Watch James Hetfield sing Metallica hit Enter Sandman after inhaling helium

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By ( Metal Hammer ) published

Metallica frontman gives us all a laugh as he celebrates his 61st birthday – under the influence of helium gas

James Hetfield of Metallica performs onstage.
(Image credit: Photo by Jeff Kravitz/Getty Images for P+ and MTV)

Metallica frontman James Hetfield celebrated his 61st birthday by breaking into a high-pitched version of the thrash icons' smash hit Enter Sandman.

A video posted to Metallica's Instagram account today shows the vocalist inhaling helium gas from a birthday balloon before singing Happy Birthday to himself then saying: "Hi, everybody. I'm 61. Did you know that?"

And after breaking into a fit of giggles, Papa Het sings a few lines of Enter Sandman like you've never heard it before.

Watch the clip below.

Hetfield is showing no signs of slowing down. Metallica are on the latest leg of their M72 World Tour, which features a new in-the-round stage set with the band's iconic "snake pit" relocated to the centre of the stage, giving fans a 360-degree view of the performance.

They are playing two shows in each city on the tour, with completely different setlists each night.

The tour is in support of the band's latest album, 72 Seasons.

Enter Sandman appeared on Metallica's Black Album. Released on July 29, 1991, Enter Sandman reached No.16 in the US and No.5 in the UK.

Enter Sandman and the Black Album proved to be game-changers, turning Metallica from one of metal’s biggest bands into a genuine mainstream phenomenon.

Metallica – M72 tour dates 2024

Aug 04: Foxborough Gillette Stadium, MA, USA
Aug 09: Chicago Soldier Field, IL, USA
Aug 11: Chicago Soldier Field, IL, USA
Aug 16: Minneapolis US Bank Stadium, MN, USA
Aug 18: Minneapolis US Bank Stadium, MN, USA
Aug 23: Edmonton Commonwealth Stadium, Canada
Aug 25: Edmonton Commonwealth Stadium, Canada
Aug 30: Seattle Lumen Field, WA, USA
Sep 01: Seattle Lumen Field, WA, USA
Sep 20: Mexico City Foro Sol, Mexico
Sep 22: Mexico City Foro Sol, Mexico
Sep 27: Mexico City Foro Sol, Mexico
Sep 29: Mexico City Foro Sol, Mexico

Stef Lach

Stef wrote close to 5,000 stories during his time as assistant online news editor and later as online news editor between 2014-2016. An accomplished reporter and journalist, Stef has written extensively for a number of UK newspapers and also played bass with UK rock favourites Logan. His favourite bands are Pixies and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Stef left the world of rock'n'roll news behind when he moved to his beloved Canada in 2016, but he started on his next 5000 stories in 2022.