Metallica's “Nothing Else Matters” first appeared as a single from The Black Album in 1992.
The song was released on April 20, 1992, as the album's third single. Its release came after “Enter Sandman” and “The Unforgiven,” extending the commercial campaign beyond the album's 1991 launch.
James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich are credited as composers, with Hetfield credited as lyricist. The song's intimate tone and prominent clean guitar parts made it a notable contrast with Metallica's earlier reputation for aggressive thrash-metal material. It became one of the band's best-known songs and a regular part of its live repertoire.
The single reached number six on the UK Singles Chart and performed strongly across Europe. It is sometimes dated to 1991 because the album was released that year, but the commercial single release occurred in 1992. That distinction makes the single's release year different from the album's release year.