The Pentagon has quietly deleted and re-uploaded a promotional video after it was flagged for using Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” without permission. The original version, which featured the classic song, was replaced with a music-free version.
The video, featuring Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth — a former Fox News host and longtime Trump ally — promotes a renewed push to increase U.S. drone production and deployment. As Hegseth delivers a speech about rebuilding military capabilities and overcoming bureaucratic red tape, a drone floats down and delivers a memo, which he signs dramatically on camera.
Pentagon spokesperson Kingsley Wilson confirmed Friday that X contacted the Department of Defense regarding the copyright issue. “The video has been taken down, corrected, and re-uploaded to our page,” Wilson told Military.com.
A representative for Metallica confirmed to Rolling Stone that the band did not authorise the use of “Enter Sandman.” This marks another chapter in the long history of musicians clashing with Donald Trump and his administration stealing their music — a saga so extensive it has its own Wikipedia page. The long list of artists includes Twister Sister, Ozzy Osbourne, Aerosmith, and Guns N’ Roses.
The Trump administration has frequently drawn criticism from artists over unauthorised song use. During a recent military parade organised under Trump’s leadership, an instrumental version of “Enter Sandman” played, further angering Metallica fans. Organisers of the event also received a cease-and-desist letter over the illegal use of “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother.”
Other Metallica members have also been openly critical of Trump. In 2017, guitarist Kirk Hammett drew parallels between Trump’s rhetoric and that of 1930s Germany. “If we don’t put up a fight, we risk losing our rights,” he warned. “Defend democracy from those who want to crush it!”
Lars Ulrich is not a fan of the president either: “If Trump becomes president and everything goes to shit, I might make my way to the airport and ask if I can get back in again,” Ulrich confessed during a 2016 interview to Danish tabloid Ekstra Bladet before leaving Denmark.
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