72 Seasons Improved

I did my own edit though it was about resequencing the songs and dropping several weak, repetitive numbers rather than editing the actual tracks. Here's what I've settled on for Side 1 (read on for Side 2) "72 Seasons" - Ok, we'll keep your big opening song first. Good song and it does a good job of setting the stage. "Screaming Suicide" - The original second slot just fell totally flat after the opener. "...Suicide" does a much better job of shifting the energy of the album forward while also having a good vocal performance by Hetfield. "If Darkness Had a Son" - This song has a good 'third song' feel - changes direction with a rhythmic ostinato that reminds me of how "Eye of the Beholder" functions similarly as AJFA's third song. I also really love the harmonic sequence in the chorus. In the original album, it's too buried amidst a bunch of mediocre songs. "Shadows Follow" - Unfortunately, there's no real 'fourth song' among this bunch of songs. No clean tone guitars or anything ballad-y at all to really anchor the end of Side 1. "Shadows Follow" works well enough here. It's not a bad song, just wasn't a 'second song' kind of song. Now for Side 2: "Lux Aeterna" - A big energy boost after the mid-tempo of "Shadows Follow", but you only get to use it once in the album. I tried actually ending the album with it, since the sentiment in the title and lyrics is really redemptive, and seems like it would work to close the album on a positive note. Sadly, it doesn't actually work. Here, it kicks off Side 2 with a punch in the nose. ;-) "Sleepwalk My Life Away" - The bass-drum opening is a good palette cleanser and has a 'sixth song' feel like "Leper Messiah". "Room of Mirrors" - This one starts slow but turns into a good song. I also really like the lyrical reference to "Broken, Beat, and Scarred". I had both this song and "Chasing Light" in the sequence, but ultimately dropped "Chasing Light" - too similar to "Room of Mirrors". Good last bit of thrashiness for the album. "Inamorata" - I'm willing to end the album the way it originally ended. This song definitely creates the same closing vibe as "Outlaw Torn" or "Fixxxer" did for their albums. It's not amazing by itself, but it still wraps up the album in a suitably melancholy way.