10 Best Metal Music Videos Of All Time
1. One - Metallica
Metallica's rise to metal stardom started off very organically, with word of mouth turning them into one of metal's greatest forces. So when the call came for them to make a video to go with their album And Justice for All, the thought seemed a bit silly. Once the band started to take the idea seriously, they came out with a cinematic musical showcase for the ages.
The inspiration behind "One" comes from the book and movie Johnny Got His Gun, which is a harrowing tale of a man injured in war who wants to die but can no longer speak. In a direct antithesis to their peers, Metallica masked their video in black and white to stand out from the neon flashiness of the 80's. Throughout the video are bits and pieces from the film that inspired the song, with the internal thoughts of Johnny being played out over punishing riffs.
In making a video that was against the trends of the times, Metallica created something truly timeless by showing the darkness of man and the torture of being trapped in your own mind. Though Metallica's videos would become more bombastic down the road, "One" stands as their most haunting visual depiction of metal's intensity.