Hero of the Day

"Hero of the Day"
Single by Metallica
from the album Load
B-side "(See below)"
Released September 9, 1996[1]
Format
Recorded December 13, 1995
The Plant Studios
Sausalito, California
Genre Hard rock
Length 4:21
Label Elektra
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Metallica singles chronology
"Until It Sleeps"
(1996)		 "Hero of the Day"
(1996)		 "Mama Said"
(1996)
Music video
"Hero of the Day" on YouTube

"Hero of the Day" is a power ballad by American heavy metal band Metallica from their 1996 album Load. The song was first recorded on December 13, 1995, and was the first song on Load to be recorded. The song was also Metallica's second single release from the album. A promotional video for the track was also filmed. It became their second consecutive number-one hit on the US Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. It is one of the few Metallica songs written primarily in a major key.

According to article in Kerrang around time of Load release, the demo for the song is entitled "Mouldy" due to the main riff reminding James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich of a typical Bob Mould sound. The demo was recorded on December 10, 1994, one of the earliest demo recordings for the Load sessions (the first demo to be recorded was for Wasting My Hate on November 28, 1994).

This single is notable for including four Motörhead cover songs, recorded live direct to two-track at The Plant Studios during a rehearsal for Lemmy's 50th Birthday Party at the Whiskey A Go-Go, Los Angeles. These b-sides were later released on the second CD of the Garage Inc. compilation in 1998.[2]

Music video

The music video for this song was directed by Anton Corbijn and features a drug-addled youth watching a television, with every channel featuring Metallica in some way. A Western movie titled Load is featured, starring Newsted and Hetfield, followed by a boxing match with Hetfield as coach, and Newsted and Kirk Hammett as the fighters. After a drink called "Load" is advertised by Ulrich and Hetfield in matching suits, a game show called "Hero of the Day" (which is a parody of Jeopardy!) is seen being played of which Jason Newsted is the host. Then, it cuts to the news with the anchorman played by Hammett and featuring a clip of Hetfield singing the lyrics to the song. A girl calls at the youth's house and they later try having sex, but the young man is unaroused, and visibly disappointed, leans back in his bed.[3] The girl later leaves. At the end, the youth passes out and dreams of tiny robot creatures, rendered in stop motion, emerging from his ear. He awakes from the dream and vomits into his toilet.[4]

Track listing

US single
No.TitleLength
1."Hero of the Day"4:24
2."Kill/Ride Medley" (Live - Escape from the studio '95)10:17
International Single Part 1
No.TitleLength
1."Hero of the Day"4:22
2."Overkill"4:07
3."Damage Case"3:53
4."Hero of the Day" (Outta B-Sides Mix)6:34
International Single Part 2
No.TitleLength
1."Hero of the Day"4:22
2."Stone Dead Forever"5:06
3."Too Late Too Late"3:18
4."Mouldy" (aka Hero of the Day - early demo version)5:22
Limited Edition CD (MotörheadACHE)
No.TitleLength
1."Hero of the Day"4:23
2."Overkill"4:09
3."Damage Case"3:39
4."Stone Dead Forever"4:52
5."Too Late Too Late"3:12
Japanese EP
No.TitleLength
1."Hero of the Day"4:24
2."Mouldy" (aka Hero of the Day - early demo version)5:25
3."Hero of the Day" (Outta B Side Mix)6:37
4."Stone Dead Forever"4:50
5."Damage Case"3:38
6."Too Late Too Late"3:12

Charts

Chart (1996) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[5] 2
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[6] 29
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[7] 30
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[8] 3
Germany (Official German Charts)[9] 39
Ireland (IRMA)[10] 16
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[11] 25
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[12] 21
Norway (VG-lista)[13] 8
Poland (Polskie Radio)[14] 14
Scotland (Official Charts Company)[15] 16
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[16] 10
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[17] 17
US Billboard Hot 100[18] 60
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[19] 1

References

  1. ↑ "Hero of the Day". Release date. Metallica.com. Archived from the original on July 14, 2013. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
  2. ↑ "Metallica Cover Songs - Other bands songs that Metallica have covered".
  3. ↑ "Metallica - "Hero Of The Day" Official Video, directed by Anton Corbijn Video on YouTube". External link in |title= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help)
  4. ↑ "mvdbase.com - Metallica - "Hero of the day [version 1]"". www.mvdbase.com. Retrieved 2018-02-24.
  5. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Metallica – Hero of the Day". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  6. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Metallica – Hero of the Day" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  7. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Metallica – Hero of the Day" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  8. ↑ "Metallica: Hero of the Day" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  9. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Metallica – Hero of the Day". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  10. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Hero of the Day". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  11. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Metallica – Hero of the Day" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  12. ↑ "Charts.nz – Metallica – Hero of the Day". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  13. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Metallica – Hero of the Day". VG-lista. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  14. ↑ "Polish Singles Chart".
  15. ↑ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  16. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Metallica – Hero of the Day". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  17. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  18. ↑ "Metallica Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  19. ↑ "Metallica Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
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