Metallica on vinyl at Fjord Audio: where “Enter Sandman” begins

The album begins at the stylus

Metallica places “Enter Sandman” first on its self-titled 1991 album. That order matters here because the Fjord Audio session begins with the physical LP: the lead-in gives way to the opening guitar figure before the rest of the track establishes the album’s scale.

This session used an Elektra LP carrying catalogue numbers 61113-1 and 9 61113-1. The album was first released on 12 August 1991. Metallica credits James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett and Lars Ulrich as the songwriters.

Three amplifiers, three jobs

A Clearaudio Da Vinci V2 cartridge on an Innovation turntable fed the Fjord Audio A100 phono stage. The signal then passed to a C100 line preamplifier and a pair of P150 power amplifiers, with one P150 assigned to each channel.

The A100 handles the cartridge signal and phono equalization. Fjord Audio specifies an MC step-up stage and four selectable equalization curves, including RIAA. The C100 takes over source selection and volume through a 64-step relay-switched attenuator, while each single-channel P150 performs the final power-amplifier role.¹²³

These are three distinct functions in one vinyl path, and the session follows the music through that configuration as a whole.

A familiar song, entered through a different source

“Enter Sandman” is familiar enough that its largest moments can take over attention. This Fjord Audio session begins elsewhere: with the same track as the opening cut of a physical LP. The stylus landing, first guitar entrance and gradual arrival of the full band become one continuous beginning.

Begin with that opening sequence rather than one isolated impact. When the track is played again, attention can move to the handoff from the repeated guitar figure to drums, bass and voice. The music remains familiar; the source object, playback route and room give this session its own place in HFI’s growing archive.

Recorded at Fjord Audio

HFI recorded the session at Fjord Audio on 9 October 2025. A matched pair of DPA-4011 microphones was positioned where that pair most closely captured the sound heard at the sweet spot, and a laser distance meter matched their distances from the loudspeakers. The microphones fed a Zoom F8n Pro through Vertere microphone cables at 192 kHz/32-bit float.

Headphones keep the quiet lead-in, the first guitar figure and the later increase in scale within one frame. Settle into your own sweet spot and let the album’s opening unfold from groove to full band.