35 years ago – Metallica released the music video for their song “One”

In 1989, Metallica, as a band, was five years old when they entered the era of MTV music videos by releasing their first video for the single “One” from the album “…And Justice for All.”

The approximately eight-minute video consists of the band’s performance and excerpts from the 1971 film “Johnny Got His Gun.” The movie tells the story of a World War I soldier who loses his limbs and senses on the battlefield.

Metallica had gained recognition two years earlier with the “Master of Puppets” album, which they achieved without the assistance of MTV. However, the band was aware of MTV’s influence. Drummer Lars Ulrich told Pitchfork:

“The idea took precedence over the assumption that we had to do a video because that’s what you did when you were putting out your next single. We were pretty comfortable with the idea right away — dare I say even excited about it.”