Which Metallica album track began with Jason Newsted's riff and was originally intended as an instrumental?

“My Friend of Misery” began with a riff written by Jason Newsted and was originally intended as an instrumental on Metallica's 1991 album.

Newsted was Metallica's bassist at the time, and the song is one of the clearest examples of his creative contribution to The Black Album. The track eventually received vocals and lyrics, becoming the penultimate song on the standard 12-track sequence.

The album's songs were written mainly by James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich, with Hetfield generally writing the lyrics. Kirk Hammett and Newsted also supplied ideas and musical concepts, but their contributions can be overlooked when the album is discussed primarily through its frontman and drummer.

The instrumental idea connects “My Friend of Misery” to a pattern in Metallica's earlier albums, each of which had included an instrumental. On The Black Album, however, the band chose to turn this particular idea into a vocal song. That change makes the track notable both for its authorship and for its place in the band's evolving songwriting approach.