Which band originally recorded “So What?”, later covered by Metallica during the Black Album era?

Anti-Nowhere League originally recorded “So What?”, which Metallica later covered during the Black Album era.

The British punk band first released the song as the B-side of its 1981 debut seven-inch single, “Streets of London.” Metallica’s version appeared as a B-side to the “Sad but True” single and was later included on Garage Inc., the band’s compilation of cover recordings.

The track is not one of the twelve original songs on Metallica’s 1991 album. That distinction matters because the cover is often associated with the Black Album’s promotional period, even though it was issued separately from the album’s standard track listing.

Metallica had long acknowledged influences from British heavy metal and punk, and the cover fit the band’s tradition of recording songs by other artists. Other Metallica covers connected with this period include Queen’s “Stone Cold Crazy,” which appeared as the B-side to “Enter Sandman.”