In 2019, press reports gave only an idea of how bad things were for Metallica singer James Hetfield. Once again he had to go to a rehab clinic because of his alcoholism, which he actually believed to be over. The divorce from his wife followed last year – apart from the band, the only anchor in the life of the rock legend. The new Metallica album gives an idea of how deep the abyss really was and still is.
A red thread runs through “72 Seasons” Hetfield’s struggle with addiction and the demons of the past – and the doubt of being able to defeat them. “Misery isn’t what I want to live for” is a key line of the new album’s final and most listenable track, “Inamorata”. As you sing, you can almost hear Hetfield crying.
The 59-year-old deals with the curse of his own fame in “Crown of Barbed Wire”. “The rusted kingdom that is mine, I bleed as I sit on this rusty throne,” it says.
It’s not the first time Hetfield has worked through his trauma through music. His mother died of cancer because she did not want to seek medical treatment due to religious beliefs. The “72 Seasons” represent the 18 years of youth that shape you forever. And Hetfield seems to have arrived at a point of deep reflection after the personal hardships of his 72 seasons and the setbacks of the past few years – the lyrics are the greatest strength of the album, which is due out on April 14th.
Hammett contra Hetfield
Unfortunately, the music does not reach the depth of the lyrics. With individual songs – such as “If Darkness Had a Son” – you get the impression that every member of the greatest metal band of all time wants to go in a different artistic direction. A Hetfield riff that sounds like the raw sound of the ’80s is washed over by Hammett’s lead guitar, which seems to nod to the fan-favored blues-rock times of the ’90s albums “Load” and “Reload”. .
This is where Metallica’s rigorous exclusivity policy takes revenge. No band member may pursue side projects. This certainly helps keep the highly profitable metal franchise together, but in-group creativity seems to suffer.
Man of Sorrows: James Hetfield on stage
Quelle: Jeff Kravitz/Getty Images for P+ and MTV
Because if no other output is available, every band member has to pack their musical ideas into the Metallica albums, which are now only released at intervals of several years. The problems with the last album “Hardwired… To Self-Destruct” show that the creative process no longer seems to be organic. Because guitarist Kirk Hammett lost his iPhone with riffs and song ideas, he could hardly contribute any material to the album.
On “72 Seasons” the iCloud has apparently fulfilled its function. Hammett returns, but his guitar work doesn’t seem to fit Hetfield’s ideas very well. With “Screaming Suicide” one gets the impression that one is no longer dealing with a coherent composition (as was the case especially in the early days of the band with the deceased bassist Cliff Burton), but with partly only loosely connected instrumental parts.
So that there are no misunderstandings: “72 Seasons” is still worth listening to, because despite the centrifugal forces of the band members drifting apart, a coherent and intensive album has emerged for the most part. Metallica (apart from the bassist role) has been a well-rehearsed team for 40 years, which even out of creative fatigue can stomp out of the ground even more than many other bands in the autumn of their career.
The occasional lapse into self-quotes is manageable simply because the band has an unmistakable, constantly conscientiously developed sound that simply washes over discrepancies. And there are surprises on 72 Seasons too. Above all, the unusually melodic choruses have never been heard from Metallica before.
“I like to be alone”
Nevertheless, the legendary band seems to be gradually shrinking to a community of convenience. Singer Hetfield, whose wide-legged stage persona with ESP Explorer guitar hanging at knee height no longer seems to fit his off-stage personality, has retreated away from fame to the mountains of Colorado. In an interview with podcast host Joe Rogan six years ago, his favorite things to talk about were beekeeping and growing vegetables at home. It is quiet in the mountains and there are no traffic jams. “I like to be by myself,” Hetfield said, looking as if he’d already given up the rock star life.
The band members now travel to concerts in separate limousines – you see each other mainly on stage, where the profitable business takes place. Hardly any band completes as many concerts as Metallica. You play hits, also lesser-known songs, but the air seems to be out – even with James Hetfield, whose presence on stage dominated stadium rock for decades. The charismatic frontman spoke about his self-doubt live on stage in Brazil last year. Fans and his band friends had to cheer him up again.
On the other hand, Metallica has often been declared burned out and ended up selling millions of albums and selling out concerts. The band accompanies the biography of generations and the new album conveys just enough homeliness to go to a concert again and feel exactly like when you switched from childhood Bravo hits to “Ride The Lightning”. For that nostalgic feeling alone, Metallica should keep going for a long time.