During a recent panel chat about the album with U.S. DJ Howard Stern, frontman James Hetfield was so bowled over by Sir Elton John’s praise of album ballad Nothing Else Matters that he appeared to well up. The Brit legend’s decision to take on the song – with Miley Cyrus, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo, Yo-Yo Ma and Ozzy/Post Malone producer Andrew Watt – was rooted in his opinion that it’s “one of the best songs ever written, to me.”
“It’s a song that never gets old,” he explained. “And playing on this track, I just couldn’t wait. The chord structure, the melodies, the time changes, it’s got drama written all over it.
“I have to say, it was a no-brainer playing on this song,” he continued. “Metallica are probably the crème de la crème of those kind of bands. You can’t really define them. They’re not a heavy metal band. They’re a musical band. Their songs aren’t just heavy metal. They’re beautiful songs. This is such a melodic song – it’s fucking great, actually.”