Which Metallica album track was originally intended to be an instrumental before lyrics were added?

“My Friend of Misery” was originally intended to be an instrumental on Metallica’s The Black Album.

Bassist Jason Newsted wrote the song’s main riff, and the band initially considered developing it as the instrumental that would continue a pattern from earlier Metallica albums. Instead, the track received lyrics and became the eleventh song on the standard album.

The song’s creation is notable because songwriting during this period was mainly driven by James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich, while ideas from Kirk Hammett and Newsted also shaped the material. Newsted’s contribution gave the album one of its more distinctive bass-centered foundations.

The finished recording is not an instrumental: Hetfield sings lyrics about isolation and emotional struggle, and the arrangement builds around the central riff. Its history is sometimes confused with the instrumental passages on earlier albums, especially “Orion” from Master of Puppets. “My Friend of Misery” is the Black Album track associated with that abandoned instrumental concept.