10 Greatest Sequel Songs In Rock Music History
5. The Unforgiven II - Metallica
When James Hetfield was doing press for the Black Album, he had always made mention that there was some unfinished business in the song The Unforgiven that he would love to revisit later down the line. Since the guy in the song is tortured to the point of willing away his life, he still deserved to have at least another shot at happiness later in life. While most of us didn't expect the sequel to come so quickly, James actually put in the work to flesh out his ideas on the sequel.
Opening up with the same horn riff that capped off the first song, The Unforgiven II is about as close to a love song as this version of Metallica could muster. This isn't just the kind of sentimental stuff in Nothing Else Matters though. Throughout the track, you get to learn more and more about this man and seeing that he's found a companion. Even though there are still some harsh emotions in here, James progresses this character's journey by finding someone else who is equally broken.
It's almost unmetal how wholesome this seems, with this guy at least having a companion to ride off into the sunset with. There are also callbacks to the first version of the song that continue the theme, like the lines of 'what I felt/what I've known' in the chorus. Considering we got a complete resolution in the Unforgiven III off of Death Magnetic, it looks like the final page has been written on this man's life.