Nothing Else Matters

"Nothing Else Matters" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica. A power ballad,^[4] it was released on April 20, 1992 as the third single from their self-titled fifth studio album (1991). The song peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart, number six on the UK Singles Chart, number one in Denmark, and reached the top ten on many other European charts. Recognized as one of Metallica's best known and most popular songs, it has become a staple in live performances.

History

Lead singer and rhythm guitarist James Hetfield wrote the song (credited to Hetfield/Ulrich)^[5] in 1990 while on tour, when Hetfield "was bumming out about being away from home."^[6] Initially, the song was not meant to be released, as Hetfield had written it for himself, but after drummer Lars Ulrich heard it, it was considered for the album.^[6] Hetfield initially had reservations about presenting the song to the band: "I thought that Metallica could only be the four of us. These are songs about destroying things, head banging, bleeding for the crowd, whatever it is, as long as it wasn't about chicks and fast cars, even though that's what we liked. The song was about a girlfriend at the time. It turned out to be a pretty big song."^[7] It was one of four demo songs recorded by the band on August 13, 1990.^[7]

Composition

Its intro is an E minor arpeggio (transposed one half-step lower on stage performances) beginning with the open low E followed by the open G, B and high E strings.

It is one of the few Metallica songs in which Hetfield plays the guitar solo. Lead guitarist Kirk Hammett does not play on the studio recording, making it one of the few in the whole Metallica repertoire, along with Cliff Burton's "(Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth", in which he does not appear.^[8] Hammett stated he did not learn how to play the song until they were well into the tour for the album.

The orchestral arrangements were written by award-winning composer Michael Kamen.

Music video

The music video filmed in Spring 1991 in North Hollywood during the recording of Metallica album. It premiered on MTV on February 25, 1992. It was directed by Adam Dubin and edited by Sean Fullan.^[9] The clip consists of parts of the A Year and a Half in the Life of Metallica documentary, which was shot during the recordings of Metallica.^[10] One of them shows Hetfield playing a Gibson EDS-1275 guitar during the second chorus. MTV will not air the video during daytime hours anymore because it features nudity in the form of pin-up posters and Playboy centerfolds that are taped up in the studio. It also has a picture of Winger's Kip Winger which Ulrich is seen throwing darts at. On the band's 2006 music video compilation DVD, the posters are censored, as was done with the nudity featured in the music videos for "Turn the Page" and "Whiskey in the Jar".

In August 2021, the music video hit one billion views on YouTube, making it Metallica's first music video to do so.^[10]

Live

The song has become a staple in Metallica's live performances, and has been dedicated to their fans.^{[citation needed]}

A live version in which this can be heard can be found on the CD/DVD Orgullo, Pasión y Gloria: Tres Noches en la Ciudad de México. Other live recordings can be found on Live Shit: Binge & Purge, on S&M, Cunning Stunts DVD, the DVD/Blu-ray The Big 4 Live from Sofia, Bulgaria as well as on the soundtrack for the band's feature film Through the Never, and also featured on 2019 S&M follow-up live album, S&M2.^{[citation needed]}

Track listing

• This version was released in Europe April 27, 1992,^[11] and it contained the three songs Metallica played at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert on April 20, 1992, at Wembley Stadium.

Personnel

• James Hetfield – guitars, vocals
• Kirk Hammett – guitars
• Jason Newsted – bass
• Lars Ulrich – drums, tambourine

Additional personnel

• Michael Kamen – orchestral arrangement
• Randy Staub – engineer^[12]
• London Symphony Orchestra^[12]

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Alternative versions

"Nothing Else Matters '99"

For its appearance on S&M, its orchestration was arranged by Michael Kamen conducting the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. This live version is featured on the album S&M. It was also released as the single "Nothing Else Matters '99", which included the b-sides "-Human", and the S&M version of "For Whom the Bell Tolls", on November 22, 1999.^[30] This version was also played with guitars tuned to E♭.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

"Elevator Version"

There is also an acoustic remix of "Nothing Else Matters" that is called "Elevator Version", with no electric guitars (replaced by acoustic guitars, even for the solo), Kamen's orchestrations, and Hetfield's voice only; it appears as the B-side to "Sad but True".

