Metallica’s latest – titled 72 SEASONS certainly offers us a message, a theme – it’s about the passage of time, the pain of growth, the consequence of choices, and ultimately – the peace of making it to your destination.

The album title, 72 SEASONS refers to the first 18 years of life and the four seasons we all pass through each year – these seasons supposedly shaping us into the adults we will become. Personally, I love the concept and I love how this concept allows frontman James Hetfield to really shine as a lyricist. You can tell he really put his heart and soul into the message in these tracks, they are often emotional and biting – he pulls no punches as he peeks into those dark crevices and mines some devastatingly dark nuggets and with that harsh reflection comes what is likely the bands most honest album to date.

Metallica has never been a band to shy away from change, from stretching what it means to be the largest metal band in the world – the band has been on a journey both personally and musically and while at times their fans are not comfortable with the paths that the band has choosen to head, assumably preferring for the band to remain stuck in their early sound and not show age or growth, the band with this album states that they quite frankly don’t give a fu@k. Their journey has provided them that freedom and I for one am glad to watch these metal icons age and change and challenge not just themselves but their audience.

72 SEASONS is a solid entry into the bands history but – while it does hit home lyrically, it does fall short in tone and musical depth. The songs all sound structurally identical and while it’s not a bad sound – it does grow a bit tiring by the third or fourth track. Coming in at 1 hour and 17 minutes and featuring only 12 tracks – the songs are long, very long, with the final track on the album INAMORATA coming in at a whopping 11:10 – the longest track in the history of the band. An epic run time for a song that sadly falls just short of making it epic on any other front.

Don’t get me wrong – 72 SEASONS offers a lot to like, especially in Hetfields writing – the major problem here is that all the songs just sound too much alike musically – you can tell the band spent a lot of time making sure their voices were heard – they just needed to spend a bit more time crafting the capsule they buckled those words into.

72 SEASONS is out now pretty much anywhere you look – give it a spin and listen to what the band has to say.

Track listing is as follows: