"Enter Sandman" became not only one of Metallica , but also one of the greatest metal songs . But did you know that James Hetfield wasn't very enthusiastic about it at first?
In a Masterclass , the vocalist explains that he didn't think "Enter Sandman" was "that good" when it first started being made. Of course, that initial version was very different from the one that became a hit and that we all know today.
According to Hetfield, it was Lars Ulrich and producer Bob Rock who convinced him to persist with the song until he was satisfied. "They said, 'Go back [to that track]. I dare you to go back and work on it.' And that's what I did," he recounts.
It was from this insistence that the famous line from the song, " We're off to never, neverland, " emerged. James Hetfield explains the intention behind the lyrics: "What happens when we sleep? Why do we have nightmares? A lot of people can relate to that, we all have nightmares. What do you do with them? Why do they happen?"
James Hetfield also had doubts about "Nothing Else Matters".
“Enter Sandman” wasn’t the only song from the Black Album (1991) that left James Hetfield scratching his head.
In a 2021 interview with Classic Rock , the vocalist revealed that he felt "insecure" showing the song to his bandmates for the first time because he felt the song's sentimental content was a "sign of weakness."
“Why is it that I didn’t want to write a love song?” he reflected. “That’s easy, it’s because it’s a huge sign of weakness. ‘You’re in Metallica. That’s hardcore. What the hell are you doing?’”
Despite “Nothing Else Matters” becoming one of Metallica's biggest hits and a timeless classic, James Hetfield wasn't entirely wrong to fear his bandmates' reaction. Kirk Hammett himself admitted that his first encounter with the song didn't leave the best impression:
“At the time, all I could think was, ‘James wrote a fucking love song for his girlfriend? How weird,’” he says. Nowadays, the guitarist looks at the vocalist’s attitude with admiration: “James always wanted to be seen as the guy who is super strong and confident, so writing lyrics like that – which show a sensitive side – required a lot of courage.”
