Metallica unleashes '72 Seasons,' prepares to perform on the 'biggest stage we've ever taken on'

Melissa Ruggieri, USA TODAY

Updated April 14, 2023 at 12:20 AM·7 min read

The title of Metallica’s new album, “72 Seasons,” is rooted in memory.

How do the first 18 years of a person’s life – hence, 72 seasons – reverberate through the ensuing decades?

Can we change any of our emotional or mental outlooks that developed during those formative years?

They’re big questions, which the band tackles with blunt lyricism and spikey musicality on their 11th album, out Friday.

But the new record – Metallica’s first since 2016 – isn’t the only major delivery from the band (and that’s not even including their “Master of Puppets” resurgence last summer thanks to its use in Netflix’s “Stranger Things”).

Metallica (from left) - Kirk Hammett, Lars Ulrich, James Hetfield and Robert Trujillo - have their touring plans set for 2023-24.

On April 27, they’ll launch the two-year worldwide M72 tour in Amsterdam, playing each city for two nights with different set lists. These “No Repeat Weekend” shows land in the U.S. Aug. 4 and Aug. 6 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

This week, to usher in "72 Seasons," Metallica staked a nightly performance spot on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” which culminates Thursday.

The band’s gregarious bassist, Robert Trujillo, checked in after a Kimmel performance to chat about what fans can expect from him, singer-guitarist James Hetfield, drummer Lars Ulrich and guitarist Kirk Hammett as they embark on this massive outing, why Metallica sounds its best in 20 years and how the "magic" is back.

How does Metallica prepare for grueling live shows?

The 12-song “72 Seasons” clocks in at 77 minutes, with a couple of songs such as the title track unspooling for seven-plus minutes and the closing “Inamorata” walloping for more than 11 minutes.

The Metallica catalog is rife with lengthy teeth-rattlers – “Master of Puppets,” “…And Justice for All,” “Orion” and “All Within My Hands” among them – and peppering their live shows with these steamrollers requires enormous stamina.

Trujillo says he works out more on tour than at home thanks to “all of the nice gyms” in various hotels as well as the trainers who keep the band limber on the road.

Prior to show time, he heads to the “tuning room” created at the venue where Metallica’s gear is “set up to make noise,” recording equipment is available as well in case inspiration strikes.

“James comes up with cool riffs just tuning a guitar, so we always have to have something recording. A lot of fun, magical moments happen in there,” Trujillo says.

What songs will Metallica play on their stadium tour?

The band opted for in-the-round staging for its two-year worldwide run and while Trujillo has only seen blueprints of the production, he says it “will be the biggest stage we’ve ever taken on.”

With the guidelines of “no repeat weekends,” the importance of a well-cultivated set list is amplified.

Ulrich is the unquestionable set list master in the band, but the other three members provide plenty of input.

Metalica vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield performs during the WorldWired Tour at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019.

“Lars will give us three choices for a certain slot and if we don’t feel like playing a particular song, we have a say. Especially James, because he has to sing and be comfortable with how the songs are positioned in a two-hour show.”

As for specific songs, Trujillo says Metallica will “finesse” the new material into the show, noting that he believes “If Darkness Had a Son” will be an instant fit.

“It has the anthemic quality and that’s a special statement song as well,” he says.

In November, Metallica played its first two albums live at a show honoring the founders of Megaforce Records (the band’s early label), which helped them shift into deep-cut mode.

“We realized there are songs our fans would love to hear. It doesn’t have to be ‘Enter Sandman’ or the hits, so why not mix it up?” Trujillo says.

James Hetfield kicked off the creative spurt that resulted in '72 Seasons'

Metallica’s distinctive singer returned to rehab in 2019 and told the band’s fan publication So What! that when writing the new album after his visit, “I was much more ready to open my heart to everyone in the band: lyrically, emotionally, and creatively. “

Songs such as “Screaming Suicide” and “Sleepwalk My Life Away” indicate the therapeutic result of his songwriting. But it was “Blackened 2020,” an acoustic rendering of Metallica’s 1988 song recorded via Zoom during pandemic lockdown, that Trujillo says felt like the moment when Hetfield returned to his musically inspired haven.

“From there, we all ran with it and started the creative journey,” Trujillo says. “Metallica songs are written as a cultivation process and it involves a lot of experiences and experimenting. But James opened the door initially when he felt he was ready. When we were able to get in the same room to record (after the pandemic), the songs were getting the magic that you hear. I feel this album, every note we played was struck with that much more intensity because of everything that was going on.”

Metallica’s weeklong stint on Jimmy Kimmel’s show proves their mainstream mettle

Metallica (from left) - Robert Trujillo, Lars Ulrich, James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett - will hit stadiums around the world in 2023-24 and also release their 12th album, "72 Seasons," on April 14.

The band’s four nights of performances on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” this week marked the first time an act has commandeered the late-night show for a full week.

The honor is not lost on Trujillo, who says Metallica never could have imagined such an invite after 40 years in the hard rock realm.

“We’re blessed,” he says. “To make the music we enjoy and play seven-minute songs on TV live is pretty cool. The interesting thing is, I feel like we’ve improved in the 20 years I’ve been in the band from where we were when I joined. We did play things a lot faster then, but I feel we’re more in the pocket with more of a groove element than before.”

Trujillo recalls watching MTV as a teenager and seeing Metallica’s “One” video played during regular rotation, not just the late-night, metal-focused show, “Headbangers Ball.”

“It was a powerful moment because here’s this band playing a genre that wasn’t supposed to be presented to the commercial world,” he says. “That song showed you can have an alternative sound and that can resonate with everyone.”

Rob Trujillo contributed to Ozzy Osbourne’s ‘Patient Number 9’ Grammy wins

A player in Osbourne’s band starting in the late-‘90s through his arrival in Metallica in 2003, Trujillo has remained close to the Ozzman, who will headline the October Power Trip Festival in California (as will Metallica, AC/DC and Guns N’ Roses).

“Ozzy is a warrior. As long as I’ve known him, he always finds a way to get back on that stage. I’ve always been impressed with his fortitude and passion for music. God knows how many farewell tours there have been,” Trujillo says with a laugh, noting that in 1992, his band Infectious Grooves opened for Osbourne’s first farewell – the No More Tours outing.

Trujillo was enlisted to co-write and play bass on six of the 13 tracks on Osbourne’s 2022 album, “Patient Number Nine.” The album won best rock album and the song “Degradation Rules” won best metal performance at the 2023 Grammy Awards.

“That was a special time for me. It was during the pandemic and we were in a bubble of 10 hours of jamming,” Trujillo says. “I loved that we could give him some great music and win him a couple of Grammys.”