Which Metallica Black Album track was originally intended as an instrumental?

“My Friend of Misery” was originally intended as an instrumental on Metallica's The Black Album.

The track grew from a bass idea written by Jason Newsted. Newsted hoped it would become the fifth instrumental in Metallica's catalog, following “(Anesthesia)—Pulling Teeth,” “The Call of Ktulu,” “Orion,” and “To Live Is to Die.” The finished version instead received lyrics and vocals by James Hetfield.

The song is notable because it gave Newsted a substantial songwriting contribution during his early years with Metallica. He had joined the band after Cliff Burton's death and had received limited songwriting credit on ...And Justice for All. “My Friend of Misery” became the first Black Album song built around one of his credited musical ideas.

The track appears as the album's eleventh song and was not released as a commercial single. Its dark opening bass figure remains one of the record's most distinctive instrumental passages, even though the final arrangement is a vocal song rather than the instrumental Newsted originally envisioned.