Metallica: 10 Awesome Lyric Meanings You Totally Missed

Every single facet of the Black Album has been analyzed to death, from the guitar tones to getting the perfect drum sound for each track. While the album is an absolute masterpiece of rock that deserves all its adulation, the more raw nerves surface on the second half with "The God That Failed."

Of all the songs on the album, this song was the most personal that James Hetfield had ever gotten on record. Coming from a Christian Scientist household, Hetfield's mother was diagnosed with cancer but refused to seek any kind of medical treatment and decided to pray instead. As a result, the disease ate away at her until she eventually passed away when James was 16.

Hetfield held onto those delicate emotions and poured them into this song, which is a bitter indictment of what he sees as his mother's misguided beliefs. There is a lot of anger and frustration in this tune, but underneath the surface is also a certain element of grief, as if Hetfield is still unable to fully reconcile with his mother's absence.

Hetfield was definitely the portrait of the Metal Lord at the time, but this song gives us a peek behind the curtain to see James, the broken little kid who lost his mom.