“Lux Atterna” reaches No. 1 on mainstream rock radio and has 10 million Spotify streams. Not to mention that Metallica music video for the new single already has 11 million views on YouTube.
The first single from Metallica’s upcoming album, 72 Seasons, was released on April 14. The track debuted at No. 2 in its first week of release but knocked fellow legendary metal act Ozzy Osbourne’s “One of Those Days” from the top this week on Mainstream Rock.
The album is Metallica’s 11th No. 1 on Mainstream Rock. However, despite their first five LPs being considered metal classics, they never had a No. 1 song from “The Black Album” or earlier releases. They first achieved a No. 1 with “Until It Sleeps” off 1996’s Load.
Since the song was released on November 28th, it has already received more than 10.5 million streams on Spotify. While “Enter Sandman” is about to hit 1 billion streams on Spotify, it’s still far from becoming Metallica’s top music on Spotify.
Fans can be 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.
We encourage you to watch the music video below if you have yet to hear the track on the radio or Spotify, or if you want to give it another listen.
Step into the light — the eternal light of Metallica. After all, “Lux Æterna” is Latin for “eternal light.” And on Monday (Nov. 28), Metallica released their “Lux Æterna,” the first single from the legendary heavy metal band’s newly announced album, the forthcoming 72 Seasons.
The term “Lux Æterna” has been used for many pieces of art over the years but originated as a liturgical chant used in the Catholic requiem mass for the honor of the dead. Several artists have reimagined the antiphon used in communion since. This inspired the theme of the 2000 film Requiem for a Dream, and the choral rendition of the theme in 2001: A Space Odyssey. And there have been several similar examples as well.
Perhaps Metallica is taking inspiration from Catholic communion now? Maybe they’re more interested in honoring the dead. The influential metal group has experienced its fair share of death over the years — including this year’s death of Megaforce Records founder Jon “Jonny Z” Zazula, who first signed the group in the ’80s. Not to mention legendary bassist Cliff Burton.
That artistic inspiration would line up with other composers who’ve written: “Lux Æterna” which was dedicated to a deceased loved one. For instance, a “Lux Æterna” from the ’90s written by onetime Los Angeles Master Chorale director Morten Lauridsen was inspired by his mother’s death.
According to a blog post from the San Francisco Choral Society, Laudsen wrote ‘Lux Aeterna’ in 1997 after losing his mother. As a consolation for grief, [the piece] is often compared to Faure’s Requiem and Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem, both works inspired by the death of their mothers.”
As a 16-year-old, James Hetfield lost his mother, Cynthia, to cancer in 1980.
The following are the English translations of the “Lux Æterna” religious chant:
May light eternal shine upon them, O Lord,
With Thy Saints for evermore:
For Thou art gracious.
Eternal rest give to them, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon them
for Thou art gracious.
It has also been used as a title for a 2019 French film by experimental director Gaspar Noe.
In 2023, Metallica will release 72 Seasons and tour the world again.
