“The Unforgiven” was released as the second single from Metallica's 1991 album commonly called The Black Album.
The single followed “Enter Sandman,” which introduced the album’s campaign in July 1991. “The Unforgiven” was released later in 1991 and continued the album’s unusually broad reach on rock and mainstream charts.
The song explores an individual’s struggle against subjugation. Its arrangement combines heavy guitar passages with quieter, dramatic sections, helping distinguish it from the album’s more direct riff-driven songs.
“The Unforgiven” later became the first entry in a trilogy. “The Unforgiven II” appeared on Reload, while “The Unforgiven III” appeared on Death Magnetic. Those later titles are sequels, not alternate names for the original 1991 single, which remains the first song in the series.