Lux Æterna (Metallica song)

"Lux Æterna" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica, released on November 28, 2022, as the lead single from their eleventh studio album, 72 Seasons (2023). The song was first played live on December 16, 2022, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. James Hetfield has described the song as "an upbeat, kind of fast and joyous song" furthermore, describing it as being in the style of the New wave of British heavy metal. The song reached number 1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Airplay chart for 11 consecutive weeks, tied with their cover of Bob Seger's "Turn the Page". "Lux Æterna" is Latin for "eternal light". At the 66th Grammy Awards, "Lux Æterna" received a nomination for Best Rock Performance.

Music video
The music video, directed by Tim Saccenti was first filmed on November 3, 2022, and features the band playing live on a stage. Throughout the entire video, lasers flash on screen in sync with the band playing. Kirk Hammett described the music video as if the band was playing inside a volcano, as well as pointing out that James Hetfield got too close to the lasers and that he has had LASIK surgery and should "steer clear".

The video was nominated for best rock at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards, being Metallica's first nomination in 20 years.

Reception
Writing for Musictalkers, Nicholas Gaudet described the vocals during the chorus as "astonishing" as well as praising the outro and guitar solo. Gaudet also interpreted the song as a retrospective look back on their career, calling it the best thing they have done in two decades. Jon Hadusek of Consequence, also praised the song, also stating that the song picks up where Hardwired... to Self-Destruct left off. He states that the song takes influence from pop-punk as well as the typical thrash metal.

Legacy
Ukrainian metal band "Surface Tension,” who are mainly known for their war songs regarding the Russo-Ukrainian War, among with Mari Bu, have written a cover version for this song.

Personnel

 * James Hetfield – vocals, rhythm guitar
 * Lars Ulrich – drums
 * Kirk Hammett – lead guitar
 * Robert Trujillo – bass