As part of Metallica’s massive, upcoming remix album, The Metallica Blacklist, Phoebe Bridgers has released a new rendition of the metal band’s 1991 track “Nothing Else Matters”.
Trading electric guitars for piano and orchestral synths, the musician’s cover follows another reworked version of the track, released by Miley Cyrus back in June. While Bridgers’ is a solo affair, Cyrus was joined by a diverse lineup of collaborators, including Elton John, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, and Metallica’s own Robert Trujillo.
Discussing her take on the song in an interview with Zane Lowe, Bridgers says: “It was just so fun to take a part in it. I feel like my version almost sounds baroque.”
“James (Hetfield) does all sorts of weird octave jumps and stuff that I can’t do,” she adds, saying that she almost has a “Billie Eilish approach... right by the microphone, performing it the opposite of them, which was really fun to lean into.”
Bridgers also explains that she’s been a longtime fan of Metallica. “I think it’s funny, my intro to them was probably way later than so many people who have always loved them,” she says. “But when I was a teenager, I went to Outside Lands — and I definitely knew Metallica songs from video games and stuff — but I went to Outside Lands and saw their set and was like, ‘This is a rock band’.”
“It’s kind of a gateway to metal because they’re so hooky and you can hold onto so much of it and it actually can get stuck in your head.”
The Metallica Blacklist marks the 30th anniversary of the group’s seminal fifth studio album (AKA The Black Album). Due out in full on September 30, it features covers of Black Album songs by 53 artists, also including Rina Sawayama, Mac DeMarco, Weezer, St. Vincent, Moses Sumney, J Balvin, IDLES, and Kamasi Washington.
Listen to Phoebe Bridgers’ “Nothing Else Matters” cover below.