"Ain't My Bitch" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica that appears as the opening track on their sixth album, Load (1996). Written by frontman James Hetfield, with drummer Lars Ulrich co-composing and the two producing with Bob Rock, the song is an example of the band adapting to a changing music scene by incorporating Southern rock, alternative rock and even country.
It was released as a promotional single in Mexico, but only charted in the US, where the song reached No. 15 on the BillboardMainstream Rock chart. Despite this, "Ain't My Bitch" became a live staple on the band's Poor Touring Me world tour, but was last played in 1998.
Composition and lyrics
"Ain't My Bitch" is one of the closest songs on Load to the heavy metal of the band's previous albums, with a "hard rocking groove," Despite this, it has a Southern metal style, with influence from 1970s Southern rock, 1990s alternative rock and Pantera's groove metal.[1][2] The song is a mid-tempo "hard rocker" with wallowing bass, piercing cymbals and high-hats, and an "industrial tone" on the guitars.[3] Lead guitarist Kirk Hammett down-tuned to E♭ tuning, and used a slide on the song's country-influenced guitar solo, a first for Metallica.[4]
The title and lyrics of "Ain't My Bitch" were thought to be misogynistic by some. Frontman James Hetfield explained that the 'bitch' in the song does not refer to a woman, but acts as a metaphor for an obstacle or complaint, as exemplified by the lyric "it ain't my fall, it ain't my call, it ain't my bitch."[5]
Release
"Ain't My Bitch" was released as a promotional single less than a month after Load on July 3, 1996. The CD was issued by Mercury Records, instead of Elektra Records who distributed the album, and only in Mexico. Despite this, the song got airplay in other countries, such as the US, where it peaked at No. 15 on the BillboardMainstream Rock chart. It was Metallica's first promotional single to do so.[6]
Upon the release of Load on June 4, 1996, "Ain't My Bitch" quickly became a staple in the band's live set, and was featured regularly during the Poor Touring Me world tour, as seen in the live video Cunning Stunts (1998). The song was first played in Sacramento, California on June 4, 1996 and last played in Wellington, New Zealand on April 17, 1998. As of 2025, it has yet to since be included in the band's setlist rotation.[7]
Critical reception
Chad Bower of Ultimate Metallica praised the song's "punch and attitude,"[8] while Melinda Newman of Billboard claimed that "Load has something for Metallica fans of all stripes," and describes "Ain't My Bitch" as "hard and crunchy."[9] Drew Millard of Pitchfork called the song "comically distasteful" and mocked Hetfield for "taking great pains to never pronounce it the same way twice. In the first chorus it's 'biiiiii-tchah," while in the second chorus "he goes 'betch-yah.'"[10]
Loudwire placed the song at number 46 in their ranking of every Metallica song, and opined it "sounded like Lynyrd Skynyrd on steroids," adding that "had they released this as the first Load single, the media narrative around the band's post-Black Album return might have been a lot different."[2] On another Loudwire list, "Ranking the Opening Song on Every Metallica Album", the song is ranked at number 10, with Phillip Trapp labeling it "marginally better than 'That Was Just Your Life' as an album opener" and that it "gives Load its gritty first song to show Metallica can still rock."[5]
↑ "Metallica - Load". MetalReviews.com. September 2008. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
1 2 "Every Metallica Song Ranked". Loudwire. September 23, 2020. Retrieved March 27, 2022. More than a nod towards '90s alt-rock, the opening track from 'Load' was a nod back to '70s southern rock.
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