“There's a level of self-editing and consistency that slots 72 Seasons ahead of St. Anger, Hardwired, and Death Magnetic as, if not the best Metallica album of the 21st century, the best thrash album by Metallica of the 21st century. It's the sound of a band having fun, laying into a ton of riffs and embracing its own legacy as metal masters.”
“In 1983, four long-haired, leather-clad adolescent misfits from California recorded a thunderous debut album they called ‘Metal Up Your Ass’. Before it was released, their spoilsport label convinced them to change its name to ‘Kill ‘Em All’. While the new title may have made a lot of sense from a commercial perspective, it could never capture the band’s essence quite as well. Even forty years on, ”
“Metallica prove they are still thrash titans with 72 Seasons”
“The band's 12th full-length album combines youthful fury and adult wisdom”
“At 77 minutes, Metallica’s eleventh studio album delivers everything you could want from a Metallica album in 2023 and so much more. Too much more.”
“Having spent two decades making progressively worse albums, Metallica finally came good again with 2008’s Death Magnetic and 2016’s Hardwired... to Self-Destruct, both of which harked back to the inventiveness and sheer energy of their 1980s material. In their wake, 72 Seasons, the Californians’ 11th album, feels like a step backwards. While the 12 songs here are indisputably as heavy as anything ”
