Of
Andrian Kreye
if Metallica Calling their new single “Lux Æterna”, they quote the final hymn of the Requiem of the Catholic Church, which immediately after the “Agnus Dei” promises eternal light to the just during communion. This is a gesture that is as grand as it is coherent. With any other band that would be cute, but because Metallica have been creating something like a modern requiem for 41 years with their songs about death, ruin, murder, suicide, anger and loneliness, the eternal light is first of all one A gesture of hope at a time when hopelessness has gripped almost everything from world politics to football to heating costs. The lyrics would also work in the Latin of the funeral mass: “A sea of hearts beats as one, united. In the praise of all generations. The approaching thunder in anticipation of the light.” A few lines later, more generally understandable: “Full speed or nothing, Lux Æterna, yeah!”