I used to worry about how to reconcile the “objective” writer with the passionate fan when it came to my favorite artists. I’ve made no secret of my love for Metallica and how they were the band who brought me into extreme metal. I wrote a little about it for Nine Circles almost seven years ago, and here we are seven years later with 72 Seasons, their newest release. And listening to it for the past seven months (man, there are a lot of sevens in this thing, huh?), my heart and mind have run the gamut concerning my feelings for the music: sheer excitement for the singles; the joy of the first complete listen; disappointment upon hearing (and certainly reading) the inevitable cracks in the facade; the quiet resignation as other albums were released and the metal social media made their jokes and moved on. But now that we’re nearing the end of 2023 and everyone and their brother are making EOY lists (mine come out starting the second week of December) I wanted to really sit down and ignore everyone else, and just listen and see what I heard.

Surprise: I really, really like 72 Seasons, warts and all.