Jungle Cruise version

An instrumental version of "Nothing Else Matters" appears on the soundtrack of the 2021 film Jungle Cruise. The band collaborated with the film's composer James Newton Howard to record a new orchestral arrangement of the song for the film.^[37][38]

Lucie Silvas version

"Nothing Else Matters" is a special Europe-only single by British singer-songwriter Lucie Silvas. It was released in exactly the same way as "Don't Look Back", with the same B-sides and artwork.

Charts

Miley Cyrus version

On January 7, 2021, it was announced that Miley Cyrus would be releasing a cover version that would feature Elton John on piano, drummer Chad Smith from Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica's bassist Robert Trujillo and cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Cyrus also announced in October 2020 that she plans to release a full album of Metallica covers. Cyrus previously covered "Nothing Else Matters" during her 2019 set at Glastonbury.^[40] The cover, produced by Andrew Watt, was released on June 22, 2021, as a promotional single from Metallica's tribute album The Metallica Blacklist, released on September 10. The video for this version was uploaded the same day on Cyrus' YouTube channel.^[41] The cover is also featured on John's album The Lockdown Sessions, which released on October 22.

Later while Miley Cyrus was appearing on the Howard Stern show with Metallica; Howard Stern introduced Elton John as a surprise guest who informed Metallica that he believes the song to be "one the best songs ever written" which left James Hetfield speechless and in tears. Elton John then finished his praise of the band by declaring Metallica "one of the greatest bands of all time".^{[42][43][44][45]}

Charts

Hardwell mashup

On December 23, 2022, Hardwell released a mashup of "Nothing Else Matters" and his song "F*cking Society", featured on the deluxe edition of his album Rebels Never Die.^[47]

Other cover versions

• The Metallica Blacklist features cover versions by a variety of artists, including Cyrus, Phoebe Bridgers, Dave Gahan, Mickey Guyton, Dermot Kennedy, Mon Laferte, Igor Levit, My Morning Jacket, PG Roxette, Darius Rucker, Chris Stapleton and Tresor.^[48]

References

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39. ^ "IFPI archive". Archived from the original on December 28, 2005. Retrieved December 28, 2005.
40. ^ "Elton John, Chad Smith and more to appear on Miley Cyrus' Metallica covers album". NME. January 7, 2021. Archived January 10, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
41. ^ Carter, Josh (June 23, 2021). "Miley Cyrus "Nothing Else Matters" | 'The Metallica Blacklist' | AltPress". Alternative Press. Archived June 29, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
42. ^ Kaufman, Spencer (September 10, 2021). "Elton John brings James Hetfield to tears as he calls Metallica classic "one of the best songs ever written": Watch". Consequence.net. Retrieved May 6, 2026.
43. ^ Burditt, Peter (June 20, 2025). "A Diverse Palate: Why Elton John Called This Metallica Single “One of the Best Songs Ever Written”". Amerciansongwriter.com. Retrieved May 6, 2026.
44. ^ Brereton, Greta (September 11, 2021). "Elton John calls Metallica’s ‘Nothing Else Matters’ “one of the best songs ever written”". Nme.com. Retrieved May 6, 2026.
45. ^ "Elton John Calls This Metallica Track “One of the Best Songs Ever Written”". September 10, 2021. Retrieved May 6, 2026. – via YouTube
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48. ^ Kandpal, Disha (June 23, 2021). "THE METALLICA BLACKLIST ALBUM'S TRACKLIST EXPLORED: MILEY CYRUS, ELTON JOHN, AND MORE TO FEATURE". HITC. Archived September 11, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved September 11, 2021.

Bibliography

• Clerc, Benoît (2023). Metallica All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track. London: Cassell. p. 194. ISBN 978-1-78472-893-9.