“Sad but True” was the final commercial single released from Metallica's 1991 album, commonly called The Black Album.
The single arrived on February 8, 1993, after “Enter Sandman,” “The Unforgiven,” “Nothing Else Matters,” and “Wherever I May Roam.” It was the fifth and last commercial single from the album's original campaign. The song reached number 15 on the US Mainstream Rock chart.
Its massive sound was shaped by a tuning change during pre-production. The song had originally been written and demoed in standard tuning, but producer Bob Rock persuaded the band to tune down to D after pointing out the heavier effect of lower tuning. That adjustment helped give the central riff its unusually weighty character.
The song's music video was filmed in San Diego in January 1992 and premiered in October that year. “Don't Tread on Me” was promoted to rock radio but was not issued as a commercial single, so it does not replace “Sad but True” in the official sequence.