Metallica’s first new song in six years is off to a fast start. “Lux Æterna” has hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart in its second week of release, while also topping 10 million streams on Spotify.
“Lux Æterna” is the first single from Metallica’s highly anticipated upcoming album, 72 Seasons, which arrives on April 14th. After debuting at No. 2 in its first week out, the track knocked fellow legendary metal act Ozzy Osbourne’s “One of Those Days” from the No. 1 spot on the Mainstream Rock tally this past week.
Overall, “Lux Æterna” marks Metallica’s 11th No. 1 on the Mainstream Rock chart. Oddly enough, they never hit No. 1 with any songs from “The Black Album” or earlier releases, despite those first five LPs considered metal classics. Their first No. 1 was “Until It Sleeps” from 1996’s Load.
Meanwhile, “Lux Æterna” is already approaching 10.5 million streams on Spotify as of this posting, an impressive total considering that the song just came out on November 28th. However, it’s got a long way to go before catching Metallica’s top song on Spotify, as “Enter Sandman” is about to hit 1 billion streams.
Metallica gave “Lux Æterna” its live debut at their annual “Helping Hands” charity concert this past Friday (December 16th). Heavy Consequence was in attendance at the Los Angeles event, and you can check out our recap and photo gallery, plus video footage here.
Fans can be pretty sure that Metallica will perform “Lux Æterna” on their recently announced 2023-2024 North American tour. The outing will see the metal icons perform two distinct sets over two nights in each city, and feature support from such acts as Pantera, Five Finger Death Punch, Mammoth WVH, Ice Nine Kills, and Greta Van Fleet. Pick up tickets via Ticketmaster.
If you haven’t heard “Lux Æterna” on the radio or streamed it on Spotify yet, or if you just want to give it another spin, watch the music video below via YouTube (where it already has 11 million views).