Last week, thrash metal icons Metallica took the world by surprise with not one, but three major announcements: an upcoming studio album, a colossal world tour spanning Europe and North America, and a high-octane lead single to herald the veterans’ new era. ‘Lux Æterna’ is our first taste of ‘72 Seasons’, which drops in April 2023.
“72 seasons. The first 18 years of our lives that form our true or false selves,” expressed frontman James Hetfield about the album’s intriguing title in a statement. “Much of our adult experience is reenactment or reaction to these childhood experiences. Prisoners of childhood or breaking free of those bondages we carry.”
As the set-up for what might be a nostalgic release for the quartet, ‘Lux Æterna’ leads this week’s additions to NME Radio, alongside other fresh tunes including highlights from Stormzy’s intimate new record and the debut EP from American singer-songwriter J. Maya.
Check out the newest additions to NME Radio 1 and 2 below:
On the A List:
Metallica
‘Lux Æterna’
Metallica are back to bring the lightning on ‘Lux Æterna’, the lead single off their upcoming eleventh studio album ‘72 Seasons’. The pummelling track sees the legends flexing their prowess for riffage, kicking off with a catchy James Hetfield riff which tightly interlocks with the punch of Lars Ulrich’s double kick drum groove. It’s a killer return to form in more ways than one: the single’s ‘80s thrash chug is guaranteed to satiate fans of the band’s early sound, while the chorus’ anthemic chant of “full speed or nothing” directly references the album that started it all. – Eli Ordonez
Listen: Spotify | Apple Music
Stormzy
‘Need You’
Stormzy is caught between moving on and making up on ‘Need You’, a highlight off his stellar third album . Atop breezy Afrobeat production, the Croydon MC waxes poetic about the transitional phase between a relationship at its demise and what comes after: . The track belongs as much to rising Def Jam singer-songwriter as Stormzy, occupying half the track with a verse and hook delivered with silky precision. – EO
