The was released by Metallica on December 7, 2022 . This release followed the song’s surprise debut as the lead single for their eleventh studio album, 72 Seasons (2023), which occurred on November 28, 2022. To accommodate their global fanbase, the band released these lyric videos in multiple languages, including English , German , Japanese , Portuguese , and Spanish . Song Composition and Style
Clocking in at approximately , "Lux Æterna" is a high-energy thrash metal track that marked the band's first new music in over six years.
: James Hetfield has described the track as "joyous" and heavily inspired by the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) , specifically harkening back to early 1980s riffs.