Enter Sandman

The music is credited to Hammett, Hetfield and Ulrich, with lyrics by Hetfield. An instrumental demo dates from 13 August 1990, and the song was recorded on 16 June 1991 at One on One in Los Angeles, with Bob Rock, Hetfield and Ulrich producing. Ulrich said in 2014 that it was the first thing written when songwriting for the album began in July 1990. The single came out two weeks before the album. The riff is Hammett's, inspired by Soundgarden's Louder Than Love. Ulrich suggested playing its first bar three times and the second only every fourth time. Hetfield's lyrics came late, and Ulrich and Rock told him he could write better ones. Staub said Ulrich recorded the drums section by section, close to 50 takes, with 40 to 50 microphones on the drums and guitars. It was the first song mixed, which took about ten days. In the breakdown Hetfield teaches a child the prayer Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep, and the child's voice is Rock's son.

Hetfield wrote the words to set against the catchy music. They concern the destruction of a perfect family and a hidden secret, with references to crib death. It reached number 16 on the Hot 100, number 5 in the United Kingdom and number 1 in Finland, and it returned to number one in Germany in 2021. Wayne Isham directed the video, which premiered on 30 July 1991 and won Best Hard Rock Video at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards. Rolling Stone ranks it 408 among its 500 greatest songs. Rock and the band had first planned Holier Than Thou as the opener and first single. Ulrich was the one who argued for Enter Sandman, and by his account the argument was big. The song was nominated for Best Rock Song at the 1992 Grammys and lost to Sting. Wayne Isham made the video, the first of six he directed for the band.

Live and covers

The band has played it at nearly every show since its release. Live versions appear on Live Shit: Binge & Purge and on S&M, where it runs 7:39. Motorhead covered it in 1998 and Weezer in 2021. The Blacklist set includes versions by Alessia Cara with The Warning, Mac DeMarco, Ghost, Juanes and Rina Sawayama. Utah Saints and Chuck D sampled it in Power to the Beats, and "Weird Al" Yankovic included it in a polka medley. NASA used it as a wake-up call for the STS-123 shuttle crew. In 2003 it was used on Iraqi prisoners, which Ulrich disavowed. Mariano Rivera used it as his entrance music.