Which Metallica song has no guitar performance by Kirk Hammett on the studio recording of The Black Album?

“Nothing Else Matters” has no guitar performance by Kirk Hammett on the studio recording of The Black Album.

James Hetfield played the song’s guitar parts on the original recording, while Lars Ulrich played drums and Jason Newsted played bass. The arrangement also includes orchestral parts arranged by Michael Kamen, giving the ballad a sweeping texture.

Hammett does appear in the music video and has performed the song live with Metallica. That creates a common mix-up: seeing him associated with the song does not mean he played guitar on the original studio track.

The song began as a private guitar idea from Hetfield and developed into one of Metallica’s best-known ballads. It became the album’s third single in 1992 and helped demonstrate that the band could move beyond thrash-metal expectations without abandoning its identity.