Ever since they moved to sue Napster in early 2000, metal band Metallica have been seen by many as somehow anti-digital in everything they do. The fact that it took them until late 2012 to license their music to streaming services only cemented the notion that they were rock Luddites. But that was a complex commercial decision and not proof of anachronistic thinking. 

In the years since, however, they have made up for lost time and will sporadically pop up in Sandbox having done something interesting with their digital marketing. 

Which leads us to the news that they are utilising TikTok for the build up to their new album, 72 Seasons. The notion of Metallica encouraging fans in battle jackets to participate in a dance challenge is unthinkable. They are, instead, focusing on the duets feature on the app. 

It started with a post of Lars Ulrich behind his drum kit with the instruction “Duet this” as he beat out a rhythm. A follow-up post featured Ulrich alongside a separate video of bassist Robert Trujillo playing along, a third video added rhythm guitarist James Hetfield and then a fourth brought in lead guitarist Kirk Hammett. (All the members have an individual post on TikTok with their musical parts, although there are no vocal tracks.)

The 80-second clips are from the track ‘If Darkness Had A Son’ and comes with the inevitable #IfDarknessHadASon hashtag. 

It is unclear, for now, what the band will do with any fan submissions or if there is a prize for the best one. Several days into the campaign and no fan submissions had been reposted by the band’s official TikTok account. Even so, it is a good way to showcase new material and build up fan anticipation. 

The new album, to be released on 14th April, is clearly a huge priority for them as they are hosting a global premiere of the album in cinemas around the world on 13th April (“On the big screen and with a pummelling surround sound”) that will feature new videos and introductions from the band.