Unsolved feuds: did Metallica plagiarise the ‘Enter Sandman’ riff?

Plagiarism of often a tough one to call. Unless a song appears clear and obvious in its presentation of another work’s sensibilities, accusations of copying usually end up costing a lot of money without much worthwhile outcome to account for it. Perhaps this is why skatecore thrashers Excel decided against pursuing legal action when Metallica released ‘Enter Sandman’ two years after the arrival of their track.

‘Tapping Into The Emotional Void’ was released in 1989 as part of Excel’s second album, The Joke’s on You. The album generally saw Excel departing from their earlier punk sound to a more traditionally thrash metal sound reminiscent of bands like Anthrax. Of course, the instrumental at the beginning of the song also dredges up the syncopated rhythms of early groove metal.

1989 was a strange year for heavy metal. Amid the many highs, the Grammys incident with Metallica and Jethro Tull instilled a lot of confusion in fans of the genre, who likely felt their beloved space was being threatened and infiltrated by those who didn’t deserve to be there. …And Justice for All was an incredibly complex album that enabled the floods of prog metal through the incredibly macabre sounds of ‘One’.

‘One’ eventually earned the band their well-deserved Grammy, but the following album, Metallica, led with a song that would solidify their status as the defining trailblazers of heavy metal and hard rock. ‘Enter Sandman’ was originally inspired by the sounds of Soundgarden’s Louder Than Love, but it soon evolved into its own thing after the original two-bar length evolved into a more dynamic composition.

For a long while, ‘Enter Sandman’ was just an instrumental. James Hetfield intended to apply a vocal melody and accompanying lyrics, but they didn’t come to him until the album was nearly finished. This was an interesting process, especially considering the fact that Hetfield also described ‘Enter Sandman’ as providing the foundation for the entire direction of Metallica.

Musically, ‘Enter Sandman’ is a highly guitar-oriented track that immediately captures your attention. It’s accessible but in-keeping with metal tendencies, with enough balance to let you in and then spit you out the moment it’s over. Unfortunately, Excel’s achieved almost the same feat with ‘Tapping Into The Emotional Void’.

Excel’s tune is, of course, a little less refined with a longer intro, relying on the addition of the drums and accompanying guitars to deliver the initial heaviness of the track. It also yields more freedom than the popular Metallica piece, with guitar licks that oscillate between higher and lower chords for greater depth and variation.

‘Enter Sandman’, on the other hand, begins in a more understated way, almost like a gentle breeze tickling at your eardrums. The accompanying arrangements are a lot more polished and considered, making the arrival of Hetfield’s vocals a lot more profound and hard-hitting. Despite the obvious differences, there are also the obvious similarities, which almost urged Excel to take matters further.

However, although it’s reported that they considered going down the legal route, nothing actually materialised. It’s uncertain why they decided against initiating the public feud, but many suspect it had something to do with finances. Moreover, it probably wouldn’t be a fair fight, as Metallica had already gained huge traction and wasn’t showing signs of slowing down.

Check out both tracks below.