Rob Trujillo will make his singing debut on new Metallica album 72 Seasons

Metallica bassist Rob Trujillo has revealed that he will be providing recorded vocals for the metal legends for the very first time on the band’s new album 72 Seasons, twenty years after he first joined the fold.

Speaking to Metallica fanzine So What!, the 58-year-old metal legend says: “When I joined Metallica, I’d never sung in my whole life, so the fact that I can now support a backup vocal is pretty cool. For the first time in my life, I get to sing on a Metallica record and support James [Hetfield, Metallica frontman]. I’m very proud of that.

“It’s the first time that James and Greg [Fidelman, 72 Seasons producer] had probably ever really trusted me with that position on a recording of this stature,” he adds. “I was surprised when I got the call from Greg because I was coming up to play a little bass, but then he said, ‘I’m going to have you sing on a couple things, too.’ And I was, like, ‘Really?’ I got a little nervous. At the same time, I was very motivated. Fortunately for me, the part really does suit my comfort zone, so to speak. The vibe and the interesting — I don’t know, I wouldn’t say the ‘quality’ in what I had to offer, but the part lends itself to my personality, to my voice, and it sits and slots in really well with the moment and bass breakdown.”

The song in question, titled You Must Burn!, is yet to be released from the record, meaning Metallica fans may have to wait until the album’s official release date of April 14 to hear Trujillo finally make his official singing debut with the band (though he has provided backing vocals at Metallica shows for years).

Speaking late last year about the concept behind the record, James Hetfield explained: “72 seasons… The concept that we were told ‘who we are’ by our parents. A possible pigeonholing around what kind of personality we are. I think the most interesting part of this is the continued study of those core beliefs and how it affects our perception of the world today. Much of our adult experience is reenactment or reaction to these childhood experiences. Prisoners of childhood or breaking free of those bondages we carry.”

Metallica will support the album with a world tour, including two headline sets at this year’s Download Festival. 

72 Seasons Tracklist

1. 72 Seasons
2. Shadows Follow
3. Screaming Suicide
4. Sleepwalk My Life Away
5. You Must Burn!
6. Lux Æterna
7. Crown of Barbed Wire
8. Chasing Light
9. If Darkness Had a Son
10. Too Far Gone?
11. Room of Mirrors
12. Inamorata

Apr 27, 2023: Amsterdam Johan Cruijff Arena, HOL
Apr 29, 2023: Amsterdam Johan Cruijff Arena, HOL

May 17, 2023 – Paris FR – Stade de France, FRA
May 19, 2023 – Paris FR – Stade de France, FRA

May 26, 2023: Hamburg Volksparkstadion, GER
May 28, 2023: Hamburg Volksparkstadion, GER

Jun 08, 2023: Download Festival, UK
Jun 10, 2023: Download Festival, UK

Jun 16, 2023: Gothenburg Ullevi Stadium, SWE
Jun 18 2023: Gothenburg Ullevi Stadium, SWE

Aug 04, 2023: East Rutherford, NJ MetLife Stadium, USA
Aug 06, 2023: East Rutherford NJ MetLife Stadium, NJ, USA

Aug 11, 2023: Montreal Stade Olympique, CAN
Aug 13, 2023: Montreal Stade Olympique, CAN

Aug 18, 2023: Arlington, TX AT&T Stadium, USA
Aug 20, 2023: Arlington, TX AT&T Stadium, USA

Aug 25, 2023: Inglewood, CA SoFi Stadium, USA
Aug 27, 2023: Inglewood, CA – SoFi Stadium, USA

Sep 01, 2023: Glendale, AZ – State Farm Stadium, USA
Sep 03, 2023: Glendale, AZ – State Farm Stadium, USA

Nov 03, 2023: St. Louis, MO – The Dome at America’s Center, USA
Nov 05, 2023 – St. Louis, MO – The Dome at America’s Center

Nov 10, 2023: Detroit, MI Ford Field, USA
Nov 12, 2023: Detroit, MI Ford Field, USA

May 24, 2024: Munich Olympiastadion, GER
May 26, 2024 – Munich DE – Olympiastadion, GER

Jun 7, 2024: Helsinki Olympic Stadium, FIN
Jun 9, 2024: Helsinki Olympic Stadium, FIN

Jun 14, 2024: Copenhagen Parken Stadium, DEN
Jun 16, 2024: Copenhagen Parken Stadium, DEN

Jul 05 2024: Warsaw PGE Narodowy, POL
Jul 07 2024: Warsaw PGE Narodowy, POL

Jul 12, 2024: Madrid Estadio Cívitas Metropolitano, SPA
Jul 14 2024: Madrid Estadio Cívitas Metropolitano, SPA

Aug 02, 2024: Foxborough, MA Gillette Stadium, USA
Aug 04, 2024: Foxborough, MA Gillette Stadium, USA

Aug 09, 2024: Chicago, IL Soldier Field, USA
Aug 11, 2024: Chicago, IL Soldier Field, USA

Aug 16, 2024: Minneapolis US Bank Stadium, USA
Aug 18, 2024: Minneapolis US Bank Stadium, USA

Aug 23. 2024: Edmonton Commonwealth Stadium, CAN
Aug 25, 2024: Edmonton Commonwealth Stadium, CAN

Aug 30, 2024: Seattle, WA Lumen Field, USA
Sep 01, 2024: Seattle, WA Lumen Field, USA

Sep 20, 2024: Mexico City Foro Sol, MEX
Sep 22, 2024 – Mexico City Foro Sol, MEX

Sep 27, 2024: Mexico City Foro Sol, MEX
Sep 29, 2024: Mexico City Foro Sol, MEX

Source: loudersound.com