Which Metallica song was originally planned as an instrumental for The Black Album before lyrics were added?

“My Friend of Misery” was originally planned as an instrumental for Metallica's The Black Album before lyrics were added.

Bassist Jason Newsted wrote the song's main bass idea and initially intended it to become the fifth instrumental in Metallica's catalog. Earlier instrumentals included “(Anesthesia)—Pulling Teeth,” “The Call of Ktulu,” “Orion,” and “To Live Is to Die.” The final version instead became the album's eleventh track with vocals by James Hetfield.

The song grew from a prominent bass-led opening into a full band arrangement. Its final lyrics and vocal structure made it fit the album's broader songwriting format, which emphasized concise, memorable songs rather than the extended instrumentals associated with some earlier releases.

Listeners sometimes confuse this history with “Nothing Else Matters,” which Hetfield originally wrote privately and did not initially intend for Metallica. That song was always developed as a vocal composition once the band adopted it; “My Friend of Misery” is the Black Album track specifically associated with an original instrumental plan.