“The Unforgiven” is the Metallica song from The Black Album that bears the title “The Unforgiven.”
The song is the album's fourth track and became one of its five commercial singles. It stands out for its use of quieter, more atmospheric verses contrasted with heavier choruses, giving the arrangement a dramatic dynamic shape.
Metallica later created two related songs, “The Unforgiven II” on Reload and “The Unforgiven III” on Death Magnetic. Those sequels often cause confusion when fans refer simply to “The Unforgiven,” but the original song belongs to the 1991 album.
The title also helped establish a recurring motif in Metallica's later catalog. Despite the connected names, the three songs are separate compositions from different periods, not sections of one continuous recording.