The Day That Never Comes was the lead single from Metallica’s 9th studio album, Death Magnetic.  Lars Ulrich has said that the song was actually written about a father and a son and their efforts to repair their relationship and move on from the resentments of the past.  The music video, as conceived by director Thomas Vinterberg, re-imagines the song as telling the story of a solider deployed to the Middle East.  James Hetfield, who has always been outspoken in his belief that musicians should not push their political beliefs on their audience, has said that the video is not meant to be a commentary on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan but instead, it’s about remembering that everyone is human.

Vinterberg is a well-known and acclaimed Danish director and one of the founders of Dogme 95.  13 years after the release of this video, Vinterberg would become the first Danish director to receive an Oscar nomination for Best Director for Another Round.  Another Round also won the Oscar for Best International Film.

Enjoy!