EntertainmentPosted at: Jun 14 2025 6:28PM


Metallica's James Hetfield says ‘King Nothing’ from band’s ‘Load’ LP was band's answer to ‘Enter Sandman’

Los Angeles, June 14 (UNI) James Hetfield, the rhythm guitarist and frontman of the legendary American heavy metal band Metallica, said that the group’s famous track ‘King Nothing’ was inspired by their all-time classic ‘Enter Sandman’, and was a direct answer to it.

One of the most famous tracks from their 1996 album ‘Load’, the band recently released a special remastered deluxe box set of the LP.
Appearing on Q Prime and MX2 Media syndicated special, band members James Hetfield, Kirk Hammet and Lars Ulrich, reflected on the creation of the album, reports Loudwire.

During the session, Hetfield said that the ‘Load’ track was essentially the band's "answer" to ‘Enter Sandman’.”
"'King Nothing' was kind of an answer to 'Sandman' really. It was and obviously at the end of the song, there's a little bit of a 'off to never, neverland,' a little nod towards it," says Hetfield.

"I think we were trying to keep up with the fact that 'Sandman' was a great song and people connected with it. So, it at least made sense to write a song in that tempo, in that vein, that pound," said the singer.

Elaborating, he added "What we had learned about a different way of songwriting from Soundgarden was you play one riff through the whole song and the singer just goes all over the place and for that to work, you actually have to have a really good singer like Chris (Cornell), but that was very, very intriguing to us. 'King Nothing' makes sense in that it was one of the first ones right after the ‘Black Album’, ‘cause it was. It was a nod to 'Sandman.'"

Metallica’s 1991 self-titled album (also called ‘Black Album’ due to its black cover) despite being the band’s biggest commercial success to date and featuring its most iconic songs such as ‘Enter Sandman’, ‘Sad But True’, and ‘Unforgiven’ continues to have a more mixed reception among the fanbase, as opposed to their ‘80s material, due to its shift from its faster, aggressive, and more technical thrash metal sound to a simpler more traditional heavy metal sound.

However, ‘Load’ polarised the fanbase even more, becoming the band’s most divisive release due to its shift from heavy metal to a more hard rock style.

The songs were also much more experimental, showcasing a mix of heavy metal with 70’s hard rock, garage rock, hardcore punk, 90’s alternative rock, blues, country, jazz, and southern rock.
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