Chris Stapleton’s ‘Nothing Else Matters’ Cover Leans Into Song’s Dark Melody [Listen]
Chris Stapleton's rendition of Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters" leans into the song's dark and doom-y melody. It's faithful to the original hit, but with some quintessentially-Stapleton twists.
For one, a lengthy guitar solo stretches the six-and-a-half-minute song to over eight minutes, and offers the country star a chance to show off his skills as his band plays on behind him. Fans of the original version of the song will notice, too, that Stapleton's voice, for the most part, stays deeper and more even than James Hetfield's.
"Nothing Else Matters" was the third single from Metallica's self-titled fifth studio album, often called The Black Album. The song peaked just outside the Top 10 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock charts, but remains one of the band's best-known tracks.
Stapleton's "Nothing Else Matters" cover is part of a massive tribute album, The Metallica Blacklist, due out on Sept. 10. A total of 53 artists appear on the project, all covering their favorite songs from Metallica. In fact, both Mickey Guyton and Darius Rucker are also among the dozen artists singing "Nothing Else Matters" on the project.
In addition to Stapleton, Guyton and Rucker, The Metallica Blacklist includes Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit ("Sad But True"), Jon Pardi ("Wherever I May Roam") and the folk-rock band Goodnight, Texas. The list of participating artists also includes, among many others, Miley Cyrus, Weezer, J Balvin and Rodrigo y Gabriela.
All profits from sales of The Metallica Blacklist will be split between Metallica's All Within My Hands Foundation and a charity selected by each artist. For his part, Stapleton is supporting his own Outlaw State of Kind.
The Black Album is Metallica's fifth studio album, and saw the band adopt a slight change in style. The critically acclaimed record is Metallica's best-selling project to date: It's been certified a whopping 16-times platinum and spent four consecutive weeks atop the all-genre Billboard 200 — Metallica's first No. 1 album on that chart. Its five singles — "Enter Sandman," "The Unforgiven," "Nothing Else Matters," "Wherever I May Roam" and "Sad But True" — are among the band's best-known songs.
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