Bob Rock’s son supplied the child’s spoken bedtime-prayer voice in Metallica’s “Enter Sandman.”
The spoken passage appears near the song’s closing section, where a child recites the bedtime prayer commonly known as “Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep.” Bob Rock, who produced Metallica’s 1991 album, provided the connection that brought the child’s voice into the recording.
The detail is often overlooked because the track’s dominant features are its repeating guitar riff, heavy drums, and James Hetfield’s vocal performance. It is also easy to assume that one of Metallica’s members supplied the voice, but the credited association is with Rock’s son.
“Enter Sandman” was recorded during sessions that emphasized a more live, carefully produced sound. Rock and engineer Randy Staub worked with the band on the track, which became both the album’s opening song and its lead single. The child’s prayer adds an unsettling contrast to the song’s polished heaviness.