Kirk Hammett is absent from the studio guitar performance on Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters.”
James Hetfield played the guitars and sang on the recorded version, while Hammett did not appear on the studio track. Hammett did, however, appear in the song’s music video and later performed it live with Metallica, including the acoustic introduction in concert.
The song became one of the album’s most recognizable tracks and differed from the band’s usual aggressive attack through its prominent acoustic guitar writing, orchestral arrangement, and ballad structure.
The personnel detail can be misunderstood because Hammett is Metallica’s lead guitarist and is visible in the video. Studio credits and live performance roles are not identical here, which is why the specific answer is Hammett rather than the guitarist seen in later performances.