10 Most Underrated Metallica Songs
3. King Nothing - Load
By the time the mid '90s rolled around, metal fans were chomping at the bit for more Metallica. After heading off the road for a well-earned break following the Black Album, the band ventured into the studio to cut Load, which would be the massive follow up to the biggest selling metal album of all time. However, as the riff of "King Nothing" was played for the first time, fans couldn't help but feel disappointed.
From top to bottom, this song is a blatant retread of the same type of music the band had made with the Black Album, down to the callbacks to "Enter Sandman" in the last few seconds.
Fans might have been pissed, but there's a lot more to unpack beyond the "same sound, new haircut" mentality. For starters, this is one of the bluesiest tunes the band had released up to that point, with Kirk Hammett being a heavy metal substitute for Stevie Ray Vaughan.
Along with the riff's swagger, Hetfield's lyrics are actually pretty pointed, as he talks about a person focused on material possessions only to have nothing emotional to latch onto.
Coming from a band that had more money than they could ask for, this song was pretty bold for asking the question of what fame and attention really mean. "King Nothing" is far from the greatest single the band ever made, but it did end up putting the band on familiar ground with their fans.