"It did surprise us. People started calling us sell-outs." How Metallica wrote the metal power ballad that saved Miley Cyrus - and that Elton John called 'one of the best songs ever written'

James Hetfield shot on a rooftop in London in black and white, looking serious.

Casual Metallica fans might have been confused when the band released Nothing Else Matters in 1991. A touchy-feely ballad that frontman James Hetfield had written about missing his then-girlfriend Kristen Martinez while on tour, the song was a far cry from the war’n’lightning imagery that had dominated Metallica’s past decade. But for fans who were paying attention, the song was the next logical step in the band’s progression.

Metallica had been weaving melody and killer hooks into their brand of thrash since 1984’s Ride The Lightning, when they had the gall to both include acoustic guitars on the intro to Fight Fire With Fire, and release Fade To Black – the closest thing to a ballad any thrash band had released at that point. Naturally, thrash fans hated them for it.