Enter Sandman

"Enter Sandman" is a song performed by the heavy metal band Metallica on their self-titled 1991 album (also known as The Black Album). The song is probably the band's most well-known track, with its single riff chorus that expands throughout the song, and the grim tale of a young child who fears falling asleep to avoid the nightmares to come. In the song's bridge, both vocalist James Hetfield and a young child recite the classic children's prayer, "Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep."

Related Topics:
Heavy metal - Metallica - 1991 - Album - James Hetfield - Prayer - Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The song is considered an anthem to fans of the heavy metal genre. The song has been covered by artists diverse as Motörhead and Pat Boone. It is also a popular crowd-inciting theme for sporting events - professional wrestler Jim Fullington went so far as to call his antihero character in Extreme Championship Wrestling The Sandman. The song was so popular in ECW that during his entrance, the fans would often sing along with the music as he walked to the ring. New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera also uses it as his entrance music when he comes into a game, as does Philadelphia Phillies closer Billy Wagner, implying that the closer will put the opposing to "sleep".

Related Topics:
Anthem - Motörhead - Pat Boone - Professional wrestler - Jim Fullington - Extreme Championship Wrestling - New York Yankees - Closer - Mariano Rivera - Philadelphia Phillies - Billy Wagner

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The song underwent many changes before it made it onto the album - namely, the lyrical content was changed from crib death to something more commercially marketable (like nightmares), the structure of the riff was changed, and the solo was altered from a more traditional fast heavy metal solo to something shorter and simpler. Moreover the band and producer Bob Rock initially wanted "Holier Than Thou" to be the first single off the album. Drummer Lars Ulrich worked to make "Enter Sandman" the first single though, believing it would market better than the more traditional-heavy metal sounding "Holier Than Thou" (all information found on the Classic Albums: The Black Album DVD).

Related Topics:
Bob Rock - Lars Ulrich

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Enter Sandman is placed 399 in Rolling Stone Magazine's List of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and is Metallica's only song listed there.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Johnny Crass parodied the song as "Internet Sandman", referring to the whole Napster debacle. This parody is also known as "Enter Napster" or "metallica vs napster" in P2P circuits.

Related Topics:
Johnny Crass - Napster - P2P

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~