Chris Stapleton has covered Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters” as part of The Metallica Blacklist charity covers compilation. The song is available now ahead of the collection’s September 10th release date.
The “Black Album” ballad is prime material for Stapleton, who renders the song in a compelling Americana style. Stapleton’s soulful croon works perfectly atop the sparse country-rock instrumentation and the cover’s eight-minute arrangement.
Once again, the upcoming Blacklist comp has served up a high-profile cover that lives up to its billing. We just heard Phoebe Bridgers’ “baroque” take on the same track, which followed the widely heard Miley Cyrus-Elton John version (also included on the Blacklist).
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Meanwhile, Weezer took on “Enter Sandman,” and St. Vincent and Jason Isbell supplied their own idiosyncratic covers of “Sad But True,” among others. That so many artists of different genres could find common ground with songs on the “Black Album” is a testament to its legacy.
Today (August 12th) marked the 30th anniversary of the 1991 LP, which is receiving a massive box set (also due out September 8th).
Metallica have been gradually unveiling bonus tracks from the set, and the band shared an alternate clean-guitar mix of “Nothing Else Matters” in addition to the new Chris Stapleton cover. The bonus cuts reveal the inner workings of the album’s production process and the early versions that “could-have-been.”
You can pre-order The Metallica Blacklist here (proceeds support charities of the artists’ choice). The “Black Album” box set can be pre-ordered here.
Stream Stapleton’s cover of “Nothing Else Matters” and the alternate 1991 version below.
