Metallica's song Enter Sandman used in Pentagon clip without their authorisation
Metallica's team had Enter Sandman removed from the Pentagon's political clip.
A video by the Pentagon using Metallica's Enter Sandman was removed as permission hadn't been granted by the band to use the 1991 classic.
The US' defense secretary Pete Hegseth appears in the clip praising President Donald Trump’s executive order to “unleash American drone dominance”.
He says: "We’re in the fight. We’re in the fight to win it. And we’re never gonna back down.”
The clip has since been taken down and re-uploaded - but without Enter Sandman.
A spokesperson for the Pentagon confirmed to Rolling Stone: “This afternoon, repreClosing Timerom X reached out to DoD regarding a video posted to our social media page and asked that the video be removed due to a copyright issue with the song ‘Enter Sandman’ by Metallica. The video has been taken down, corrected, and re-uploaded to our page.”
The heavy metal legends are among a number of artists who have had their music used in political content without permission.
Donald Trump has been hit with a number of cease and desist letters and warnings from artists including Jack White, Semisonic, Beyoncé, Celine Dion, Foo Fighters and Isaac Hayes over music copyright.
Earlier in the year, Semisonic condemned the White House for using their song in a video about deportation.
The rock band — best known for their 1998 hit single Closing Time — fired back at the White House for using the track in an X post that depicted the sweeping deportation motions by Trump’s administration.
Semisonic said in an X post: “We did not authorize or condone the White House’s use of our song ‘Closing Time’ in any way. And no, they didn’t ask. The song is about joy and possibilities and hope, and they have missed the point entirely.”
The White House posted a video, set to Closing Time, of Border Patrol agents handcuffing men and ushering them onto planes to be deported. The post was captioned with lyrics from the song: “You don't have to go home but you can't stay here."
The caption also tagged the US Customs and Border Protection account, which re-posted the White House’s video with another reference to Semisonic’s track: “It's closing time. We are making America safe again.”
The post came days after the Trump administration deported hundreds of alleged Venezuelan gang members to a prison in El Salvador, despite US District Judge James E Boasberg’s block on the deportation.
