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Cover of Load by Metallica
Cover: Load

Song · Metallica

“Hero of the Day” by Metallica

From the album Load (1996)

“Hero of the Day” by Metallica appears on 24 radio countdowns from 13 stations between 1996 and 2022. It was first released in 1996 on the album Load. Its best result is #8 on the WRCX Top 103 Songs of 1997. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #301 alternative song of 1997 and #3,919 alternative song of all time.

24countdowns
13stations
#8best position
0#1 finishes
1top 10 finishes
1996–2022years charted

Watch

Metallica: Hero of the Day (Official Music Video)

Video from YouTube (Metallica). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Hero of the Day" was the second single from Load, Metallica's sixth album, recorded on December 13, 1995, at Plant Studios in Sausalito, California, and it shows a softer side of the band. It sits mostly in a major key, a rarity for them, easing in gently before the guitars of James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett thicken up and Lars Ulrich and Jason Newsted push it into a mid-tempo heave. Hetfield wrote the words and sings them with a weary ache, and Bob Rock produced alongside Hetfield and Ulrich, with Randy Staub recording and mixing.

It went to number one on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart, their second in a row there. The single also came loaded with four Motörhead covers, cut live to two-track at the Plant while the band rehearsed for Lemmy's 50th birthday party at the Whisky a Go Go.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Classic Rock

Hard Rock & Metal

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1996 78 107.7 The End Seattle, WA The End Top 107 Songs of 1996 107
1996 99 WBCN Boston, MA WBCN Top 104 Songs of 1996 104
1996 62 Triple J Australia (national) Triple J Hottest 100 of 1996 100
1997 68 105.7 The Point St. Louis, MO 105.7 The Point Top 105.7 of 1997 106
1997 23 97.1 The Eagle Dallas-Fort Worth, TX KEGL The Eagle's Top 97 Songs of 1997 97
1997 8 WRCX Rock 103.5 Chicago, IL WRCX Top 103 Songs of 1997 103

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1996 954 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1996) 1000
1998 466 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1998) 1000
1999 391 WHFS WHFS Top 500 Songs of the '90s (December 1999) 500
1999 148 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 377 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1999) 998
2001 489 WBRU WBRU Modern Rock Top 500 (2001) 500
2002 566 KISW KISW Top 999 of All Time (2002) 999
2005 740 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2007 382 KROQ KROQ Top 500 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 2007) 500
2013 354 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Grand Jam 1000 (2013) 1000
2014 197 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 400 (2014) 400
2014 603 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX 1K Countdown (2014) 1000
2015 354 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Classic Rock Countdown (2015) 1007
2016 685 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Countdown for 2016 1007
2019 422 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2019) 500
2020 478 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2020) 500
2021 478 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2021) 500
2022 433 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2022) 500

Also listed as: Hero Of The Day.

Charting alongside it in 1997

Best songs of 1997 →
  1. 1Song 2Blur
  2. 2Walkin' On The SunSmash Mouth
  3. 3TubthumpingChumbawamba
  4. 4FlySugar Ray
  5. 5The Impression That I GetThe Mighty Mighty Bosstones
  6. 6Semi-Charmed LifeThird Eye Blind

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