Watch Metallica Try to Play “Enter Sandman” Backwards

SAN DIEGO, CA – JULY 19: Musician James Hetfield of Metallica . (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for BB Gun)

 

Since it is, “Throwback Thursday,” let’s revisit one of Metallica’s signature songs.

 

METALLICA has played “Enter Sandman” so many times, they can play it backwards.  Maybe.

 

 

In a clip that was reportedly filmed in 2013, the guys are jamming in the studio when they try to play the song backwards by playing the notes in reverse order.  JAMES HETFIELD even tries to sing a line backwards.

 

 

The video is then played in reverse to see if it actually sounds like “Enter Sandman” . . . and it kind of does.

The song’s original riff, one that helped launch Metallica to worldwide popularity, was inspired by another group, according to Hammett. “It was about two or three o’clock in the morning. I had just been listening to Louder Than Love, the Soundgarden album,” he recalled in 2017. “I heard that album, I was inspired. I picked up my guitar and out came that riff.”

He knew, instantly, he was onto something. “You kind of get an idea if a riff is cool, because when you play it, if it’s a cool riff, you can just instantly groove on it,” he said. “So yeah, this is pretty cool, this is a good feel, it’s a good sound, this is a good combination of notes. When Lars heard the riff he said, ‘Repeat that first part four times.’ And I did. And he said ‘There you go.’”

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