Metallica Share a Revealingly Stripped-Down Mix of ‘Nothing Else Matters’
Metallica on Thursday (Aug. 12) issued a previously unheard mix of their classic Black Album single "Nothing Else Matters," containing just vocals, clean guitar and orchestra. It's quite a different beast from the original track that climaxes with bombastic drums and overdriven guitars.
The version comes from Metallica's upcoming remastered and expanded reissue of The Black Album, their 1991 eponymous effort now more frequently referred to by its color. It arrives Sept. 10 alongside The Metallica Blacklist, a tribute set with Black Album covers by over 50 different artists.
Listen to the subdued mix near the bottom of this post.
Metallica previously shared rare versions of "Through the Never," "Don't Tread on Me," "Wherever I May Roam," "The Unforgiven," "Sad But True" and more as excerpts from the expanded Black Album. Weezer, Volbeat, Biffy Clyro, Miley Cyrus, St. Vincent, Juanes and others have previewed their respective Metallica covers from The Metallica Blacklist.
Thursday happens to be the exact 30th anniversary date of The Black Album, as the original release first emerged on Aug. 12, 1991. Fans can now watch Loudwire's new video retrospective on the landmark effort, "Metallica's Black Album – 8 Facts Only Superfans Know."
This week, indie rock singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers also released her Blacklist rendition of "Nothing Else Matters," a haunting acoustic take on the tune.
Pre-order the album reissue here; The Metallica Blacklist here.