Metallica have unveiled the latest single from upcoming new album 72 Seasons. Titled If Darkness Had A Son, it's a stomping, imperious heavy metal banger full of dark, brooding lyrics from frontman James Hetfield, accompanied by a video directed by Tim Saccenti featuring the Four Horsemen performing together under a dazzling array of lights and trippy kaleidoscopic effects.
Watch the video for If Darkness Had A Son below. 72 Seasons, Metallica's first studio album for almost seven years, is set for release on April 14, 2023 via the band's own Blackened imprint. Metallica head out on tour across Europe, the US and beyond this year, with dates planned well into 2024.
Speaking on the concept behind 72 Seasons last year, James Hetfield stated: "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 72 Seasons tracklist
1. 72 Seasons
2. Shadows Follow
3. Screaming Suicide
4. Sleepwalk My Life Away
5. You Must Burn!
6. Lux Æterna
7. Crown of Barbed Wire
8. Chasing Light
9. If Darkness Had a Son
10. Too Far Gone?
11. Room of Mirrors
12. Inamorata
Metallica 2023-2024 world tour dates
Apr 27, 2023: Amsterdam Johan Cruijff Arena, HOL
Apr 29, 2023: Amsterdam Johan Cruijff Arena, HOL
May 17, 2023 - Paris FR - Stade de France, FRA
May 19, 2023 - Paris FR - Stade de France, FRA
May 26, 2023: Hamburg Volksparkstadion, GER
May 28, 2023: Hamburg Volksparkstadion, GER
Jun 08, 2023: Download Festival, UK
Jun 10, 2023: Download Festival, UK
Jun 16, 2023: Gothenburg Ullevi Stadium, SWE
Jun 18 2023: Gothenburg Ullevi Stadium, SWE
Aug 04, 2023: East Rutherford, NJ MetLife Stadium, USA
Aug 06, 2023: East Rutherford NJ MetLife Stadium, NJ, USA
Aug 11, 2023: Montreal Stade Olympique, CAN
Aug 13, 2023: Montreal Stade Olympique, CAN
Aug 18, 2023: Arlington, TX AT&T Stadium, USA
Aug 20, 2023: Arlington, TX AT&T Stadium, USA
Aug 25, 2023: Inglewood, CA SoFi Stadium, USA
Aug 27, 2023: Inglewood, CA - SoFi Stadium, USA
Sep 01, 2023: Glendale, AZ - State Farm Stadium, USA
Sep 03, 2023: Glendale, AZ - State Farm Stadium, USA
Nov 03, 2023: St. Louis, MO - The Dome at America’s Center, USA
Nov 05, 2023 - St. Louis, MO - The Dome at America’s Center
Nov 10, 2023: Detroit, MI Ford Field, USA
Nov 12, 2023: Detroit, MI Ford Field, USA
May 24, 2024: Munich Olympiastadion, GER
May 26, 2024 - Munich DE - Olympiastadion, GER
Jun 7, 2024: Helsinki Olympic Stadium, FIN
Jun 9, 2024: Helsinki Olympic Stadium, FIN
Jun 14, 2024: Copenhagen Parken Stadium, DEN
Jun 16, 2024: Copenhagen Parken Stadium, DEN
Jul 05 2024: Warsaw PGE Narodowy, POL
Jul 07 2024: Warsaw PGE Narodowy, POL
Jul 12, 2024: Madrid Estadio Cívitas Metropolitano, SPA
Jul 14 2024: Madrid Estadio Cívitas Metropolitano, SPA
Aug 02, 2024: Foxborough, MA Gillette Stadium, USA
Aug 04, 2024: Foxborough, MA Gillette Stadium, USA
Aug 09, 2024: Chicago, IL Soldier Field, USA
Aug 11, 2024: Chicago, IL Soldier Field, USA
Aug 16, 2024: Minneapolis US Bank Stadium, USA
Aug 18, 2024: Minneapolis US Bank Stadium, USA
Aug 23. 2024: Edmonton Commonwealth Stadium, CAN
Aug 25, 2024: Edmonton Commonwealth Stadium, CAN
Aug 30, 2024: Seattle, WA Lumen Field, USA
Sep 01, 2024: Seattle, WA Lumen Field, USA
Sep 20, 2024: Mexico City Foro Sol, MEX
Sep 22, 2024 - Mexico City Foro Sol, MEX
Sep 27, 2024: Mexico City Foro Sol, MEX
Sep 29, 2024: Mexico City Foro Sol, MEX
Support acts at various shows on the tour include Pantera, Greta Van Fleet, Mammoth WVH, Ice Nine Kills, Architects, and Five Finger Death Punch.
