Which musician played sitar on Metallica's The Black Album?

James Hetfield played sitar on Metallica’s The Black Album.

The instrument is credited to Hetfield in the album personnel, adding an unusual timbral detail to the record’s otherwise guitar-centered palette. Hetfield is best known as Metallica’s vocalist and rhythm guitarist, so the sitar credit is an easy detail to overlook.

The album’s credits also list Kirk Hammett on lead guitar, Jason Newsted on bass, and Lars Ulrich on drums. Those roles are familiar, but they do not identify the musician responsible for the sitar part. Hetfield’s additional instrumental contribution is therefore the precise answer.

This fact is often confused with the song title “Wherever I May Roam,” which includes the distinctive non-Western texture associated with the instrument. It can also be confused with the orchestral contribution on “Nothing Else Matters,” arranged by Michael Kamen. Those are separate credits: Hetfield’s sitar playing and Kamen’s orchestral arrangement belong to different musical details on the album.