Metallica have shared videos of James Hetfield unboxing the band’s upcoming album 72 Seasons on vinyl, CD, and cassette. The track lengths, as printed on the CD, were also revealed.
The first clip was posted to Twitter with the following caption: “Would ya look at that. It seems a box of vinyl fell off the back of a truck & somehow found its way to HQ and into the tattooed hands of James Hetfield!”
We see Hetfield comfortably seated at the kitchen table with a pocketknife. In the first video, he calmly slices open the shrinkwrap on the double-LP vinyl edition of 72 Seasons to showcase the record’s elaborate packaging.
The gatefold sleeve has inner diecuts of “7” on the left side and “2” on the right; and the inner sleeves housing the wax feature moody, black-and-white portraits of each band member. Unfortunately there is no commentary in the video from James himself — the title track instead serves as bed music — though he does lift the horns in front of the album cover once he reassembles the packaging.
Next up is the CD version. While perhaps less exciting to unbox, we do get a glimpse of the album’s track lengths for the first time on the face of the disc (which you can see in the screenshot below). 72 Seasons clocks in at 77 minutes, and its closing track “Inamorata” promises to be an epic at 11 minutes, 10 seconds — the longest of the album’s 12 songs.
Lastly, Hetfield quickly unwraps the shrink on the cassette copy, revealing the shiny black tape and an accordion-like, multi-paneled J-card.
Each format is hitting stores on April 14th. You can pre-order the vinyl edition here, the CD here, and the cassette here.
You can also catch Metallica in person when they head out for their “M72 World Tour” later this month. Find tickets to their upcoming concerts at this location.
Watch James Hetfield’s unboxing videos and see the track lengths for 72 Seasons below.
Would ya look at that. It seems a box of vinyl fell off the back of a truck & somehow found its way to HQ and into the tattooed hands of James Hetfield! Check out your first look at the vinyl packaging of #72Seasons!
Pre-Order/Save ➡️ https://t.co/JoINY2OJLp #Metallica #unboxing pic.twitter.com/geMXFJwpfG
— Metallica (@Metallica) April 3, 2023
Next up… James give you a sneak peek at the 72 Seasons CD digipak including a clear look at those track times! 👀
Pre-Order & Pre-Save the new album ➡ https://t.co/JoINY2ObVR#Metallica #72Seasons #unboxing pic.twitter.com/orPyjKz9YR
— Metallica (@Metallica) April 3, 2023
Sharpen those pencils… James is unwrapping the 72 Seasons cassette!
Pre-Order & Pre-Save the new album ➡ https://t.co/JoINY2ObVR#Metallica #72Seasons #unboxing pic.twitter.com/iV0nslkCUr
— Metallica (@Metallica) April 3, 2023