Jason Newsted wrote the main riff for “My Friend of Misery,” a The Black Album song originally intended as an instrumental.
Newsted brought the central riff idea to the album's writing process. The composition was initially conceived as an instrumental, continuing a pattern from earlier Metallica albums that included substantial instrumental pieces. It ultimately became a vocal song with lyrics by James Hetfield.
The finished track appears late in the album and combines a prominent bass-centered idea with atmospheric guitar passages and a tense, reflective mood. Its title and lyrics give the instrumental framework a more personal and narrative direction.
Newsted received songwriting credit alongside Hetfield and Lars Ulrich. This is distinct from saying he wrote the entire song alone: Metallica's songs were commonly developed collaboratively, with Hetfield and Ulrich handling much of the principal writing and lyric work during these sessions.