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From album
Metallica
Metallica · 1996 · Track 4
Details
Duración6:27
ÁlbumMetallica
Año1996
ISRCQMKHM1900004
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The story behind
The song *The Unforgiven* by Metallica features a structure that inverts the usual dynamic of ballads. Instead of melodic verses and powerful choruses, here we find verses with distorted and heavy guitars, which give way to a softer, more lyrical chorus, performed with clean and acoustic guitars. The beginning of the piece includes percussive elements and a touch of keyboard, and the sound of a horn, which was deliberately inverted to hide its origin. The lyrics, written by James Hetfield, address the individual's struggle against forces seeking to subjugate them. This theme was later expanded with two continuations: *The Unforgiven II* and *The Unforgiven III*.
The recording of *The Unforgiven* took place at One on One studios in Los Angeles, as part of the sessions for the self-titled album, released on August 12, 1991. The recording process, which lasted eight months, was not without tensions between the band and their new producer, Bob Rock. Kirk Hammett's guitar solo, described as an improvisation of "raw emotion," was a last-minute addition, as previous ideas didn't work out. This moment marked a turning point for Hammett, who from then on began to experiment with less structured solos. The song was a key single from the album and remained on the band's tours from its release in 1991 to 1993, and was later resumed on the "Madly in Anger with the World Tour" in 2004, continuing its presence in subsequent concerts. The music video, filmed in black and white in Los Angeles in September 1991 and directed by Matt Mahurin, tells the story of a man who spends his life trying to create an escape from a stone cell.