Metallica have dropped a menacing new single, ‘If Darkness Had A Son’ – check it out below.

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The song is the third single, after ‘Screaming Suicide’ and ‘Lux Æterna’ to be taken from the band’s upcoming album, ’72 Seasons’, which will be released on April 14.

Prior to the track’s release, Metallica teased ‘If Darkness Had A Son’ on TikTok. The band shared an 80-second instrumental of the new song via the platform, featuring each band member duetting with their bandmates. The videos started out with just drummer Lars Ulrich, with each band member joining in one by one.

“Duet this,” they then wrote to fans.

Check out the video for ‘If Darkness Had A Son’ below:

Speaking about the inspiration behind the name of ’72 Seasons’ in a press release, frontman James Hetfield 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 reenactment or reaction to these childhood experiences. Prisoners of childhood or breaking free of those bondages we carry.”

Metallica will embark on a world tour in support of ’72 Seasons’ the same month it is released. The European leg of Metallica’s world tour will kick off in Amsterdam on April 27, 2023, making stops in Paris, Hamburg and Gothenburg throughout May and June, before continuing on North America. The band will then return to Europe for the second leg through May, June and July 2024, followed by further dates in North America.

The band will play two nights in each city, each with its own unique setlist and no repeats across the shows. Each show will also have different opening acts. Support across the tour comes from Architects, Mammoth WVH, Five Finger Death Punch, Ice Nine Kills, Pantera, Volbeat and Greta Van Fleet.

The tour includes a stop at Download where Metallica will headline twice across the extended 4-day celebration of the festival’s 20th anniversary.

The band will also hold a listening party the night before ’72 Seasons’ comes out for fans to hear the album a day early, as well as see the accompanying music videos.

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