Accusations of “selling out” have followed Metallica for almost as long as they’ve been a band. From the moment the metal titans first touched an acoustic guitar in 1984, gatekeepers have been pissed off at them, sometimes for the most ludicrous of reasons. And one seemingly innocuous act that infuriated the purists was the first time the Four Horsemen made a music video.
Metallica made their MTV debut in 1989, with the release of the haunting clip for …And Justice For All single One. It was a moment of victory for the band, following years of rejection from mainstream TV and radio, even as Master Of Puppets became a megahit and they toured extensively with Ozzy Osbourne. As singer/guitarist James Hetfield revealed in 2018, however, that win didn’t enthuse everybody.
