Jason Newsted’s “My Friend of Misery” was originally intended to be an instrumental on Metallica’s The Black Album. Newsted wrote the song’s main riff, which began as an idea for the type of instrumental that had appeared on earlier Metallica albums.
The band had included instrumentals on each of its previous four studio albums. Those tracks included “The Call of Ktulu” on Ride the Lightning, “Orion” on Master of Puppets, and “To Live Is to Die” on ...And Justice for All. The Black Album ultimately broke that sequence.
“My Friend of Misery” received lyrics and vocals during the album’s development, turning Newsted’s instrumental concept into a complete song. James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich were the band’s principal songwriting partners at the time, but ideas from Newsted and Kirk Hammett also shaped the record.
The track appears late on the album and is often discussed as an example of the broader writing contributions emerging from Metallica’s lineup during these sessions.