After Metallica re-released the album Load (1996) in a deluxe remastered version , James Hetfield (vocalist), Lars Ulrich (drummer) and Kirk Hammett (guitarist) revealed details about the behind-the-scenes production of the album. During an appearance on a special produced by Q Prime and MX2 Media [via Loudwire ], the band's frontman said that one of the songs on the album was composed as a direct response to "Enter Sandman," one of the group's biggest hits.
“'King Nothing' was kind of a response to 'Sandman,' actually. And, obviously, at the end of the song, there's that line 'off to never, neverland,' a direct reference,” revealed Hetfield. The vocalist stated that, after noticing the strong connection fans had with “Enter Sandman,” the band decided to make a song following a similar atmosphere:
“I think we were trying to keep up with the fact that 'Sandman' was an incredible song, that people really connected with it. So, it made sense to write a song in that same tempo, in that same mood, with that same feel.”
James Hetfield discusses the influence of Chris Cornell and Soundgarden on Metallica's songwriting.
Soundgarden 's compositions , which served as inspiration for Metallica. Furthermore, he highlighted the powerful voice of the late Chris Cornell .
“What we learned from Soundgarden , about a different way of composing, was to play a riff throughout the entire song and let the vocalist ride over it. But for that to work, you need a really good singer (laughs), like Chris [Cornell]. That was something very, very interesting for us. 'King Nothing' makes sense in that context, because it was one of the first songs we did right after the Black Album , and it really is a tribute to 'Sandman'.”
READ ALSO: Dave Mustaine on Metallica: “I wrote many of the songs that made them famous”
