Metallica - 72 Seasons

[JamesT]

Just finished listening through "72 Seasons" a couple of times for my initial listening experience with it.  And goodness, this album is fantastic!  I enjoyed "Death Magnetic" a decent bit, and I'm a huge fan of "Hardwired...to Self-Destruct" (at the time of its release in 2016, I thought it was the best album they'd put out since "...And Justice for All").  After these first couple of listens, I'd have to put "72 Seasons" right up there with "Hardwired...to Self-Destruct" as their best album since 1988.  And yes, I've always found the Black Album to be highly overrated.  

But back to this monster.  I wasn't sure what to expect going into it, but this thing is a beast.  It has thrash-y moments that recall the 80's classics, but it mostly offers lots of meaty riffs and grooves.  The production is fantastic, the drumming is great, and it's a heavy, lumbering beast from start to finish.  Thankfully, there's nothing here like "The Unforgiven III" or "The Day That Never Comes", or anything resembling a sappy ballad.  I'm pleasantly surprised and impressed by how much I enjoyed this album.  This one will be getting lots of repeated listens in the days and weeks to come.  Well done, Metallica.  

[AlSymerz]

22 minutes ago, JamesT said:

Just finished listening through "72 Seasons" a couple of times for my initial listening experience with it.  And goodness, this album is fantastic!  I enjoyed "Death Magnetic" a decent bit, and I'm a huge fan of "Hardwired...to Self-Destruct" (at the time of its release in 2016, I thought it was the best album they'd put out since "...And Justice for All").  After these first couple of listens, I'd have to put "72 Seasons" right up there with "Hardwired...to Self-Destruct" as their best album since 1988.  And yes, I've always found the Black Album to be highly overrated.  

But back to this monster.  I wasn't sure what to expect going into it, but this thing is a beast.  It has thrash-y moments that recall the 80's classics, but it mostly offers lots of meaty riffs and grooves.  The production is fantastic, the drumming is great, and it's a heavy, lumbering beast from start to finish.  Thankfully, there's nothing here like "The Unforgiven III" or "The Day That Never Comes", or anything resembling a sappy ballad.  I'm pleasantly surprised and impressed by how much I enjoyed this album.  This one will be getting lots of repeated listens in the days and weeks to come.  Well done, Metallica.  

I don't completely disagree. I've listened to it a few times now and it has grown on me a bit. For a Metallica album it's pretty good!!

 

[JamesT]

6 minutes ago, AlSymerz said:

I don't completely disagree. I've listened to it a few times now and it has grown on me a bit. For a Metallica album it's pretty good!!

 

Glad to hear that!  I think a lot of the disappointment and disillusionment with modern Metallica albums stems from the incessant need for people to compare each one to their 80's classics.  I love their 80's stuff, but I don't listen to their more modern albums with the hopes that they'll suddenly start to sound like the thrash material from back then.  I make a judgement on whether or not the album is good based on its own merit.  No preconceived notions - just entering the listening experience with a clean slate.  And "72 Seasons" is fantastic.  Would I rank it ahead of any of their 80's masterpieces, IF I were to try and rank the catalog?  No.  But that's not the point or the goal.  It is a great, enjoyable album from beginning to end.  The material is heavy, fierce, and it's well-executed on every front.  High marks all around!

[AlSymerz]

I'll leave other people to rank it but I do agree that some people seem to always want to compare new Metallica to old.

[JamesT]

13 minutes ago, AlSymerz said:

I'll leave other people to rank it but I do agree that some people seem to always want to compare new Metallica to old.

Definitely.  I listened all the way through "Death Magnetic" and "Hardwired...to Self-Destruct" yesterday to get into Metallica mode and prepare to dive into "72 Seasons", and I thoroughly enjoyed them.  Really solid heavy metal albums with occasional throwbacks to the thrash sound they helped invent.  

[RelentlessOblivion]

I also endeavour to evaluate new albums on their merits, so my thoughts are more reflective of my shifting taste. Five years ago 72 seasons likely would have been a 7/10 for me, much like Ironbound was at the time. Now, not unlike Ironbound, it’s a 5/10 on my end but that’s why taste is subjective.

[AlSymerz]

I don't remember Hardwired or Death Magnetic that well. I know I listened to them and I have DM on CD somewhere but I can't remember the last time I listened to it.

