A sitar opens Metallica’s “Wherever I May Roam” before the band enters.
The song’s introduction is notable for its unusual timbre, combining a sitar with a gong before the heavy guitars and drums arrive. That texture gives the track an immediately distinctive sound and supports its theme of movement, independence, and life on the road.
The recording also uses an overdubbed Warwick 12-string bass for effect during the introduction. Jason Newsted then plays a standard four-string bass for the main body of the song. The opening instrumentation is therefore more layered than a straightforward guitar-bass-drums arrangement.
“Wherever I May Roam” was released as the fourth single from Metallica in October 1992. Its demo had been recorded at Lars Ulrich’s home studio in August 1990. The sitar is sometimes described as an electric sitar in live performances, but the studio recording’s opening is commonly identified simply by its sitar sound.