Which track is fourth on Metallica’s original 1991 album sequence, The Black Album?

“The Unforgiven” is the fourth track on Metallica’s original 1991 album sequence, The Black Album. It follows “Enter Sandman,” “Sad but True” and “Holier Than Thou.”

The song stands out for its restrained, cinematic verses and heavier choruses. James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich and Kirk Hammett wrote it as a reflective piece about control, regret and the cost of allowing others to shape one’s life. Its unusual dynamic contrast helped broaden expectations of what a Metallica song could sound like.

The title is also the source of a trilogy: “The Unforgiven II” appeared on 1997’s Reload, while “The Unforgiven III” appeared on 2008’s Death Magnetic. Those later songs are separate recordings, so they should not be substituted when identifying the fourth track on the original 1991 album.