“Enter Sandman” was released as the lead single before Metallica’s The Black Album appeared.
Elektra Records issued the single on July 29, 1991, about two weeks before the album’s August 12 release. The choice immediately introduced the record’s new direction: a simpler, groove-centered structure, a prominent guitar riff, and a vocal performance built for a large audience.
The song was written by Kirk Hammett, James Hetfield, and Lars Ulrich, with Hetfield handling the lyrics. Its subject draws on childhood nightmares and the figure of the Sandman, making the track both accessible and unsettling. It reached number 16 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and became one of the band’s most recognizable songs.
The album later produced four more commercial singles: “The Unforgiven,” “Nothing Else Matters,” “Wherever I May Roam,” and “Sad but True.” “Don’t Tread on Me” received promotional radio exposure but was not a commercial single.