It was this day in 1991 when the video for "Enter Sandman" came out on MTV. Remember when MTV actually played music videos? It used to stand for MUSIC Television, and not MORON Television. This was well before the age of the reality TV stupidity that's taken over all the "music" television.

Where were you when this video came out?

I was in Kansas working for my second radio station, getting ready for work when the VJ (remember those?) announced the world-premiere of the new Metallica song. I sat in the living room watching the flickering images come up and the drums pounding in the intro. The song was (and is) heavy, but not what I was expecting from the mighty band that had given the world "Master of Puppets", "Ride the Lightning" and "...And Justice for All".

You have to remember, at that time, Metallica wasn't the gigantic band they are now. They were coming up, and more and more people had heard of them and their reputation had been building, but they weren't the biggest name in rock music yet. They were still opening for bands, and were a dangerous bunch of young guys playing this crazy thrash music along with Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax, Testament and Exodus.

No one really knew what was going to hit them with the Black Album. Metallica almost single-handedly brought rock back into the forefront with this album, and they've enjoyed quite a ride since then. The production on this beast also set a high bar for rock and metal since. The drums are phenomenal, the guitars heavy and distinct, there was actual bass audible (sorry Justice) and they'd really spent time getting the vocals right. This album is still referenced by tons of musicians when talking about how an album should sound.

You may have heard this song a bazillion times before, but let it take you back to where you were when you first heard it, and enjoy.

And James Hetfield was always cool as f***.

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