Well, if you're going to announce a huge comeback, this is how you do it. Metallica have confirmed the title and release date of their forthcoming 12th studio album, released a new single and video and also revealed details of “every Metallica show booked through 2023 and 2024”.
Christened 72 Seasons, the 12-track, 77-minute record will be available April 14, 2023, via the band’s own Blackened Recordings. It was produced by Greg Fidelman with James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich.
Lead single Lux Æterna was released as part of the announcement, alongside a video directed by Tim Saccenti.
Speaking about the concept of the album James Hetfield said: “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.”
Metallica's last album, 2016's Hardwired To Self-Destruct has sold 166,492 copies in the UK according to Official Charts Company data. The group saw a huge spike in streams following the inclusion of their classic track Master Of Puppets in Stranger Things Season 4.
You can revisit our 2017 Metallica cover feature, including interviews with Lars Ulrich and Q Prime Management's Peter Mensch all about their record breaking career here.
The complete track listing for 72 Seasons is:
72 Seasons
Shadows Follow
Screaming Suicide
Sleepwalk My Life Away
You Must Burn!
Lux Æterna
Crown of Barbed Wire
Chasing Light
If Darkness Had a Son
Too Far Gone?
Room of Mirrors
Inamorata
Presented worldwide by Liquid Death and Blackened American Whiskey (in North America only) and promoted by Live Nation, Metallica’s M72 world tour will see the band playing two nights in every city it visits—with each No Repeat Weekend featuring two completely different setlists and support lineups.
An official press release stated that the M72 tour will feature “a bold new in-the-round stage design that relocates the famed Metallica Snake Pit to center stage, as well as the I Disappear full-tour pass and the debut of discounted tickets for fans under 16 years of age.”
Two-day tickets will be on sale Friday, December 2nd at ticketmaster.com and will include the option of pre-ordering 72 Seasons vinyl and/or CD. Single day tickets will be available beginning January 20th. For further information including fan club presales, enhanced experiences and more, go to metallica.com/m72-info.
A portion of proceeds from every ticket sold will go to the band’s All Within My Hands foundation.
The M72 WORLD TOUR 2023-2024 pre-sales begin 9am local time November 30. You can see the dates below:
April 2023
Thur 27th Amsterdam NL, Johan Cruijff Arena
Sat 29th Amsterdam NL, Johan Cruijff Arena
May 2023
Wed 17th Paris FR, Stade de France*
Fri 19th Paris FR, Stade de France
Fri 26th Hamburg DE, Volksparkstadion
Sun 28th Hamburg DE, Volksparkstadion
June 2023
Fri 16th Gothenburg SE, Ullevi Stadium**
Sun 18th Gothenburg SE, Ullevi Stadium
August 2023
Fri 4th East Rutherford, NJ MetLife Stadium
Sun 6th East Rutherford, NJ MetLife Stadium
Fri 11th Montreal, QC, Stade Olympique
Sun 13th Montreal, QC, Stade Olympique
Fri 18th Arlington, TX, AT&T Stadium
Sun 20th Arlington, TX, AT&T Stadium
Fri 25th Inglewood, CA, SoFi Stadium
Sun 27th Inglewood, CA, SoFi Stadium
September 2023
Fri 1st Glendale, AZ, State Farm Stadium
Sun 3rd Glendale, AZ, State Farm Stadium
November 2023
Fri 3rd St. Louis, MO, The Dome at America’s Center
Sun 5th St. Louis, MO, The Dome at America’s Center
Fri 10th Detroit, MI, Ford Field
Sun 12th Detroit, MI, Ford Field
May 2024
Fri 24th Munich DE, Olympiastadion
Sun 26th Munich DE, Olympiastadion
June 2024
Fri 7th Helsinki FI, Olympic Stadium
Sun 9th Helsinki FI, Olympic Stadium
Fri 14th Copenhagen DK, Parken Stadium
Sun 16th Copenhagen DK , Parken Stadium
July 2024
Fri 5th Warsaw PL, PGE Narodowy
Sun 7th Warsaw PL, PGE Narodowy
Fri 12th Madrid ES, Estadio Cívitas Metropolitano
Sun 14th Madrid ES, Estadio Cívitas Metropolitano
August 2024
Fri 2nd Foxborough, MA, Gillette Stadium
Sun 4th Foxborough, MA, Gillette Stadium
Fri 9th Chicago, IL, Soldier Field
Sun 11th Chicago, IL, Soldier Field
Fri 16th Minneapolis, MN, US Bank Stadium
Sun 18th Minneapolis, MN, US Bank Stadium
Fri 23rd Edmonton, AB, Commonwealth Stadium
Sun 25th Edmonton, AB, Commonwealth Stadium
Fri 30th Seattle, WA, Lumen Field
September 2024
Sun 1st Seattle, WA, Lumen Field
Fri 20th Mexico City MX, Foro Sol***
Sun 22nd Mexico City MX, Foro Sol
Fri 27th Mexico City MX, Foro Sol***
Sun 29th Mexico City MX, Foro Sol
Show 1 Support Europe: Architects & Mammoth WVH**
Show 2 Support Europe: Five Finger Death Punch &; Ice Nine Kills
*Five Finger Death Punch/Ice Nine Kills play show 1 in Paris, Architects &; Mammoth WVH play
show 2 in Paris
**Volbeat replaces Architects on show 1 in Gothenburg
Show 1 Support North America: Pantera &; Mammoth WVH***
Show 2 Support North America: Five Finger Death Punch &; Ice Nine Kills
***Greta Van Fleet replaces Pantera on show 1 both weekends in Mexico City
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