“My Friend of Misery” was originally intended to be an instrumental on Metallica’s The Black Album.
The song’s main riff was written by bassist Jason Newsted. It began as an instrumental idea, continuing a pattern from Metallica’s earlier albums, each of which had included an instrumental track.
That tradition had appeared in different forms across the band’s catalog, but the Black Album ultimately did not include a fully instrumental song. Instead, “My Friend of Misery” developed into a vocal track with lyrics and a dark, reflective mood.
The song is notable for giving Newsted a major compositional contribution during a period when most of the band’s material was written primarily by James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich. Kirk Hammett also contributed ideas to some Black Album songs, but Newsted’s riff is specifically associated with this track’s origin.