Which album track was originally intended to be an instrumental, according to Metallica's recording history?

“My Friend of Misery” was originally intended to be an instrumental on Metallica's The Black Album. Bassist Jason Newsted wrote the main riff, which began as an idea for the kind of instrumental Metallica had included on earlier albums.

The finished track instead became a vocal song with lyrics by James Hetfield. It appears as track eleven, just before “The Struggle Within,” and closes the album's main run of songs before the final track. The composition retains a spacious, bass-led character that distinguishes it from several of the album's more direct anthems.

This history is sometimes confused with “Orion,” the major instrumental from Master of Puppets. “My Friend of Misery” is not an instrumental on the released album, but its original conception explains why fans often discuss it as a link to the band's earlier records.