With Death Magnetic and its ensuing tour, Metallica found a groove that worked for them: decades past their creative prime, they recorded new music when the mood struck and made sure it fit within a template that at least reminded of their glory days if not built upon them. And the announcement of 72 Seasons coinciding with the release of the “Lux Æterna” video, it would appear that James, Lars, Kirk and Rob are content to stay in their lane. And to be sure, it’s a lane that works very well for them- it might be faint praise to say that Death Magnetic and Hardwired… to Self-Destruct weren’t embarrassing, after St. Anger nobody was optimistic that Metallica even understood what made their first albums so special, let alone attempt to recapture that magic.
But speaking of recapturing old magic… “Lux Æterna” upon the first couple listens is the most overt tribute to the New Wave of British Heavy Metal these guys have written since Kill ‘Em All. Specifically, Savage’s Loose n’ Lethal is a clear reference point, as James clearly used “Let It Loose” as a reference point in his riffing, lyrics and even vocal approach. Lars drums a bit faster, but not by a lot- this is about as fast as a lot of late-period NWOBHM, particularly Savage.
So instead of trying to recreate Master of Puppets, Metallica instead went all the way back to their roots as fans. And while it is doubtful that the rest of 72 Seasons will follow suit, it is nice to hear Metallica reconnecting with this part of their history.