Hero of the Day

"Hero of the Day" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica from their 1996 album Load. The song was recorded on December 13, 1995, at Plant Studios in Sausalito, California.^[3] "Hero of the Day" was Metallica's second single release from the album. The song became their second consecutive number-one hit on the US Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and reached number two in Australia, number three in Finland and number eight in Norway. The song is one of the few Metallica songs written primarily in a major key. A promotional video for the track was also filmed.

"Hero of the Day"
Single by Metallica
from the album Load
B-side	"Kill/Ride Medley"
Released	September 9, 1996[1]
Recorded	December 13, 1995
Studio	The Plant (Sausalito, California)
Genre	Alternative rock[2]
Length	4:21
Label	Elektra Vertigo
Composer(s)	Kirk Hammett James Hetfield Lars Ulrich
Lyricist(s)	James Hetfield
Producer(s)	Bob Rock James Hetfield Lars Ulrich
Metallica singles chronology
"Until It Sleeps" (1996) "Hero of the Day" (1996) "Mama Said" (1996)
Music video
"Hero of the Day" on YouTube

The "Hero of the Day" 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 Los Angeles' Whisky a Go Go nightclub.^[4] These B-sides were later released on the second CD of the Garage Inc. compilation in 1998.^[5]

History

According to an article in the rock music magazine Kerrang, around the time of Load's release, the demo for the song was 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).^[6]

Critical reception

Discussing the style of the song, Loudwire opined "Hero of the Day" to be a "mellifluous saunter into soft rock territory".^[7] Terry Bezer of Louder Sound called the song "epic".^[8]

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 leans back in his bed, visibly disappointed.^[9] 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.^[10]

Track listings

US CD and cassette single^[11][12]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Hero of the Day"	4:22
2.	"Kill/Ride Medley" (live at Castle Donington, England, August 26, 1995)	10:17

UK CD1^[13]

No.	Title	Length
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

UK CD2^[14]

No.	Title	Length
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

UK limited-edition maxi-CD single (MotörheadACHE)^[15]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Hero of the Day"	4:22
2.	"Overkill"	4:07
3.	"Damage Case"	3:53
4.	"Stone Dead Forever"	5:06
5.	"Too Late Too Late"	3:18

Japanese EP^[16]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Hero of the Day"	4:24
2.	"Mouldy" (aka "Hero of the Day"—early demo version)	5:24
3.	"Hero of the Day" (Outta B Side Mix)	6:35
4.	"Stone Dead Forever"	4:50
5.	"Damage Case"	3:38
6.	"Too Late Too Late"	3:13

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for "Hero of the Day" Chart (1996) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[17] 2 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[18] 29 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[19] 30 Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)[20] 7 Denmark (IFPI)[21] 7 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[22] 20 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[23] 3 Germany (GfK)[24] 39 Hungary (Mahasz)[25] 9 Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[26] 18 Ireland (IRMA)[27] 16 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[28] 19 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[29] 25 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[30] 21 Norway (VG-lista)[31] 8 Scotland (OCC)[32] 16 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[33] 10 UK Singles (OCC)[34] 17 UK Rock & Metal (OCC)[35] 1 US Billboard Hot 100[36] 60 US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[37] 1

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for "Hero of the Day" Chart (1996) Position Australia (ARIA)[38] 52 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[39] 88 US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[40] 36 Chart (2002) Position Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)[41] 189

Certifications

Certifications for "Hero of the Day"

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[42]	Platinum	70,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.