Who directed Metallica's music video for Enter Sandman?

Wayne Isham directed Metallica’s music video for “Enter Sandman.” The video was filmed in Los Angeles in June 1991 and premiered on July 30, shortly before the band’s self-titled album was released.

Its unsettling imagery turns the song’s nightmare theme into a short horror story. A child experiences frightening dreams involving drowning, falling, snakes, a truck, and a mountain, while an elderly man watches over the scenes. The band performs amid flickering, high-contrast images, reinforcing the song’s uneasy lullaby atmosphere.

“Enter Sandman” was Metallica’s first video for the Metallica album and the first of six Metallica videos directed by Isham. The clip later won Best Hard Rock Video at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards and received nominations for cinematography and editing. Viewers sometimes confuse Isham with Anton Corbijn, Jonas Åkerlund, or Samuel Bayer because all directed notable music videos, including other Metallica projects, but Isham is the credited director here.