[JamesT]

15 minutes ago, RelentlessOblivion said:

I also endeavour to evaluate new albums on their merits, so my thoughts are more reflective of my shifting taste. Five years ago 72 seasons likely would have been a 7/10 for me, much like Ironbound was at the time. Now, not unlike Ironbound, it’s a 5/10 on my end but that’s why taste is subjective.

Totally agree!  "Ironbound" is the #2 album in the entire Overkill catalog for me.  But I literally enjoy all 20 of their albums to varying degrees, so I'm a true Overkill fanboy haha.

I completely respect your view on it, though.  My tastes have shifted quite a bit over the years, too.  I used to be into nothing but metalcore and hardcore/screamo stuff (and I still indulge from time to time), but these days, it's all groove, thrash, traditional heavy metal, rock 'n' roll, and hard blues-rock for me, with the occasional doom and power metal thrown in.

18 minutes ago, AlSymerz said:

I don't remember Hardwired or Death Magnetic that well. I know I listened to them and I have DM on CD somewhere but I can't remember the last time I listened to it.

"Death Magnetic" is quite an enjoyable listen.  I'd encourage you to dust it off again if you have the time and are considering it.  I hear a lot of complaints about the production - and sure, it's not quite as crisp as these two most recent albums - but honestly, it's still not bad.  It's still a very heavy album with lots of thrash-y moments.  My favorite track is "All Nightmare Long" - 8 minutes of mostly pure, speedy thrash.  Other standouts are "The Judas Kiss", "Cyanide", and "Broken, Beat, and Scarred".   But really, the entire thing is a more-than-worthy listen. 

I enjoyed "Hardwired...to Self-Destruct" even more.  To me, along with "72 Seasons" now, it's the best material they've released since 1988.  The opening track, "Hardwired", is barely over 3 minutes long, but it's an absolute scorcher of a track.  Pure speed all the way through.

It's also bookended - the final track, "Spit Out the Bone" is a bruising piece of pure thrash through and through.  Every song on Hardwired is enjoyable, though, in my opinion.  "Atlas, Rise!", "Moth Into Flame", "Dream No More", and "Am I Savage?" (which has a PanterA-like groove, making it an automatic winner in my book) are a few other standouts.  But again, the entire album is fantastic.  

Lots of fantastic material on those albums that I'd highly recommend if you're inclined to give them another whirl! 

[AlSymerz]

I'll probably give the entire catalogue a spin one day soon, it's been a while. But I do need to source a few of them from YT or other such places....maybe Napster.

 

[JamesT]

9 minutes ago, AlSymerz said:

I'll probably give the entire catalogue a spin one day soon, it's been a while. But I do need to source a few of them from YT or other such places....maybe Napster.

 

Definitely a worthy endeavor!  I did that about 2 months ago - I listened through the whole catalog.  I will say there are still a handful of songs I enjoy from Load/Reload, but the others I just can't really get into.  But that's okay.  I do enjoy most of the Black Album but find it to be incredibly overrated in the grand scheme of things.  I genuinely enjoy "St. Anger" and just listened to it last night.  The drum sound actually adds to the experience for me, so I've never understood all the hate for it.  It's got some ferociously heavy songs.  I was just glad they veered back into a much heavier direction after the Load/Reload era.  And of course, the 80's material is just legendary and NEVER gets old.  

I'm currently listening through "72 Seasons" once again, and it gets better with each listen.  Very happy with the final product. 

[RelentlessOblivion]

Death, and to a lesser extent Evoken are the only bands I fanboy over, each to their own though. I pretty much only listened to thrash and heavy metal before joining this place. These days most of my collection is black or doom metal.

[GoatmasterGeneral]

4 hours ago, AlSymerz said:

I'll leave other people to rank it but I do agree that some people seem to always want to compare new Metallica to old.

Who should we compare them to Orca? Avenged Sevenfold, Seether, Disturbed and Limp Bizkunt? I suppose it could be a noble endeavor to genuinely try not to compare new albums to anything at all and do our best to go in with completely open minds. But being realistic, any album that's not a debut is going to be compared to the band's previous work. Especially when it's a big name brand that everyone who doesn't live under a rock knows and has heard before. Of course comparing anything to the first 3 Metallica albums is pointless because 40 years ago might as well have been another lifetime, that band doesn't exist anymore.

[AlSymerz]

Well Whitenoise you can compare them to whomever you like, that's the beauty of having a choice.

