

The tour is presented by Liquid Death and Blackened American Whiskey (in North America only) and promoted by Live Nation. The M72 tour will have a new round stage with the legendary Snake Pit in the middle. Then there is the I Disappear full-tour pass and the debut of discounted tickets for fans under 16 years of age.

A portion of proceeds from every ticket sold will go to Metallica’s All Within My Hands foundation. For more on the Foundation you can visit the page AllWithinMyHands.com. 

The tour will hit 22 cities in 2023 and 2024. The “M72 World Tour” will feature two legs in North America between 2023 and 2024, with two shows in every city that they play in. Their North American tour kicks off in East Rutherford, NJ MetLife Stadium on Aug. 4 and Aug. 6. 

For the North American shows, Pantera and Mammoth WVH will open the first night in each city and Five Finger Death Punch and Ice Nine Kills will open the second night. Metallica tickets will be available through a bunch of pre-sale options. You can purchase your tickets directly from Metallica on their website but I would hurry because they are selling out quickly (metallica.com) All tickets as of now are two-day bundles per city. Tickets for individual dates will go on sale on January 20, 2023. 

Grab your tickets through Ticketmaster or the bands’ websites. “72 Seasons” is the band’s 11th studio album which arrives on April 14th, 2023. Which is almost seven years after the release of “Hardwired…to Self-Destruct.” Similar to “Hardwired… to Self-Destruct” their new song shows a side of the band’s early thrash days, “Lux Aeterna” has Metallica bringing their old-school sound back to life but to a whole new level. Get your pre-orders now for “72 Seasons!” I’m sure you won’t be disappointed! 

There are 12 new tracks and 77 minutes of pure good old fashion metal. Also, fun fact, their new album also happens to be the exact same length and number of tracks as their previous album, “Hardwired… to Self-Destruct,” which the band actually released as a double album. But I think that it would have been cool if it was 72 minutes for “72 Seasons.” While the band members are getting older, their energy has stayed the same, as demonstrated with “Lux Æterna.” In my opinion they haven’t slowed down one bit. Metallica is clearly still capable of going full old-school thrash metal that goes 1000mph. But, at the same time I think that they have a wider range in style now compared to their earlier days. 

That said, my favorite aspect is still the heavy/thrash metal side of them. Also, they seem to still be having a good time all the while doing it, even after 41 years of hard work and dedication. Some bands get older and they really sing or play like they used to. It’s “Sad but True”. But that is definitely not the case when it comes to Metallica: they never seem to have aged. 

Just listen to their new song and you will understand.