Controversy Ensues As Metallica Had "Enter Sandman" Pulled From A Video Shared By United States Secretary Of Defense Pete Hegseth

Thrash metal legends Metallica struck down the usage of their 9x platinum 1991 hit single “Enter Sandman” in a video recently shared by the U.S. Department Of Defense. That song was featured in a video posted on the social media of the United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and the U.S. Department Of Defense this past Thursday, July 10th. The clip found Hegseth promoting U.S. drone technology and initiatives regarding their deployment.

In the original video, Metallica‘s “Enter Sandman” was heard playing as Hegseth stood in front of The Pentagon touting the drone technology and initiatives the U.S. military have been employing and investing in. However, soon afterwards, the audio of track was removed, seemingly over a suspected copyright claim filed by the Bay Area band’s camp. This led to the original video post being deleted.

Since then, the video has been reuploaded without the Metallica track included. Representatives for the band have since confirmed to Rolling Stone that the usage of the track in the video was unauthorized. Metallica, who have been notoriously protective of how their music is used, have also intentionally remained quiet on their personal political beliefs. In 2017, the group’s vocalist James Hetfield told Latercera of that:

“I’m an artist, a singer who plays the guitar in a band. I hate politics, I don’t want to talk about politics. That separates people and I want to connect them with music. I prefer to stay away from all of that, because it polarizes people, because if I say, ‘I hate Trump’ or ‘I love Trump,’ someone will think, ‘I don’t like his music anymore.’ It’s silly. So I like to keep it about music.”

The legally obligated removal of the enduring hit song hasn’t escaped the notice of some, with the decision to have it removed being weaponized as assumed political commentary by the band. A sampling of a few posts of many on the matter on X can be seen below: