“My Friend of Misery” began as an instrumental intended to continue Metallica's instrumental tradition on The Black Album.
Jason Newsted wrote the main riff, and the original idea was for the track to remain instrumental. Every previous Metallica studio album had included an instrumental, so the concept would have continued a pattern established by songs such as “The Call of Ktulu,” “Orion,” and “To Live Is to Die.”
The band ultimately developed the piece into a vocal song. James Hetfield wrote the lyrics, and Lars Ulrich and Newsted received songwriting credit alongside him. The finished track appears late on The Black Album and combines a prominent bass-centered opening with the album's heavier, more controlled production.
Listeners sometimes identify “The God That Failed” or “The Struggle Within” because both are late-album tracks, but neither began as the planned instrumental. “My Friend of Misery” is the relevant title because its origin is tied directly to the band's earlier practice of placing one instrumental on each studio album. Its development also gave Newsted a rare major songwriting role on a Metallica record.