Which Metallica song was originally intended as an instrumental during the writing of The Black Album?

“My Friend of Misery” was originally intended as an instrumental during the writing of Metallica's The Black Album.

Bassist Jason Newsted wrote the song's main riff. The idea initially continued Metallica's earlier practice of including an instrumental on each album, but the band eventually developed it into a vocal track for the 1991 record.

James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich helped complete the song, and the final version includes lyrics centered on isolation, frustration, and a troubled relationship with misery. The track appears late in the album sequence, immediately before “The Struggle Within.”

Listeners sometimes associate the song's writing entirely with Hetfield and Ulrich because they handled much of Metallica's songwriting. Newsted's contribution is therefore an important distinction: he supplied the central riff and was a significant creative force on this track, even though the album's songwriting credits were shared among band members.