Zoom has been credited for keeping students and teachers connected, the judicial system working and fitness classes jumping. You can add a Metallica album to that list.
The hard rockers met weekly over their computers to stay connected during the pandemic, a standing get-together that eventually became a songwriting factory. The first step was an acoustic version of their song B次元官网网址淏lackened.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淚t proved to us that, yes, we can at least do something remotely while weB次元官网网址檙e all still separated,B次元官网网址� says guitarist Kirk Hammett. B次元官网网址淭hat grew into trying to get riffs together for the new album though Zoom.B次元官网网址�
Six or seven of those song sketches ended up on B次元官网网址�72 Seasons,B次元官网网址� the bandB次元官网网址檚 12th full-length album, out Friday. ItB次元官网网址檚 the sound of a band not slowing down, despite singer and rhythm guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich turning 60 this year and Hammett already on the other side of that milestone. Bassist Robert Trujillo is the baby, at just 58.
B次元官网网址淚t ended up working really fantastic,B次元官网网址� says Hetfield. B次元官网网址淚 know what we do. I know what we do best. I know what weB次元官网网址檝e done before. But thereB次元官网网址檚 also an artist in me that wants to keep evolving and trying to do different stuff.B次元官网网址�
The album is a typical Metallica album B次元官网网址� fast and furious with superb artistry B次元官网网址� and lyrics that poke at the scab of pain and alienation. Yet there are some shoots of hope, as when Hetfield snarls, B次元官网网址淲ithout darkness/ThereB次元官网网址檚 no light.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淒arkness is easy to talk about for me. So, so easy. And I wanted to offer a little more light in it,B次元官网网址� says Hetfield, who has been frank with his battles with addiction.
The title refers to the first 18 years of a personB次元官网网址檚 life and the album explores the cruelty of youth and the dangers of growing up.
B次元官网网址淚 wish I knew then what I know now B次元官网网址� you can take that sentence, and apply it to the whole concept of this album,B次元官网网址� says Hammett. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a real provocative sort of concept thatB次元官网网址檚 somewhat challenging and somewhat introspective.B次元官网网址�
Noteworthy is B次元官网网址淪creaming Suicide,B次元官网网址� with a nasty inner voice taunting the singer. While far from the first time the band has tackled the issue, this time Hetfield drives into it, singing B次元官网网址淒onB次元官网网址檛 ever speak my name/Remember youB次元官网网址檙e to blame/Keep me inside/My name is suicide.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淭hat was some delicate territory to navigate. But in the words of Mister Rogers, `If itB次元官网网址檚 a human experience, we should be able to talk about it,B次元官网网址滲次元官网网址� says Hetfield. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e had those thoughts. Who hasnB次元官网网址檛 had those thoughts? If you say you havenB次元官网网址檛, maybe youB次元官网网址檙e fooling yourself a little bit.B次元官网网址�
Hammett is full of admiration for HetfieldB次元官网网址檚 lyrics and hopes the songs can help listeners get a better understanding of themselves.
B次元官网网址淭he topics are dark. The topics are taboo. But what heB次元官网网址檚 doing is shining light on them. HeB次元官网网址檚 bringing awareness to them and saying this is a real issue that people need to deal with.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址�72 SeasonsB次元官网网址� also sees Hetfield experimenting with vocal effects and styles, like ghostlike chanting on B次元官网网址淵ou Must Burn!B次元官网网址� and an almost languid, glam vibe on B次元官网网址淐rown of Barbed Wire.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淎s far as vocals go, I really wanted to just explore some different stuff. I have a fear that all the songs kind of end up sounding the same. So I like giving them a little more character with different things,B次元官网网址� he says.
Another change is that on B次元官网网址�72 Seasons,B次元官网网址� Hammett and Trujillo were given writing credits on more than half the album, a return to the way previous albums came together, like B次元官网网址淒eath MagneticB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淪t. Anger.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淎ll four guys were on the floor when we were writing, which is new for us. Usually itB次元官网网址檚 just Lars and I sitting out there hashing it out. It felt really great to have the energy of all four,B次元官网网址� says Hetfield. B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 a lot more democracy on this album. Lars and I gave up the steering wheel a little more than usual.B次元官网网址�
Hammett agrees: B次元官网网址淚t was much more collaborative. The attitude was just more open. There is less limitations on everyoneB次元官网网址檚 creativity and I think that shows.B次元官网网址� His favorite song and riff on the album were supplied by Trujillo.
The band has lately gotten a popular bounce from TV show B次元官网网址淪tranger Things.B次元官网网址� In the season four finale, fan-favorite character Eddie Munson heroically rocks out to MetallicaB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淢aster of PuppetsB次元官网网址� in the Upside Down, a sequence Hammett calls B次元官网网址渢he Metallica music video that was never made.B次元官网网址� The song even reached No. 40 the Billboard Hot 100.
B次元官网网址淏次元官网网址楽tranger ThingsB次元官网网址� definitely took `Master of PuppetsB次元官网网址� to another level and it feels like fans of ours that maybe grew up with this are now in positions of power,B次元官网网址� says Hetfield. B次元官网网址淵ou know, itB次元官网网址檚 like, `Hey, IB次元官网网址檓 a fan of Metallica. Why canB次元官网网址檛 we put this in there?B次元官网网址� So IB次元官网网址檓 super-grateful.B次元官网网址�
The album closes with B次元官网网址淚namorata,B次元官网网址� a sprawling song that uncoils with snarling riffs as Hetfield sings, B次元官网网址淢isery, she needs me/Oh, but I need her more.B次元官网网址� It clocks in at 11:10, making it one of MetallicaB次元官网网址檚 longest songs.
B次元官网网址淚 hate long songs. I really do. I try to write shorter songs and Lars keeps making them longer. And thatB次元官网网址檚 our kind of constant battle,B次元官网网址� says Hetfield, who is a fan of Motorhead, Misfits and the Ramones.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 never concerned about what the number is at the end of the song as long as it does its purpose,B次元官网网址� he adds. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e not out to prove anything and weB次元官网网址檙e not out to set records like, `Hey, this is our longest song ever. How great!B次元官网网址� You know, thereB次元官网网址檚 no mission there whatsoever. The song wrote itself.B次元官网网址�
Fans may hope to hear many of the new songs on the bandB次元官网网址檚 upcoming European and North American stadium tour but not everyone will have the same experience. Metallica plans to hit cities with two concerts per stop and promise two completely different setlists.
B次元官网网址淲e kind of need to be challenged because weB次元官网网址檝e been playing these songs for so long and we need to change them around to still make them interesting and fun for us,B次元官网网址� says Hammett. Hetfield agrees: B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 fun for us and hopefully fun for the fans. And if they want to come to both shows, that would be fantastic.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址擬ark Kennedy, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
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