Kirk Hammett is absent from the studio recording of Metallica's “Nothing Else Matters.” James Hetfield played the song's guitars and wrote the song with Lars Ulrich, while Hammett did not perform on the recorded track.
The song began as a private guitar idea from Hetfield and developed into one of Metallica's best-known power ballads. Its prominent clean guitar parts and orchestral arrangement give it a different texture from many of the album's heavier songs.
Hammett does appear in the song's music video and performs it with Metallica in concert. That visual and live presence can lead listeners to assume he played on the original recording, but the album personnel specifically identify him as absent from the studio track.
Michael Kamen arranged the orchestra, and the London Symphony Orchestra appears on the recording. “Nothing Else Matters” was released as the album's third single in 1992 and became a major international hit.