LONDON, ENGLAND – JUNE 20: Kirk Hammett of Metallica performs on stage at Twickenham Stadium on June 20, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Matthew Baker/Getty Images).
When it was released in 1991, “Enter Sandman” quickly became Metallica’s biggest hit, selling more than 1 million copies in the U.S. and prompting the sales of more than 30 million copies of the group’s self-titled album. All of which came as a total surprise for guitarist Kirk Hammett. “‘Enter Sandman’ never struck me as being a hit song,” Hammett says. “None of those songs ever struck me as being hit songs. They struck me as being just really good, concise songs with great periods of heaviness and great periods of melody.” In fact, Hammett says he was so sure “Enter Sandman” wouldn’t be successful, he made a bet with producer Bob Rock that the single would fail. “I was, like, ‘I’ll give you my Porsche 911 Carrera if that happens,’” Hammett says. “And guess what? It happened. And guess what? I had to give him my Porsche 911 Carrera.”
Is “Enter Sandman” Metallica’s best song? What is?
