“Enter Sandman” became the Metallica music video that won Best Hard Rock Video at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards.
The video was directed by Wayne Isham and premiered in July 1991. It visualizes the song’s nightmare theme through disturbing dreams, a child protagonist, and appearances by the Sandman-like older character played by R. G. Armstrong.
At the 1992 ceremony, the clip won Best Hard Rock Video. It was also nominated for Best Cinematography and Best Editing, showing that its impact was recognized beyond the category most closely tied to Metallica’s musical style.
The award is sometimes confused with Metallica’s earlier video for “One,” which received major MTV attention and a 1990 Grammy for Best Metal Performance for the song. The award fact here concerns the “Enter Sandman” video and the 1992 ceremony.