NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 24: Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield of Metallica perform onstage during Global Citizen Festival 2022: New York at Central Park on September 24, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Global Citizen)
Metallica’s first studio album since 2016’s Hardwired to Self-Destruct is coming. The new album is 72 Seasons.James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich are again co-producers with Greg Fidelman, a producer from Slipknot, Black Sabbath records. What kind of Metallica record can we expect this time around? What will Lars’s snare drum sound like?
Metallica will support 72 Seasons with the massive “M-72.” world tour. The trek is scheduled to begin on April 27 in Amsterdam and run through Sept. 29, 2024, in Mexico City. The band will play two nights per city over the course of a “No Repeat Weekend,” with each night featuring a different set list and lineup. Opening acts include Pantera, Wolfgang’s Mammoth WVH, and Greta Van Fleet, with a stop at Ford Field in Detroit for two days with one day for rockers to rest. It’s November 10 and 12, 2023.
The best part is the concert will be “in the round,” right smack dab at the 50-yard line making almost every seat a good seat. Remember when Metallica played in the round in 2009 at Joe Louis Arena? I thought I had crappy seats and turns out the band played right in front of me. I know it’s a year away but a show like this will be epic. The new album will be a concept record. Allegedly it centers on the perception of the world today through their eyes. I don’t want to get too deep into phycology wise but remember how that concept worked for Pink Floyds’, “The Wall.”
Metallica has been together since 1981 and this is the best news coming from the Metallica camp in a long time. The only thing is I hope I don’t have to get a second mortgage on my house to afford tickets. Metallica has announced a new album titled 72 Seasons, to be released on April 14.
'Metallica' & The 9 Other Best-Selling Albums During the SoundScan Era
Metallica released their self-titled fifth studio album on August 12, 1991. Affectionately known as “The Black Album,” the LP became a game-changer for the band. It also had a massive impact on the music industry at large thanks to the game-changing technology then known as SoundScan, which premiered on March 1, 1991.
Per a feature piece from Billboard, “SoundScan, which is now known as MRC Data, measured album sales as they happened — stores scanned bar codes at the checkout register — and over the next few months [after its launch] it upended the conventional music business wisdom about what sold, as well as when and how. It revealed the popularity of several genres — alternative rock, country, hip-hop, harder metal — that had been seen as commercially marginal compared to bread-and-butter pop-rock bands.”
Basically, SoundScan provided real-time data of what was actually selling at record stores and other retailers, and it has provided proof of Metallica’s popularity.
Of course, not everyone is a fan of “The Black Album.” Metallica appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live!in September 2021 and read 1-star Amazon reviews of the LP. Fortunately, they were good sports about the whole thing. Then again, when you make Metallica money, it takes more than a bizarre review to truly ruin your day.
So, which was the best 1-star review of “The Black Album”? One review that stood out read, “I bought this when it came out. I was horrified when I listened to it. I threw it off a bridge and watched a truck smash it.”
That being said, just how popular are the metal icons? “The Black Album” is the biggest-selling record in the United States since the launch of SoundScan.
Metallica, however, has some very unique company on the list of the biggest-selling albums of the SoundScan era. Scroll through the gallery below to see which titles join them in the top ten.
10. Creed – ‘Human Clay’
Share
Creed's 'Human Clay' has sold 11,690,000 copies. It was the band's second studio album and was released on September 28, 1999. The album features the hits "Higher" and "With Arms Wide Open." It topped the 'Billboard' 200 album chart for two weeks.
9. Santana – ‘Supernatural’
Share
11,850,000 copies sold.
8. Adele – ’21’
Share
12,100,000 copies sold.
7. Whitney Houston – ‘The Bodyguard’ Soundtrack
Share
12,140,000 copies sold.
6. Backstreet Boys – ‘Millennium’
Share
12,300,000 copies sold.
5. Bob Marley and the Wailers – ‘Legend’
Share
12,300,000 copies sold.
4. The Beatles – ‘1’
Share
13,000,000 copies sold.
3. Alanis Morissette ‘Jagged Little Pill’
Share
'Jagged Little Pill' sold 15,200,000 copies. The third studio album by Alanis Morissette, it rocketed the Canadian singer-songwriter to superstardom. 'Jagged Little Pill' features a number of hit singles, including "You Oughta Know," "Ironic" and "Hand in My Pocket." 'Jagged Little Pill' won five Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year.
2. Shania Twain – ‘Come on Over’
Share
15,730,000 copies sold.
1. Metallica – ‘Metallica’
Share
'Metallica' has sold 17,300,000 copies. Also known as "The Black Album," the LP features some of Metallica's biggest hits, including "Enter Sandman," "Nothing Else Matters," "The Unforgiven," "Sad But True" and "Wherever I May Roam." The album was Metallica's first to top the 'Billboard' 200 album chart. While it was massively successful, 'Metallica' only won one Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance.
Born in Mt Clemens, Screamin’ Scott has been a part of the Detroit airwaves for 30-plus years. With 40 years of experience in radio. When he’s not out on the streets for WCSX, you can find him devoting time to local charities with his, “Screamin Angels”; and for 16 years with Rock 4 Tots charity. And last 10 years with his local band, "Chit!." Screamin Scott likes to write about nostalgic Detroit area memories, classic rock, and local metro Detroit topics.
Sign Up For The WRIF Everything That Rocks Newsletter
Get everything that rocks sent right to your inbox. We're talking rock news, concert updates, stories from all around metro Detroit, plus exclusive contests, games and more.
By clicking "Subscribe" I agree to the website's terms of Service and Privacy Policy. I understand I can unsubscribe at any time.
