Metal Appreciation Class | Enter Sandman (Patreon)

Welcome to metal appreciation class! In this post I'll be breaking down Metallica's Enter Sandman. What makes this track the most popular metal song ever recorded? I'll be covering the song's history, music theory and emotional themes. So grab a front row seat and let’s take a look at this brilliant work of art muhahaha! By the way, don't miss out on your discord access below. Live chat, theory quizzes, share your own music and more!

🛑Discord 👇

https://discord.gg/qjWUhSaS

ABOUT THE SONG

Enter Sandman was released on the Black Album in 1991. The music was intended to take a more commercial direction than previous albums. This creative shift brought metal to the masses like never before. The lyrics explore the dark side of western folklore's Sandman mythology. A character who terrorizes children with nightmares. The Black Album would become Metallica's best selling record to date, creating a division between old and new school fans of the band. Enter Sandman is the most well known metal song ever written, with over a billion plays on spotify.

EMOTIONAL THEMES

I love the emotional language of Enter Sandman. The first time I heard this track as a teen it blew my mind. I remember listening to it over and over, trying to process the power of this new sound. The overall mood is dark and mysterious. Monsters in the night arouses fear, anxiety and even exhilaration. The track also explores loss of innocence, control and rebellion in the face of fear. Great songs can be interpreted by the listener in different ways. What does this song mean to you?

FORM + ANALYSIS

In this segment I'll cover the structure and music theory of Enter Sandman. I love how the song starts. The opening blues lick below is like the calm before a storm. Repeating over and over as tension slowly crescendos. After a few laps, you enter a hypnotic state, seduced by the devilish b5 interval (Bb), or 6th fret of Low E

The music can be classified in the key of E minor, which contains one sharp on the circle of 5ths. This key is very special for guitar players. A sense of power flows through you with each power chord.

There are 3 basic scales used in the track, blues, Aeolian and Locrian. The crazy thing is, each scale is based on the note, "E." When you change scales but keep the same root, it's called Modal Mixture. For example, going from E minor to E major would be considered modal mixture. It's a powerful way to explore different emotions without the jarring effect of changing keys.

I classify the first minute and 15 seconds of Sandman as “theme and variations.” It’s basically the same idea over and over, slowly evolving into the main theme. It's almost they worked backwards, removing notes from the full riff to create an epic build. By my count, 5 different cycles elapse before we hear the main riff in all it's glory. I can't stress how brilliant the songwriting is during the first 75 seconds. It's the perfect compositional archetype. Establishing a strong musical idea that grows from a single seed into a roaring monster!

🎸LET’S PRACTICE

There's many takeaways from Enter Sandman we can use in our own music. The most important one by far is how to DEVELOP an idea. Below is an example of how to develop an idea for yourself. Start with a basic power chord progression

This Em-D-C-B walk down is known as the Andalusian Cadence. Used in countless songs from Bach to Black Sabbath. Once you have a basic sketch for your riff, try saying the same thing in a different way. This could be changing the rhythm, adding arpeggios, or putting a melody on top. The initial idea should still be recognizable though. This is the essence of true composition!

In the riff below, I added a low E pedal tone to the Andalusian power chords. This ignites the progression with more energy, whetting our appetite for what comes next.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Do you enjoy this lesson format? Let me know in the comments below!

⚡️HOMEWORK

For homework, come up with your own riff. Keep it around 15-30 seconds. Upload your video to the "guitar practice" channel in discord. Tabs for Enter Sandman are below muhahaha!