Which The Black Album song began as bassist Jason Newsted's main riff and was intended as an instrumental?

“My Friend of Misery” began as bassist Jason Newsted's main riff and was originally intended to be an instrumental.

Newsted had contributed ideas to Metallica before, but this song gave one of his central musical concepts a prominent place on the album. The track developed from his riff into a fully arranged song with lyrics and vocals by James Hetfield.

The instrumental idea also connects the song to Metallica's earlier albums. Each of the band's previous four studio albums had included an instrumental track, so “My Friend of Misery” was initially considered as a possible continuation of that tradition.

The finished recording appears as the eleventh track on The Black Album. Its darker, more expansive arrangement makes it distinct from the record's biggest radio singles while showing how contributions from every band member shaped the final album.