Metallica‘s enduring 1991 single “Enter Sandman” emerged as a thunderous orchestral version in the most recent episode of Westworld, the HBO series that stars Evan Rachel Wood in an ensemble cast among a futuristic Wild West setting inhabited by androids.
The big band and ragtime-indebted instrumental cover composed by Ramin Djawadi extends what could be seen as Metallica’s TV takeover. The influential thrash metal act, already embedded in pop culture, have seen their music reach further new fans with recent placements in popular ephemera such as Netflix’s Stranger Things.
Hear Westworld‘s “Enter Sandman” near the bottom of this post.
Over four seasons, Westworld has developed a stable of orchestral covers of mainstay rock songs. It’s given the treatment to other classics by Guns N’ Roses, Nirvana, Radiohead and more, as Thrillist noted. The orchestral “Enter Sandman” premiered in the episode “Annees Folles” on Sunday (July 10).
In Stranger Things 4‘s finale (July 1), metalhead character Eddie Munson performs Metallica’s 1986 “Master of Puppets” in a pivotal scene. Tye Trujillo, the 17-year-old son of Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo, contributed the guitar solo used on the recording for the show. The tune is also part of the most recent Stranger Things soundtrack, which features further cuts by KISS, Journey and Talking Heads.
Munson, played by actor Joseph Quinn, waves the heavy metal flag throughout Stranger Things 4, which premiered on Netflix in May. On the season, he rocks a Dio back patch in addition to rocking out on guitar. Quinn even listened to metal to prepare for role.
Metallica, together over 40 years, will wrap up their current string of scheduled world tour dates in August. Last year, Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich said it was “way too early” to talk about a new Metallica album, though the band had seemingly been working on one.
Last year, Ghost covered “Enter Sandman” for Metallica’s “Black Album” 30th anniversary. Weezer and singer Juanes also recorded “Sandman” renditions for The Metallica Blacklist tribute album. Similarly, Corey Taylor, Miley Cyrus, Phoebe Bridgers and several others contributed more unique takes on other Metallica tunes for the 53-song set.
Ramin Djawadi, “Enter Sandman” (Orchestral Cover from Westworld Season 4)
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