Which Metallica song was originally intended to be an instrumental before lyrics were added?

“My Friend of Misery” was originally intended to be an instrumental before lyrics were added.

Bassist Jason Newsted wrote the song's main riff, and the early idea continued a pattern associated with Metallica's earlier albums: each of the band's previous studio albums had included an instrumental track. During work on Metallica, the idea was eventually developed into a vocal song instead.

James Hetfield wrote the lyrics, while the finished composition was credited to Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, and Newsted. The track appears near the end of the album and is one of its longer pieces.

The song is sometimes overlooked because the album's best-known tracks were heavily promoted singles. Its history is nevertheless important: it shows how the band changed its songwriting approach while moving away from the more overtly progressive structures of its earlier records.