My Two Greatest Fears as a Music Writer Have Combined to Torment Me
In the world of music journalism, there are a couple of labels I actively try to avoid. It’s a quiet, personal battle I fight with every pitch and every article I write. My first great fear is being typecast as the ‘Country Music Guy.’ Now, it’s not that I have anything against the genre, but let’s be honest, it’s not exactly the core identity of a publication like Far Out Magazine. My American passport and my genuine appreciation for boundary-pushing artists like Kacey Musgraves or Brandi Carlile seem to make me the default candidate whenever a country-adjacent story comes up. I live in constant, low-grade dread of the day we discover our entire readership is secretly based in rural Alabama, and I’m suddenly tasked with reviewing every new pickup truck anthem.
My second, equally potent fear, is becoming ‘The Metallica Guy.’ This has absolutely nothing to do with my feelings for the band themselves. I have a healthy respect for their legacy, but my fandom is, shall we say, moderate. The real terror comes from the potential assignments. I have no desire to spend a week meticulously cataloging “All 287 Times James Hetfield Grunts ‘Yeah!’ in Metallica’s Studio Albums” (and let’s be real, that number is probably a conservative estimate).
So, you can imagine the cold sweat that broke out when I realized my two professional anxieties had finally decided to join forces. Today, they’ve manifested as one single, unavoidable piece of music: Chris Stapleton’s cover of ‘Nothing Else Matters.’
This all comes courtesy of The Metallica Blacklist, a sprawling tribute album that’s been dropping a steady stream of fascinating, and sometimes bizarre, cover versions. With 53 tracks in total, it seems my destiny is to write about this project for the foreseeable future. I’ve already covered the contributions from artists as varied as St. Vincent, Sam Fender, Weezer, and Phoebe Bridgers. It’s been an eclectic journey, to say the least.
But this… this is different. This hits close to home. The Country Guy and The Metallica Guy within me are at war, and my psyche is the battlefield.
For what it’s worth, if a country artist had to take on a sacred Metallica ballad, I’m glad it’s Chris Stapleton. He isn’t your stereotypical, beer-swilling, flag-waving country star. Stapleton is a powerhouse vocalist with the soul of an old-school bluesman and the swagger of a southern rock legend. He’s more Jack Daniel’s than Bud Light; more gritty rock and roll than polished Nashville pop.
And his take on ‘Nothing Else Matters’ is as epic as you might hope. He doesn’t just cover the song; he completely rebuilds it from the ground up. Stretching it out to a colossal eight minutes, Stapleton transforms the iconic power ballad into a smoldering, psychedelic desert rock odyssey. The guitars are detuned and sludgy, the atmosphere is thick with a spacey reverb, and then there’s Stapleton’s voice—that unmistakable, whiskey-soaked roar that can convey both immense power and heartbreaking vulnerability.
Honestly, hearing these wildly diverse interpretations of Metallica’s work is forcing me to see their songwriting in a new light. It suggests a depth and versatility that I may have previously underestimated. Or maybe I’m just getting sentimental. Either way, this sprawling, soulful cover has, for some inexplicable reason, given me a powerful urge to listen to Metallica’s own brilliant take on Bob Seger’s ‘Turn the Page.’
Go ahead and immerse yourself in Chris Stapleton’s powerful re-imagining of ‘Nothing Else Matters’ below. The Metallica Blacklist is scheduled for release on September 10th.