In the early 1980s, Metallica was known for their thrash metal anthems such as “Hit the Lights” and "Seek & Destroy.” Then came “Fade to Black,” a haunting 1984 ballad that pushed the band into new territory on the album Ride the Lightning.
Written by James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Cliff Burton, and Kirk Hammett, the nearly seven-minute song opens with a delicate acoustic intro before building to a heavier arrangement and introducing dark lyrics about despair. The piece culminates with a lengthy dual-guitar solo that carries the song to its close.
Hetfield admitted the song was a “big step” for the hard-rocking band.
“It was pretty much our first ballad, so it was challenging and we knew it would freak people out,” the Metallica frontman once told Guitar World in an interview. “Bands like Exodus and Slayer don’t do ballads, but they’ve stuck themselves in that position, which is something we never wanted to do.”
Hetfield also admitted that he had some difficulties during the recording of the song.
"Recording that song, I learned how frustrating acoustic guitar can be,” he shared. “You could hear every squeak, so I had to be careful.”
Hetfield revealed "Fade to Black" was written after the band was robbed.
“I remember writing Fade To Black [on a friend’s] couch,” he told Howard Stern’s radio show, per Classic Rock. “He took us in when our manager basically kicked us out of his house… we were supposed to go to Europe for the first time, and our gear had gotten stolen.”
The song’s dark mood reflected the band’s real-life despair at the time.
In 2017, Hetfield told So What, "When 'Fade to Black' was originally written, this was real. Like, 'I hate life. Our gear just got stolen, we can't live our dream, we're not gonna make it to Europe,' all these things.”
While “Fade to Black” has been known as a suicide song—Hetfield described it as such to Guitar World—the music legend once told Rolling Stone, “It was my favorite Marshall amp, man I’m sure I wasn’t really thinking of killing myself."
Hetfield also noted, “We got hundreds and hundreds of letters from kids telling us how they related to the song and that it made them feel better."
More than 40 years after its release, “Fade to Black” remains one of Metallica’s most important early works—an enduring classic that reflected the band’s real-life emotions at one of the most challenging times of their career.
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health challenges, emotional distress, substance use problems, or just needs to talk, call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org 24/7.
Related: 1991 Rock Anthem, Ranked Among ‘Most Iconic Guitar Riffs,’ Remains Band’s Definitive Hit 35 Years Later
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