“72 Seasons” by Metallica

“72 Seasons” is the title track from Metallica’s 11^th studio album. The song itself was released on 30 Mach 2023, via Blackened Records, as the forth single from that project. It follows the following singles: “Lux Æterna“, “Screaming Suicide” and “If Darkness Had a Son“.

The writing of this track is credited to Metallica members Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett and James Hetfield, all of whom have been members of the band since the early 1980s. Ulrich and Hetfield, who respectively act as the group’s drummer and frontman, also produced “72 Seasons”, in that regard working alongside Greg Fidelman.

The Lyrics of “72 Seasons”

Metallica has finally gotten around to dropping their track “72 Seasons”. We already knew earlier, from an explanation provided by Hetfield, that what the this title is meant to refer to is the first 18 years of the person’s life, our most-formative era, whereas “the die is cast”, as the first verse puts it, in terms of what type of adult we will become. 

More specifically, Metallica evidently sees that period as one where people tend to be traumatized or some other way negatively affected, having been “prisoners of childhood”. And that burden, if you will, is carried throughout adulthood. Or put otherwise, part of our responsibility as adults is overcoming whatever baggage we are carrying from childhood.

The song does get that point across, to some extent. Via phrases such as “time haunted by the past”, “blinded by the ashes of the past” and so forth, it’s quite obvious that the vocalist is referring to the experiences yesteryear having a detrimental effect on the here and now. 

But what he appears to be most specifically referring in that regard is someone who has been traumatized by violence, with the term “wrath of man” and other related terminology being utilized liberally.

Indeed, it is known that James possesses some violent tendencies of his own. And such mannerisms are apparently ones he has attributed to going through a less-than-ideal childhood.

“Wrath of man
Leaching through, split in two
Wrath of man
Crash into point of view
Wrath of man
Violence, inheritance
Wrath of man
Thrive upon, feeding on
Seventy-two seasons gone”

So let’s say that from Metallica’s perspective, we all have our own personal issues, shaped by our respective youths, which we need to overcome. But for this narrator especially, his vice is along the lines of being subject to fits of violence.  

Or more to the intended point of this track, he is able to see that other individuals are faced with similar ordeals. So it’s as if, in their own special way, Metallica is warning listeners to be aware of the specter of the past and how it influences our actions today.