Forget about darkness having a son, Metallica is a son in need of consistent, reassuring feedback. Banal and empty encouragement that they are doing great, despite leaving their talents at the door. If Darkness Had a Son leaves a bitter taste for those that hoped Metallica could still strike through as an effective rock group. Those days are long behind them. 72 Seasons is gearing up as an example of that, a hollow project that shows off the emptiness behind the eyes of Lars and friends. Past their prime, out for the count, whatever explanation can be levelled at Metallica, If Darkness Had a Son is a clear example of how rock groups can die a thousand deaths in just seven minutes.
It would be somewhat amusing if it were not for how drab the track was. Marching through with an inevitably steady drumbeat that will give leather and denim-clad hardcore fans something to cling to and a placated guitar riff, If Darkness Had a Son is a stark contrast to the glory days. Standard head-banging riffs pour through as Metallica warn that the beast is still “yearning”. For what, exactly, is unclear. Better writing, perhaps? Metallica has found itself in a place to head back into what marked their music as so creative, and so successful, in the first place. Actively rejecting that is a fascinating shift in momentum. Flatlining at the best of times, the emptiness peered at throughout this track neither lends itself to the consistencies of a lengthy track nor the build-up one requires.
Three members of the band wrote this, a glossy display that hopes to rekindle some classic throwback to their finest hour. If Darkness Had a Son is as worthless as it is mired in confusion, from both its stock instrumentals to its vocal childishness. Metallica now turns their musical talents toward sounding like a Metallica covers band, and not a particularly competent one. From the men who threw TVs out of hotel windows comes a track that could make someone consider following that doomed plasma screen right out with it. No longer are Hetfield’s guitar solos a piece to be awed by, it is just another cog in a very dull machine. The Queen effect is planted. A guitar solo for the sake of it, a lack of power in the writing and the only way to bring it together is a melodic bridge that sees a guitarist slam away, trying to impress with musical ability when the track before it showed nothing of the sort.
Metallica considering itself to be the soul of darkness would have worked for Ozzy Osbourne in the 1980s, but it does not do much for Hetfield and company in the modern day. Their all-black attire, glossy lens-flare-stocked videos and empty styles, particularly the lack of rise and fall or even change of pace to any degree on If Darkness Had a Son is utterly miserable. Great for those who are not yet ready to move on, but as it turns out, darkness having a son gives way to gluttonous, empty lyrics and an instrumental selection that holds nothing of power or force to it. To level that at Metallica, the band need to give their heads a shake. Nothing of their old image, nothing of an exciting new one, just plodding on through the 72 Seasons, hoping it is over before it starts.
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