Metallica Share American Sign Language '72 Seasons' Videos

Metallica just released their eleventh album, 72 Seasons, a record that explores the formative first 18 years of a person’s life and the impact those years have on someone later in their lives.

The thrash metal legends have fostered a community of awesome, caring metalheads, and unveiling American Sign Language videos of tracks from their new album continues that reputation.

On Saturday, National American Sign Language Day, the band announced that they're releasing ASL videos for each song on 72 Seasons, Rolling Stone reports. Each song will have an ASL video by 25 April.

The 72 Seasons ASL video announcement reveals that Metallica is the first-ever hard rock/heavy metal band to share ASL videos for an entire album.

The band’s statement reads, “We were extremely lucky to connect with Amber Galloway of AG Productions, whom many of you may have seen signing at any number of music festivals around the US, including Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits.

“It’s been an honor [sic] to work with Amber and [the Deaf Professional Arts Network] DPAN teams, and we hope that our fans in the deaf and hard of hearing community enjoy experiencing the album through these videos!”

The YouTube account Isolated Tracks has also helped propel the release of 72 Seasons, sharing James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett's isolated guitar tracks from the 11-minute album closer, Inamorata. You can check that out here.

Our review of 72 Seasons concluded, “Four decades after they kicked the doors down in their early twenties with Kill ’Em All, Metallica have come full circle in a way that no one could have predicted. Lyrically, 72 Seasons is about how the struggles of one’s first 18 years can reverberate into adulthood. But musically, it’s about reconnecting with their earliest influences and finding new meaning in them once again - with no interest in simply recapturing past glories.” 

Check out the American Sign Language video for the title track below.