“Return again to where it’s darkest…”

Metallica have released their new single, "If Darkness Had A Son". Stream the track here, and watch the Tim Saccenti-directed video for the song below.

"If Darkness Had A Son" will be featured on Metallica’s 12th studio album, 72 Seasons, out on April 14 via the band’s own Blackened Recordings. Produced by Greg Fidelman with James Hetfield & Lars Ulrich and clocking in at over 77 minutes, the 12-track album is the band’s first full-length collection of new material since 2016’s Hardwired…To Self-Destruct.

The band have launched the pre-order for the limited transparent yellow cassette edition of the album, which includes an 8-panel j-card with lyrics. Pre-order the cassette here.

Speaking on the concept of the album title, James 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.”

Pre-order the new album in multiple configurations here.

72 Seasons tracklisting:

"72 Seasons"
"Shadows Follow"
"Screaming Suicide"
"Sleepwalk My Life Away"
"You Must Burn!"
"Lux Æterna"
"Crown Of Barbed Wire"
"Chasing Light"
"If Darkness Had A Son"
"Too Far Gone?"
"Room Of Mirrors"
"Inamorata"

"Screaming Suicide" video:

“Lux Æterna” video:

(Photo by Tim Saccenti)