“Nothing Else Matters” by Metallica
There’s no other way for me to says this: I LOVE THIS SONG!
This is not only one of my favorite Metallica songs, it is also one of my favorite ballads of all time.
It was released as a single in 1992, during the “Black Album” era.
As much as I hesitate to admit the following, I must. This is the song that made me a fan. Until this song was released, I had heard only a handful of songs by Metallica. I would go on to get the black album and then pickup their back catalog.
Mind you, when the “black album” was released, I was only 12. The hardest music I had heard up to that point was Guns n’ Roses. The heaviest songs I had heard were “One” and “Can I Play with Madness?” by Iron Maiden. I was aware of Metallica, but wasn’t a fan.
To this day, my all time best live concert experience, the one that tops everything else, is getting to see Metallica in Boston. Even better than seeing Michael Jackson in 1996. I don’t think it is possible to see a better band live than Metallica.
My Cover Version
I wanted to keep this cover simple and straight forward with a few twists.
I went with a mostly acoustic performance with exception of the big electric guitar solo. Utilizing the MultiUke was fun and I think perhaps a bit unexpected.
I didn’t rehearse this song prior to the session. I just went for it as I always do and completed it within my 2-hour self-imposed limit for these cover videos.
If you watch my cover video all the way to the end, you’ll get a treat. I tried to play a bass solo in the beginning of the song, but then decided not to keep it in the final performance. However, I kept it as a “nugget” for the end.
Below you can find my cover and the original Metallica music video