The Unforgiven (song)

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"The Unforgiven"

Single by Metallica
from the album Metallica
Released	1991
Format	CD single
Genre	Heavy Metal
Length	6:27
Label	Elektra Records
Writer(s)	James Hetfield Lars Ulrich
Producer(s)	Bob Rock
Chart positions
#35 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 #10 U.S. Mainstream Rock Tracks #15 UK Singles Chart
Metallica singles chronology
Don't Tread On Me (1991)	The Unforgiven (1991)	Nothing Else Matters (1992)

"The Unforgiven" is one of the slower songs on the self-titled album, Metallica (also known as the Black Album). It also has a sequel, in the form of "The Unforgiven II", from the album ReLoad.

Drummer Lars Ulrich explained that the band wanted to try something new with the idea of a ballad - instead of the standard melodic verse and heavy chorus (as evidenced on their previous ballads "Fade to Black", "Sanitarium" and "One"), the band opted to reverse the dichotomy, with heavy, distorted verses and a softer, melodic chorus, played with classical guitars and James Hetfield's new-found singing voice crooning "So I dub thee unforgiven".

The drum & horn intro was essentially taken from an un-identified Western movie and then reversed so its source would be hidden, as Hetfield later explained on the "Making The Album: Metallica" VHS/DVD. The band has never disclosed what movie the sound was taken from, although it is strongly reminiscent of the beginning of Ennio Morricone's "Ecstasy of Gold" from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, which is the song usually used to open Metallica concerts since more than 20 years by now.

"The Unforgiven" was played live as part of Metallica's Nowhere Else To Roam world tour which lasted from 1991-1993, in support of the Black Album. It was played again on the Madly in Anger with the World world tour in 2003-2004 and the Escape from the Studio '06 tour.

The live version of the song includes a second solo near the end of the song, something the original recording did not have.

Interestingly enough, similar riffs to the rhythm guitar riff of The Unforgiven was used in Fade To Black from the album Ride The Lightning as the Riff of verses one and two (starting at 0:56) and another similar riff was used in To Live is to Die (...And Justice For All) beginning at 4:58.

The song was covered by Doug Pinnick, Vernon Reid, Frankie Banali, and Tony Franklin for Metallic Assault: A Tribute to Metallica