10 Metal Bands That Went Acoustic

10. Mama Said - Metallica

Ever since the early days of thrash, Metallica have always managed to toe the line between traditional metal and straight up hard rock. Hell, even their second album got a bit of blowback from hardcore metalheads for having the gall to use a bit of acoustic guitar at the beginning of Fade to Black. Though Metallica may have been known as the lighter side of thrash as the years went on, they only went fully acoustic once on record.

During their much maligned Load era, James Hetfield served up a different stripe of metal with Mama Said, with a strumming guitar that feels like it's ripped straight out of an old Willie Nelson song. Beyond just the regular cowboy style approach to the arrangement, this is still one of the more open-hearted things that Hetfield has ever put to tape (yes, including Nothing Else Matters).

While other ballads in the Metallica canon were draped behind a character for the most part, this is pure Hetfield from skin to core, as he talks about the complicated relationship he had with his mother and even catching faint wisps of regret about not being able to be there when she was at her weakest. Looking past the Bob Seger-isms in some of his delivery, this is a good proof of concept if James wants to pull a folk-tinged solo career.