“Enter Sandman” served as the lead single from Metallica's self-titled album, known as The Black Album.
The single was released on July 29, 1991, shortly before the album. It also became the opening track, introducing the record with a compact, instantly recognizable guitar riff and a lyric centered on childhood nightmares.
Kirk Hammett developed the original guitar riff, while James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich helped shape the song. The track's lyrics were written by Hetfield and deal with unsettling images associated with sleep and dreams.
“Enter Sandman” reached number 16 on the United States Billboard Hot 100. Its music video, directed by Wayne Isham, received heavy television exposure and helped make Metallica a mainstream rock act. Other major singles from the album included “The Unforgiven,” “Nothing Else Matters,” “Wherever I May Roam,” and “Sad but True.”