12@12

Metallica – Nothing Else Matters (Hetfield/Ulrich) b/w Enter Sandman (live) (Hetfield/Ulrich/Hammett), Harvester Of Sorrow (live) (Hetfield/Ulrich) & Nothing Else Matters (demo) (Hetfield/Ulrich)

1992

This was the moment Metallica went truly commercial as the haunting ballad from the black album became a mainstream hit worldwide.

As far removed from the band’s early thrash sound as fans could imagine it divided the Metallica community. And yet Nothing Else Matters is a magnificent example of powerful, poignant metal building on the experimental One from …And Justice For All. This four-track 12 incher includes a live version of that album’s heavy hitter Harvester Of Sorrow which doesn’t really do what it says on the tin. As the band explain on the sleeve, this is a song they’d played live around 275 times before they took to the stage in Graz, Austria. But it didn’t mean a flawless performance in this case.

Listening to the raw demo of Nothing Else Matters is also a treat for die-hard fans. Hearing the track without the orchestral backdrop is even more spine chilling. Fantastic stuff and a single every metal fan should own.