Nothing Else Matters broke Metallica to the mainstream in a way that has endured for decades. It’s hard to imagine early-90s Metallica being intimidated by anything, particularly given the legendary status of the Black Album as one of the best-selling rock/metal records of all-time.
(Image credit: Niels van Iperen/Getty Images) “I had to relearn that whole intro part to play by myself onstage, which was a little bit intimidating for me at that point.” “We kept putting it in the set and taking it out until we were certain we were actually able to play it,” Hammett told Village Voice in 2014. How could such a huge song not make it into the set? Because guitarist Kirk Hammett was worried about fucking it up, the song marking a rare time where James Hetfield handled all guitar parts in the studio. Nothing Else Matters has subsequently provided the emotional crescendo to many a Metallica show – making it all-the-more surprising that it didn’t see its live debut until the band played the Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati on March 2, 1992. While not as successful as lead single Enter Sandman, Nothing… still surpassed its predecessor The Unforgiven by making it to #34 on the Billboard Hot 100, #6 in the UK and even #1 in Lars’ homeland of Denmark. Sticks and stones couldn’t hope to hurt the behemoth Metallica had become however and nor could the banning of its music video on MTV during the daytime (thanks to some racy posters spotted in the background of the video’s studio footage). Now, I like Metallica but I hate metal ballads, don't you?” As NME put it at the time, “ Enter Sandman kicks ass! Sad But True kicks God ass! Nothing Else Matters is … balladified! Icky icky! And it's their new single. Back when the record had come out, a power ballad was near guaranteed chart-gold – Bryan Adams’ (Everything I Do) I Do it For You spent 16 weeks at the top of the UK singles chart for Christ’s sake – but the enormous success of Smells Like Teen Spirit coupled with an alt-rock and grunge boom meant power ballads were suddenly very, very passé. (Image credit: Time Life Pictures/DMI/The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images)īy the time Nothing Else Matters came out as the Black Album’s third single on April 20, 1992, the music industry was weaning itself off the power ballad.
Dentists loved the Black Album! There was a musical transition when the album came out and it changed radio, because that heavy sound was now on the radio I don’t think I’ve made a record that had done that before. “It actually changed something culturally,” Rock said to Reverb in 2017. 5,000,000 copies of Metallica were sold in the US in that first year alone, the record spending four consecutive weeks at the top of the Billboard 200 while the band became a bona fide phenomenon. The band didn’t always see eye-to-eye with Rock during the recording sessions for the Black Album, but nobody could argue with the results when it was released on August 12, 1991. With composer Michael Kamen taking care of the orchestral arrangements, Nothing Else Matters was now a stirring, potent power ballad with immense emotional depth. With the benefit of hindsight – and YouTube – the early version possessed the song’s characteristic emotional depth and fragility, but also lacked the sense of enormity that would ultimately turn it into a stadium-filling anthem.įor that, they could thank producer Bob Rock, fresh from producing Mötley Crüe’s chart-topping Dr Feelgood, who had a few ideas on how they could expand their sound, suggesting they add an orchestral component to the song for an extra touch of grandiosity. Initial reservations aside, Nothing Else Matters was one of four songs the band demoed for their self-titled fifth record on August 13, 1990. (Image credit: Michel Linssen/Redferns) )
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