I don't know, or care, if it's a noble choice to not compare their old albums to their new but many people do it. In my world I don't listen to a new Metallica album and automatically compare it to their older stuff, but I also don't compare it to any other band. Maybe after a few listens I might hear different things in it, for instance some of the riffs on the new one sound a bit like some of the riffs of RTL. I might even hear other bands in it, for instance certain parts sound a little like a Diamond Head song. But I'm not comparing the album, the songs or the riffs to older albums or Diamond Head, I'm simply noticing similarities. I don't like the album because it sounds like something else, I like the album because it sounds like it sounds.

How others judge the album is up to them but to me it does seem like more people judge Metallica by their past than they do by their present.

[RelentlessOblivion]

Beating a dead horse here gents, agree to disagree?

[AlSymerz]

Agree?

Disagree?

I thought it was a discussion.

[GoatmasterGeneral]

2 hours ago, AlSymerz said:

Well Whitenoise you can compare them to whomever you like, that's the beauty of having a choice.

I don't know, or care, if it's a noble choice to not compare their old albums to their new but many people do it. In my world I don't listen to a new Metallica album and automatically compare it to their older stuff, but I also don't compare it to any other band. Maybe after a few listens I might hear different things in it, for instance some of the riffs on the new one sound a bit like some of the riffs of RTL. I might even hear other bands in it, for instance certain parts sound a little like a Diamond Head song. But I'm not comparing the album, the songs or the riffs to older albums or Diamond Head, I'm simply noticing similarities. I don't like the album because it sounds like something else, I like the album because it sounds like it sounds.

How others judge the album is up to them but to me it does seem like more people judge Metallica by their past than they do by their present.

So you start your post by saying you don't compare the album to their older ones or to any other bands. And then in your next sentence you go on to explain how you do compare it to their older albums and to other bands, but then deny that you've just compared them. When we have it in writing. Do you ever proof-read posts to see if they make any sense before you click submit? And do you know what the verb compare means?

I have no plans to listen to the album in question in its entirety. All I'm saying is when a well estabished band like this releases a new album, comparisons to previous albums are going to be inevitable. Have you heard or read anyone anywhere speak about this 72 Suckers album without mentioning (and comparing it to) either Hardwired or Magnetic Vagina or both? I don't think I have. Have you heard or read anyone anywhere talk about Scorched without mentioning any other previous Overkill albums? I don't think I have. 

 

All your riffs are belong to us.

[JamesT]

9 hours ago, RelentlessOblivion said:

Death, and to a lesser extent Evoken are the only bands I fanboy over, each to their own though. I pretty much only listened to thrash and heavy metal before joining this place. These days most of my collection is black or doom metal.

Very cool!  Death is a band that I'm planning to get more into in the coming weeks and months.  I've never done a deep dive into their catalog.  I do enjoy some death metal - I just don't listen to it as much as I used to.  Cannibal Corpse and Hate Eternal are my two favorites in the genre.  Erik Rutan is such a beast, and he's a down-to-earth dude, too.  

But I highly respect Death for essentially spawning the sub genre.  I really like "Leprosy" and "Individual Thought Patterns" thus far, so I'm looking forward to checking out more.  I enjoy a lot more doom than death.  Candlemass are an all-time favorite for me, and I also like Funeral, My Dying Bride, Doom:VS, Solitude Aeturnus and Saturnus, to name a few.

4 hours ago, RelentlessOblivion said:

Beating a dead horse here gents, agree to disagree?

Maybe so haha!  

I don't intend to belabor the point.  I've just seen a lot of reviews - not just on this forum, but online in general - that seem to approach "72 Seasons" with the precise mindset we were just speaking about, which doesn't make any sense to me. 

"We're never going to get another album that sounds like "Ride the Lightning" or "Master of Puppets", so I'm not going to bother listening to anything new they put out."

The's the comparison game that seems counterproductive.  Those albums are legendary classics, and they're nearly 40 years old at this point.  This new album isn't trying to sound like those albums.  It's a fantastic album on its own merit.

Of course, ultimately, people are free to choose what they want to listen to, based on any criteria they see fit.  It just seems that Metallica's newer material gets bashed - when it's actually quite solid - more so than perhaps other bands, due to what they did nearly 4 decades ago.  In my opinion, the listening experience would be far different - and much more satisfying for a lot of folks - if they would try and approach it with a clean slate. 

Anyway, "72 Seasons" is an excellent album to my ears, and I'd recommend it to anyone.  Now I'll put the point to rest haha!

