“Sad but True” was the fifth and final commercial single from Metallica’s 1991 self-titled album, commonly called The Black Album.
The single was released in February 1993, after “Enter Sandman,” “The Unforgiven,” “Nothing Else Matters,” and “Wherever I May Roam.” Its release extended the album’s promotional campaign well beyond the record’s initial 1991 launch. The song later became one of Metallica’s most recognizable concert tracks.
“Sad but True” is built around a massive, deliberately slow riff. According to accounts of the recording, producer Bob Rock encouraged the band to tune the guitars down to D standard, helping produce the song’s especially low and forceful sound. The song had originally been written and demonstrated in standard tuning.
The song’s single status is sometimes mixed up with “Don’t Tread on Me.” That track was sent to rock radio as a promotional release but did not receive a commercial single release. “Sad but True,” by contrast, was officially the fifth commercial single and reached number 15 on the U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock chart.