Which track closes Metallica’s self-titled 1991 album, The Black Album?

“The Struggle Within” closes Metallica’s self-titled 1991 album, commonly called The Black Album.

It is the record’s twelfth and final standard track, following “My Friend of Misery.” The song is short and forceful, giving the album an aggressive ending after the slower, more atmospheric passages found elsewhere in the sequence.

James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich wrote the song, as they did much of the album’s material. Its lyrics focus on inner conflict and emotional turmoil, matching the confrontational tone suggested by the title.

Listeners sometimes identify “My Friend of Misery” as the finale because it is the penultimate track and has a prominent bass-led opening. The canonical running order places “The Struggle Within” last, making it the album’s closing statement.