Phoebe Bridgers Delivers Haunting Metallica ‘Nothing Else Matters’ Cover
The Metallica Blacklist covers continue to roll out, giving a variety of artists across all genres a chance to reinterpret the music from the band's monstrous self-titled 1991 "Black" album. This week, singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers is in the spotlight, providing a haunting and at times breathy version of the Metallica classic, "Nothing Else Matters."
Leaning into the almost classical nature of the original, Bridgers provides a more tender approach letting the twinkling of piano keys help to set the mood.
Speaking with Zane Lowe on his Apple Music show, Bridgers explained, "It was just so fun to take a part in it. I feel like my version almost sounds Baroque. Literally, James [Hetfield] does all sorts of weird octave jumps and stuff that I can't do, and I almost have a Billie Eilish approach of right by the microphone, performing it the opposite of them, which was really fun to lean into."
She went on to share her admiration for the metal icons, stating, "I've always been a big Metallica fan. When I was a teenager, I went to Outside Lands and I definitely knew Metallica songs from video games and stuff, but I went to Outside Lands and saw their set and was like, 'This is a rock band.' It's kind of a gateway to metal because they're so hooky and you can hold onto so much of it and it actually can get stuck in your head."
The Bridgers cover of "Nothing Else Matters" is the latest to be featured in the massive 53-song collection known as the Metallica Blacklist that is due on Sept. 10. A wide ranging list of acts so far have showcased their Metallica covers leading up to the release, including Weezer, Volbeat, J. Balvin, Jon Pardi, Biffy Clyro, OFF!, Miley Cyrus, St. Vincent, Juanes and Ghost. In addition to the Bridgers cover, a Chris Stapleton cover of "Nothing Else Matters" also arrived today.
Metallica have also been releasing previously unheard material from their Black album sessions and touring as part of their larger 30th anniversary remastered box set. An alternate version of "Nothing Else Matters," the Orchestra/Clean Guitar/Vocal Mix recorded on July 8, 1991, was just released by the band today (Aug. 12).
Today (Aug. 12) also marks the 30th anniversary of the album's actual release. Check out our anniversary feature and facts only superfans would know about the Black album here and here.
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