Metallica shocked the world on the morning of Monday, Nov. 28, when they announced their next studio album, 72 Seasons, by dropping the brand-new song, "Lux Æterna." Just a couple of weeks later, they continued to surprise fans as they pulled out the new song onstage at their Helping Hands benefit show at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.

Whether you were at the show or watched the livestream from the comfort of your home, fans can now re-live the live debut of "Lux Æterna" thanks to the recently-released pro-shot video of the performance; check it out below.

Metallica's Helping Hands show was the third of its kind in support of their All Within My Hands foundation. The first took place at The Masonic in San Francisco in 2018 and the second was livestreamed from Metallica HQ in San Rafael two years later.

The 2022 edition of the benefit concert took place at the 7,100-seat Microsoft Theater in downtown L.A. on Friday, Dec. 16. Greta Van Fleet opened the show followed by two memorable sets from Metallica; the first was all-acoustic and featured two songs they had never played live before, and the second was fully electric, featuring the first time they ever played "Lux Æterna" in front of a live audience.

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The Helping Hands show marked Metallica's final concert of the year and is now available for fans to stream and download in full. As of right now, Metallica's next show is the start of their M72 tour in support of 72 Seasons, set for April 27 and 29, 2023 at the Johan Cruijff ArenA in Amsterdam.

Metallica Honor Several "Amazing Humans" at 2022 Helping Hands Benefit Show

11 Amazing Metallica Concert Posters From 2022

Even before Metallica announced plans for their 12th studio album, 72 Seasons, 2022 was shaping up to be one of the most memorable years in the band's career.

They put together a massive run of shows across South America, pulled out some live rarities in Europe and tore through the states with big appearances in cities like Chicago and Boston. Most notably, they created an unforgettable live experience for fans with an old-school show in honor of Jonny and Marsha Zazula, Metallica's first-ever managers and co-founders of Megaforce Records. And they will close out the year with an acoustic performance at The Helping Hands Concert in support of Metallica's All Within My Hands Foundation.

As Metallica have done for decades, each live experience in '22 wasn't just about the music, but also about the unforgettable show posters tied to each concert. While we prepare ourselves for Metallica's huge M72 tour in 2023 and 2024, let's take a moment to look back at some of our favorite Metallica concert posters from 2022.

AI Generated Art: Metallica Edition

Using simple text prompts like "James Hetfield" or "Kirk Hammett Guitar," the robots have created some bizarre, and kind of cool, AI art. In the gallery below, you'll see the artificial intelligence creations; underneath each graphic is the text prompt that led to the art.

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