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Pentagon Strips Metallica Song from Pete Hegseth’s ‘Drone Dominance’ Video After Band’s Copyright Threat

A promotional video released by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth forecasting “drone
X/USMC

A promotional video released by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth forecasting “drone dominance” has been recast after Metallica successfully demanded the removal of one of their songs from the offering.

As reported by Rolling Stone, the freshly-altered clip first aired last Thursday on the Department of Defense’s official X account. It depicted Hegseth boasting of a new executive order from President Donald Trump aimed at cementing “American drone dominance.”

The original clip used Metallica’s 1991 metal anthem “Enter Sandman” as Hegseth can be seen speaking to camera as he explains how his department is fulfilling the Oval Office order.

“This is the future,” he declared. “We’re in the fight. We’re in the fight to win it. And we’re never gonna back down.”

The track has since been scrubbed from social media after the band objected to a copyright breach per its unauthorized use.

“This afternoon, representatives from X reached out to DoD regarding a video posted to our social media page and asked that the video be removed due to a copyright issue with the song ‘Enter Sandman’ by Metallica,” the Pentagon confirmed on Friday. “The video has been taken down, corrected, and re-uploaded to our page.”

Watch the re-worked effort below:

Metallica’s representatives confirmed the music had been used without the band’s consent in a statement to Rolling Stone.

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via July 13th 2025