Metallica's Lyrics and Sound
Enter Sandman - Metallica
Symbolism
Enter Sandman
The flashing lighting in the beginning of the video could be seen as gunfire or chaos that is disrupting the depicted child’s sleep. As the video progresses the chaotic visuals continue showing that the chaos continues through the end of the song. There are various depictions of the child in dangerous or harmful positions throughout the video, this emphasizes the idea that the child is in an unsafe area, which is brought up in the lyric analysis later. The depictions of the child falling, drowning, running, and being almost hit by a truck while in bed could be imagery outlining the fact that the child isn’t safe within his home. This could either be from abuse or being in an otherwise dangerous situation. The imagery pared with the lyrics give the listeners a distinct feeling that the child is unsafe in the situation he’s in throughout the song.
Sound Analysis
Metallica has the mellowest sound overall in comparison to the other bands examined here. While they have the most emphasis on guitar solos, they aren’t as loud as the other Metal bands. However, they do have the most evenly balanced sound overall. Metallica is known for their incredible guitar riffs and it is clearly shown in their music that they know and have mastered that musical trait. Looking at vocals the lead vocalist utilizes a naturally raspy voice rather than growling, though this is probably because the growl method of singing came into play after Metallica began making music. It is easy to tell that this band was one of the founding bands of Thrash Metal. The beat of their music gives the listener the desire to move with it and as a result to head-bang and mosh. It is a high energy sound that greatly influences the movement of the crowd.
Lyrical Analysis
Sanitarium (Welcome Home)
The lyrics from Metallica songs are somewhat difficult to interpret because they started in a time that was far more strict about what they allowed bands to say in their songs. So a lot of the themes are buried within the lyrics in a way that won’t cause moral uproars. With Welcome Home (Sanitarium) this is shown through the illusory wording of the song. This song seems to be about the censorship of what everyday citizens are allowed to know. “I see our freedom in my sight / No locked doors, no windows barred.” This is showing that the way to freedom is through knowledge that is currently unavailable to the general public. Individuals that seem to have this insight and attempt to share it with others are labeled as insane or conspiracy theorists, “Just labeled mentally deranged.” The lyrics go on to address the fear of change exhibited in the public through media coverage as a cage to keep them subdued. “Build my fear of what’s out there / Can I breathe the open air / Whisper things into my brain.” The same is true even now, the media is used as a diversionary tactic for the real issues going on in the world. Wars only get minimal coverage and are directly followed by some news about a celebrity. So perhaps Metallica noticed this even then and decided to spread awareness for it.
Enter Sandman
This song seems to be illustrating the last evening of a child’s life in a dangerous area such as a war-zone. At one point in the song we hear these lines, “Heavy thoughts tonight / And they aren’t of Snow White / Dreams of war, dreams of liars / Dreams of dragon’s fire.” This could be viewed as a child who witnessed an act of war such as a bombing (war/dragon’s fire) or raid (war/liars) in person, and had to adjust to a world that they are unfamiliar with. The inclusion of the Children’s Prayer and the fact that the father or male entity was leading the child in it could be meant to lead the audience to believe that the male is going to be taking the child away that night. The lines of “Sleep with one eye open / Gripping your pillow tight” show that the child is scared of the situation that they are in and that they don’t want to fall asleep out of fear for what will happen when they do. Further the entity identified as the Sandman seems to be an alias for death as the lines “Exit light / Enter night / Take my hand / We’re off to never-never land” seem to illustrate the moment of death in the eyes of the child. These lines are spoken to the child by the Sandman, the light could be the light rumored to be at the end of the tunnel, so the Sandman is an entity that is there to take the child away from the situation, which leads the listener to imagine the child in a war-zone rather than a cozy home.
St. Anger
As is pointed out in the song’s title, there is a heavy emphasis on anger and specifically the anger that is brought on by another person. It could also be viewed as a slur at the Catholic Church because of the use of saints. The title of St. in front of Anger gives the emotion a corporeal form in the eyes of the audience, the line “St. Anger ‘round my neck” depicts the individual as wearing a medallion which is usually one of the Catholic saints in hopes of receiving their blessing. When looked at from this point, the individual in the song is wearing a noose around their neck as the medallion to St. Anger. It’s similar to a parody of the Catholic tradition. Back to the lyrics the line “Fuck it all, fucking no regrets” followed shortly by the lines “Tie your noose, I’ll hand myself / St. Anger around my neck” depict the action of committing suicide, perhaps this is the gift or blessing that St. Anger grants.