“Holier Than Thou” was originally considered for the first single from Metallica's The Black Album before “Enter Sandman” was chosen.
Producer Bob Rock initially believed “Holier Than Thou” would be the strongest first single. In the documentary A Year and a Half in the Life of Metallica, Rock tells James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich that the album contains several potential classics and suggests the song as the first release.
Lars Ulrich strongly supported “Enter Sandman” instead. After an argument and discussion within the band, “Enter Sandman” became both the opening track and the lead single. This decision helped define the album's public introduction because “Enter Sandman” offered an immediate, memorable riff and a comparatively concise structure.
“Holier Than Thou” still appeared early in the track listing, as the album's third song. Its lyrics criticize moral superiority and hypocrisy, while its arrangement retains more of Metallica's aggressive thrash-metal attack than some of the record's slower songs.