James Hetfield plays the guitar solo on Metallica’s studio recording of “Nothing Else Matters.”
The song is unusual within Metallica’s catalog because lead guitarist Kirk Hammett does not play on the studio recording. Hetfield wrote the song and performed its vocals and guitar parts, including the solo, while Lars Ulrich contributed to the composition and played drums.
“Nothing Else Matters” began as a private guitar idea Hetfield did not initially expect to become a Metallica song. Its arpeggiated opening and vulnerable lyrics gave it a more personal character than the band’s typical material, but it developed into one of The Black Album’s best-known tracks.
The song was released as the album’s third single in 1992. Its studio arrangement also included orchestral writing by Michael Kamen for later symphonic performances, but that orchestral association does not change who played the original studio guitar solo.