Jump back, what’s that sound? It’s a mashup of Metallica’s Enter Sandman and Van Halen’s Panama
The Hammett/Hetfield-Eddie Van Halen pairing we never knew we needed
Recently we were treated to an approximation of what Metallica’s Enter Sandman would sound like if it were performed by Iron Maiden.
Now, continuing the Sandman “What If?” motif, resourceful YouTuber The-Art-of-Guitar has mashed up Metallica’s 1991 classic with Van Halen’s Panama. And the results are, well, pretty spectacular.
Not only does James Hetfield's vocal work surprisingly well when laid atop the VH verse riff, but witness the expert “duet” between Papa Het and David Lee Roth during the song’s chorus.
The solo/breakdown section, meanwhile, is a thing of mash-up beauty, with Kirk Hammett’s wah-wah heavy licks superimposed over Van Halen’s rhythm section, before everything flip-flops and Ed takes over on rhythm guitar for Hetfield’s “now I lay me down to sleep” spoken-word monologue.
“Was rocking out to Panama and this idea just popped into my head so I had to make it real,” The-Art-of-Guitar writes in the caption accompanying the video. “Can't believe how well they work together in most sections.”
We can’t believe it either. Grip your pillow tight and prepare to go burnin’ down the avenue…
Get The Pick Newsletter
All the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!
Thank you for reading 5 articles this month**
Join now for unlimited access
US pricing $3.99 per month or $39.00 per year
UK pricing £2.99 per month or £29.00 per year
Europe pricing €3.49 per month or €34.00 per year
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Rich is the co-author of the best-selling Nöthin' But a Good Time: The Uncensored History of the '80s Hard Rock Explosion. He is also a recording and performing musician, and a former editor of Guitar World magazine and executive editor of Guitar Aficionado magazine. He has authored several additional books, among them Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, the companion to the documentary of the same name.
“We don’t want to be an old-school death metal band. But if you say ‘progressive death metal’, people expect hyper-sweeps and polyrhythms”: How Blood Incantation fused B.C. Rich, doom and David Gilmour to make one of 2024’s most talked-about metal albums
“I was lucky to play with my heroes at 9 years old. I remember doing shows with Buddy Guy and Bob Dylan”: Derek Trucks recalls playing with the greats from an early age – and the lesson he learned from Buddy Guy that influenced his entire sound