“The Unforgiven” was the second single released from Metallica's 1991 album, also known as The Black Album.
The single followed “Enter Sandman,” the album's lead single, and was released in 1991. Its arrangement reversed the pattern of several earlier Metallica ballads: the verses are heavier and more distorted, while the chorus is softer and more melodic. That contrast became a distinctive feature of the song.
James Hetfield wrote the lyrics, and the composition was credited to Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, and Kirk Hammett. The song explores the struggle of an individual against forces attempting to control or subjugate him. It later inspired “The Unforgiven II” on Reload and “The Unforgiven III” on Death Magnetic.
Listeners sometimes identify “Nothing Else Matters” as the second single because it was another major ballad from the record. In the album's single sequence, however, “The Unforgiven” came before it.