3 Great Metallica Songs You Might Have Missed

Since 1983, Metallica has released 11 studio albums.

Videos by American Songwriter

There’s another album with Lou Reed, and more on that in a minute. With so much music and 40 years of groundbreaking work, there are bound to be classic songs hiding in plain sight.

The heavy metal legends became one of the best-selling bands in history by writing complex arrangements and taking on dark subjects in their songs. If you were to sketch out on paper what makes a song a hit, your guess wouldn’t be anything like “Master of Puppets.”

Noel Gallagher once said that people don’t know what they want until you give it to them. Metallica did just that. Here’s a quick look at three great Metallic songs you might have missed.

So let it be written
So let it be done.

“Leper Messiah” from Master of Puppets (1986)

It’s easy to overlook this pounder from a Metallica masterpiece. On an album with the colossal title track—made even more massive thanks to Stranger Things—and “Battery” and “Welcome Home (Sanitarium),” you may have neglected this one. “Leper Messiah” foreshadows the simplicity of the Black Album with its crushing riff and a driving groove from Lars Ulrich.

“Leper Messiah” takes on a charlatan preacher who convinces those in the pews to fund his lavish lifestyle. It contains this blistering line from James Hetfield:

Send me money, send me green
Heaven you will meet
Make a contribution, and you’ll get the better seat

“Junior Dad” with Lou Reed from Lulu (2011)

Metallica and Lou Reed surprised many with Lulu. Critics ripped it apart, and perhaps heavy metal die-hards hated it, too. But don’t turn away just yet. Check out the album-closer, though you may run in the other direction when you learn this track is nearly 20 minutes long. Still here? OK, it’s really good.

The band plays a moody dirge while Reed delivers a moving spoken-word performance. And David Bowie liked Lulu. He told Reed’s widow Laurie Anderson, “Listen, this is Lou’s greatest work.”

Get the coffee, turn the lights on
Say hello to junior dad
The greatest disappointment
Age withered him and changed him
Into junior dad

“My Friend of Misery” from Metallica (1991)

The music video for “One” introduced Metallica to mainstream audiences. But when the Black Album landed in 1991, they challenged Guns N’ Roses for who could sell out the most stadiums. In the long run, while Axl Rose obsessed over Chinese Democracy, Metallica clearly won the title. “My Friend of Misery” sits near the end of the track listing and, in the streaming age, probably skipped over for “Sad But True,” “Enter Sandman,” or “Nothing Else Matters.”

Jason Newsted opens the song, and on this album you can finally hear his bass! (Cliff Burton’s replacement had his performances curiously buried in the final mix of …And Justice for All.) “My Friend of Misery” was supposed to be an instrumental, but James Hetfield chose to write lyrics and the opening verse is one of his best. Also, his dual solo break with Kirk Hammett is gorgeous.

You just stood there screaming
Fearing no one was listening to you
They say the empty can rattles the most
The sound of your own voice must soothe you
Hearing only what you want to hear
And knowing only what you’ve heard
You, you’re smothered in tragedy
And you’re out to save the world

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