This song was Metallica's second single release of the "Load" album. Based on singles sales it is Metallica's tenth largest hit to date.

Album:
Load

The S&M info:
The S&M version of the "Hero of the Day" music video was premiered on Mtv on "Total Request Live" on November 6, 1999. Lars was at the Mtv studios to talk about the release of S&M.

The demo:
Metallica called the song's demo "Mouldy" because its riff had been around for a very long time (the riff began to grow mouldy) before they finally turned it into a song.

The live video:
The live video to "Hero Of The Day" was recorded in Barcelona, Spain on September 23, 1996. A metronum was introducing the band to the required rythym 5 seconds before each of the three times they played the song and its beeps sounded throughout the whole audio system at the stadium. During the first attempt Kirk got 3 or 4 notes wrong in the intro and Lars asked the crowd to be more energetic in each one of the new versions they played.

The subject matter:
James wrote this song about somebodies who are looking for heroes in the media and that they are not realizing that those you should be "worshiping" are the people you come across in everyday life.