Dave Mustaine, the former guitarist of Metallica, has made a bold claim about the band’s biggest hit, “Enter Sandman.” In a recent interview, Mustaine accused Metallica of stealing the riff from a song by the band Excel. “Go look up the band Excel right now. Look up their song, I think it’s [called] ‘Something Into the Unknown.’ Pretty similar,” Mustaine said, referring to Excel’s 1989 track “Tapping into the Emotional Void.”
Fans have noted the similarities between the two songs, with the opening riff of “Tapping into the Emotional Void” bearing a resemblance to the intro of “Enter Sandman,” which was released in 1991.
This is not the first time Mustaine has made this accusation. In a 2004 interview, he expressed similar sentiments, claiming that Metallica had lifted the riff from Excel. Excel’s manager, Jane Hoffman, mentioned that the band did not pursue legal action against Metallica, hoping instead that the attention would benefit their next album.
Metallica’s co-manager Cliff Burnstein commented, “If Excel could write that one (as good as that), I’m sure they can write more.”
“Enter Sandman” remains Metallica’s biggest hit, maintaining its popularity more than 30 years after reaching the Billboard Mainstream Rock Top 10.
Mustaine alleges Metallica’s riff similarity
In 2022, the song surpassed one billion streams on Spotify.
Mustaine, who was with Metallica from 1981 to 1983 before being replaced by Kirk Hammett, also reflected on his time with the band in the recent interview. He alleged that he warned the band not to use any of the guitar riffs on a reel tape he had prepared when he was fired. “I told them when I left, ‘Do not use my music.’ And of course, they used it,” he claimed.
“You listen to the riffs, you know they’re my riffs,” Mustaine said of songs on the band’s debut album, “Kill ‘Em All.” “So, yeah, I wrote a lot of their music that made them, and all the solos on that first record were mine,” he asserted. Despite the controversy, Mustaine’s influence on Metallica’s early sound is undeniable. His narrative highlights the creative and personal struggles that underscored the rise of one of heavy metal’s most iconic bands.