[AlSymerz]

10 hours ago, GoatmasterGeneral said:

So you start your post by saying you don't compare the album to their older ones or to any other bands. And then in your next sentence you go on to explain how you do compare it to their older albums and to other bands, but then deny that you've just compared them. When we have it in writing. Do you ever proof-read posts to see if they make any sense before you click submit? And do you know what the verb compare means?

I have no plans to listen to the album in question in its entirety. All I'm saying is when a well estabished band like this releases a new album, comparisons to previous albums are going to be inevitable. Have you heard or read anyone anywhere speak about this 72 Suckers album without mentioning (and comparing it to) either Hardwired or Magnetic Vagina or both? I don't think I have. Have you heard or read anyone anywhere talk about Scorched without mentioning any other previous Overkill albums? I don't think I have. 

 

All your riffs are belong to us.

Honestly it's hard to figure out how you read things, sometimes I wonder if English is your first language.

 

8 hours ago, JamesT said:

Anyway, "72 Seasons" is an excellent album to my ears, and I'd recommend it to anyone.  Now I'll put the point to rest haha!

 

If only it sounded more like Kill The Puppet's Lightning Justice.

 

[Thatguy]

12 hours ago, JamesT said:

Anyway, "72 Seasons" is an excellent album to my ears, and I'd recommend it to anyone.  Now I'll put the point to rest haha!

I wish you lot would put this thread to rest.

I know I don't have to read it but it's like a train crash. I just can't look away.

[Dead1]

4 hours ago, AlSymerz said:

 

If only it sounded more like Kill The Puppet's Lightning Justice.

 

Obviously you misspelt Reload.

[markm]

I'm sort of surprised people still think AARP era Metallica are relevant.

[GoatmasterGeneral]

48 minutes ago, markm said:

I'm sort of surprised people still think AARP era Metallica are relevant.

It's that name recognition thing Mark. People love a familiar name over some unknown name. People take comfort in familiar music. This is why they're still playing the same old 40 or 50 year old crap on the radio today. It's why Hollywood continues to cast well known action film stars and leading men well into their 60's and even their 70's, because they're banking on the fact that people will be quicker and more likely to spend their money to see that same old familiar face they know and love (even if it's been surgically altered) than they would to pay to see a more believable but unproven 35 year old actor they're unfamiliar with. 

Hetfield & Ulrich will be 60 this year, Hammet 61. I'm betting Metallica will drop yet another new album by the end of this current decade, and at least one if not two more in the 2030's when they're in their 70's. And fans will no doubt lap them up and proclaim them to be great (or at least not bad for Metallica albums) because most people take comfort in sticking with old familiar 'safe' bands they've grown to know and love. 

Some of these fans will continue to claim that cranky old bastards like me only hate the newer stuff because it's got the Metallica name on it, and apparently I'm still bitter about them abandoning thrash metal 35 years ago. But the truth of course is that most fans only like these newer records because they have the Metallica brand name on them. Because it's pretty clear that if they didn't have the Metallica brand name on them to guarantee sales, most of us never would have heard any of these last 4 or 5 Metallica albums in the first place because they haven't been good enough on their own merits to ever see the light of day or get any mainstream media attention at all without that well established brand name to get them in the door. 

Let's face it, a band of Metallica's stature could release an album of farts and record themselves taking a dump in unison and it would still go triple platinum. And dudes would still be making posts about how it's really not bad for a Metallica album, (as if they're trying to convince themselves) and they'd still be trying to tell us nay sayers that we only hate it because we're salty over the farts not being thrashy enough. 

[AlSymerz]

1 hour ago, GoatmasterGeneral said:

Hetfield & Ulrich will be 60 this year, Hammet 61. I'm betting Metallica will drop yet another new album by the end of this current decade, and at least one if not two more in the 2030's when they're in their 70's.

You're giving Metallica more credit than Lars'. He did once say he wanted to be playing into his 70's but there was an interview 3 weeks ago where he said he reckons Metallica have one more album in them.

[Dead1]

On 4/24/2023 at 2:39 PM, GoatmasterGeneral said:

 

Let's face it, a band of Metallica's stature could release an album of farts and record themselves taking a dump in unison and it would still go triple platinum. 

If I was in Metallica or any super famous arena rock band, I'd so do this.

[AlSymerz]

Since someone else restarted this thread after a few days to keep Doc entertained.....

Seems that Lars has had some time for quiet contemplation and in the press today he'd decided Metallica do have another 20 years in them. He hasn't committed to any number of albums but he has committed to eggs and tofu so that album of farts could be on the agenda.