The classic Metallica song inspired by Soundgarden
When Metallica was first getting the ball rolling, they almost seemed like the antithesis of all things heavy on the charts. Since most of the bands that graced the MTV videos had mile-high hair and some of the most insipid lyrics of the time, Metallica were grizzly metalheads clad in denim vests playing songs at breakneck tempos. Turning that band into one of the greatest acts on MTV wouldn’t be easy, but the band had the tunes to back them up.
While working with former Bon Jovi producer Bob Rock, Metallica began trading in their normal gargantuan songs for more radio-friendly hooks, creating tunes that could easily find a place next to the Motley Crues of the world like ‘The Unforgiven’ and ‘Nothing Else Matters’. Out of all the songs to spawn off as singles from their self-titled Black Album, it would be ‘Enter Sandman’ that brought them to the main stage.
Built around a riff from Kirk Hammett, the song was anything but apologetic, blurting right out of the gate with a guitar line that became an instant favourite for guitar players everywhere. Although the song could have fit snuggly on any of the band’s other thrash masterpieces, Kirk Hammett was on the cutting edge of music when coming up with the guitar line.
Staying up until the early morning hours, Hammett came up with the riff after listening to the record Louder Than Love by a band called Soundgarden, who would one day conquer the world once grunge took over. Speaking about his songwriting process, Hammett told Mick Wall that he was “trying to capture their attitude toward big, heavy riffs. It was two o’clock in the morning. I put it on tape and didn’t think about it”.
While the riff remained dormant for a while, it wasn’t until Lars Ulrich suggested restructuring the riff that they landed on the classic form for the song. Metallica would base the entirety of ‘Enter Sandman’ around it, with James Hetfield penning lyrics about having nightmares and the various beasts that could be living underneath one’s bed.
After the band were deciding on lead singles, Ulrich had a good feeling about ‘Sandman’ becoming a monster hit, despite the pushback from the rest of the group. Up until the release of the song, Rock admitted that he didn’t hear it as a single, with Ulrich complaining in Classic Albums, “They kept trying to push ‘Holier Than Thou’. Like ‘Holier Than Thou’ is the first song on the record and the first single. And I’m like ‘guys, you don’t get it’”. Ulrich’s instincts proved correct, helping Metallica crossover to a new audience on their terms before presenting the ballads.
Although Metallica got their inspiration from one of Seattle’s finest, they weren’t exactly safe when grunge began taking over the world. As soon as they came off the road for The Black Album, Metallica ended up trading in their metal chops for something more in line with the Seattle scene, blending elements of hard rock, blues and alternative music for their Load era. Metallica may have had a complicated relationship with the grunge scene, but they must thank Soundgarden for helping them launch one of their biggest hits.
