Metallica has confirmed the title and release date of its forthcoming 12th studio album: 72 Seasons will be available April 14, 2023 via the band’s own Blackened Recordings.

72 Seasons is heralded by first single “Lux Æterna,” a short, sharp blast that distils 40 years of Metallica into three and a half minutes. “Lux Æterna” is available now to stream and download. Watch the “Lux Æterna” video, directed by Tim Saccenti, here.

Speaking on the concept of the album title, 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 a reenactment or reaction to these childhood experiences. Prisoners of childhood or breaking free of those bondages we carry.”

Preorder 72 Seasons here.

whygeneration.co.uk