Metallica's ‘Enter Sandman' Reaches An Incredible Longevity Milestone

Forbes

19-06-2025

Metallica's 'Enter Sandman' celebrates 700 weeks on the Hard Rock Digital Song Sales chart, becoming ... More the band's longest-charting hit by far. LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 12: (L-R) Robert Trujillo, James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, and Kirk Hammett of Metallica visit SiriusXM's 'The Howard Stern Show' at SiriusXM Studios on April 12, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo byfor SiriusXM)
More than a decade ago, Billboard introduced the Hard Rock Digital Song Sales chart, and since then, Metallica has appeared on the tally fairly consistently. The beloved band has collected nearly two dozen smashes on the list, which measures the top-selling tracks in the hard rock style throughout the U.S. on platforms like iTunes and Amazon. Some of them have sometimes spent a year or more as bestsellers, and one title stands out as the group's most successful by far.
'Enter Sandman' has now racked up 700 weeks on the Hard Rock Digital Song Sales chart. It's rare for any tune to earn hundreds of stays on any Billboard ranking – that kind of showing is usually reserved for albums – especially one focused entirely on pure purchases, which typically dwindle shortly after a track's initial promotional period. A handful of cuts in any genre manage to break that mold and become never-ending bestsellers — and 'Enter Sandman' is one of those lucky few.
The tune is far and away Metallica's longest-running smash on the Hard Rock Digital Song Sales list. No other track from the band has reached triple-digit frames yet. 'Nothing Else Matters' is close, though. As it returns this time around at No. 9, it earns its ninetieth stay on the tally. In time, it will surely become another 100-week winner, though by then, 'Enter Sandman' will likely have continued adding to its cumulative total.
'Enter Sandman' has been present on the Hard Rock Digital Song Sales list for so long that it has spent more time on the roster than all of Metallica's other smashes combined. That roundup includes several tracks that lived on the list for months, such as 'One,' 'Master of Puppets,' 'Hardwired,' and several others.
This week, Metallica nearly recaptures the throne on the Hard Rock Digital Song Sales tally, as 'Enter Sandman' holds at No. 2. It's kept from ruling only by 'Fight Like a Girl,' the brand new collaboration between Evanescence and K.Flay, which debuts atop the ranking.
No matter how fans consume hard rock music, Metallica's tune is a winner. 'Enter Sandman' also holds at its all-time high of No. 3 on the Hard Rock Streaming Songs tally this week.