The Unforgiven II

"The Unforgiven II"
Single by Metallica
from the album Reload
B-side	"Helpless" (live) "The Four Horsemen" (live) "Of Wolf and Man" (live) "The Thing That Should Not Be" (live) "The Memory Remains" (live) "King Nothing" (live) "No Remorse" (live) "Am I Evil?" (live) "The Unforgiven II" (demo)
Released	February 23, 1998 (1998-02-23)
Studio	The Plant (Sausalito, California)
Genre	Heavy metal
Length	6:36
Label	Elektra
Composer(s)	James Hetfield Kirk Hammett Lars Ulrich
Lyricist(s)	James Hetfield
Producer(s)	Bob Rock James Hetfield Lars Ulrich
Metallica singles chronology
"The Memory Remains" (1997) "The Unforgiven II" (1998) "Fuel" (1998)
Music video
"The Unforgiven II" on YouTube

"The Unforgiven II" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica from their seventh studio album, Reload . It was written by James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich and Kirk Hammett and appears on the album Reload as a sequel to "The Unforgiven", a song from their 1991 self-titled album.

Composition

The chord progression during the verses is similar to the one used in the chorus on "The Unforgiven". Hetfield's verse melody is played with a B-Bender guitar; a guitar that allows the player to bend the B string independently of other strings. ^[1]

Music video

"The Unforgiven II" video is similar to the first video's story, though a tunnel is substituted for the blank room shown in the first video. It begins with a shirtless boy stuck in a wall, showing the wall breaking piece by piece as the boy ages. As the video progresses, it becomes more abstract, with waves crashing on the other side of the wall and rupturing it, making the wall smaller each time. The final scene shows the remaining piece of the wall turning into a woman, with the now older boy's hand still embedded in her back. The boy opens his hand, allowing the woman to take the key out of his hand and allowing him to take his hand out of the wall. ^[2]

Live performances

"The Unforgiven II" was first performed live on December 8, 1997, at that year's Billboard Music Awards. The song was not played in a live setting again for the next 17 years, until Metallica re-introduced it into the setlist for their 2015 European festival tours. ^[3] Following its performance in Gelsenkirchen, Germany's Rock Im Revier festival, Metallica then included it in the setlists of their next three shows. ^[4]

Track listings

International single Part 1

No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Unforgiven II"	6:36
2.	"Helpless" (Live)	4:15
3.	"The Four Horsemen" (Live)	6:19
4.	"Of Wolf and Man" (Live)	4:31

US single

No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Unforgiven II"	6:36
2.	"The Thing That Should Not Be" (Live)	4:40

International single Part 2

No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Unforgiven II"	6:36
2.	"The Thing That Should Not Be" (Live)	7:33
3.	"The Memory Remains" (Live)	4:19
4.	"King Nothing" (Live)	7:14

International single Part 3

No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Unforgiven II"	6:36
2.	"No Remorse" (Live)	4:54
3.	"Am I Evil?" (Live)	5:09
4.	"The Unforgiven II" (Demo)	7:14

Japanese EP

No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Unforgiven II"	6:38
2.	"The Thing That Should Not Be" (Live)	7:31
3.	"The Memory Remains" (Live)	4:28
4.	"No Remorse" (Live)	4:52
5.	"Am I Evil?" (Live)	5:11
6.	"The Unforgiven II" (Demo)	7:13

European single

No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Unforgiven II"	6:36
2.	"The Memory Remains" (Live)	4:19

Personnel

• James Hetfield – vocals, rhythm guitar
• Lars Ulrich – drums
• Kirk Hammett – lead guitar
• Jason Newsted – bass

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1998) Peak position Australia (ARIA) [5] 9 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) [6] 18 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) [7] 18 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista) [8] 1 France (SNEP) [9] 89 Germany (GfK) [10] 23 Greece (IFPI) [11] 8 Hungary (Mahasz) [12] 4 Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40) [13] 2 Ireland (IRMA) [14] 14 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) [15] 21 Netherlands (Single Top 100) [16] 25 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [17] 22 Norway (VG-lista) [18] 8 Scotland (OCC) [19] 10 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) [20] 8 UK Singles (OCC) [21] 15 UK Rock & Metal (OCC) [22] 1 US Billboard Hot 100 [23] 59 US Mainstream Rock ( Billboard ) [24] 2

Year-end charts Chart (1998) Position Australia (ARIA) [25] 64 Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40) [26] 21 US Mainstream Rock (Billboard) [27] 12

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [28]	Platinum	70,000‡
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [29]	Gold	45,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ) [30]	Gold	15,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United States	January 12, 1998	Alternative radio	Elektra	[31]
United Kingdom	February 23, 1998	CD		[32]
Japan	April 22, 1998		Sony	[33]

References

1. Breathnach, Cillian (March 2, 2020). "Ever wondered how a b-bender works?". BandLab Technologies . Retrieved November 7, 2023.
2. "Metallica - The Unforgiven II (Official Music Video)". NME. Retrieved June 12, 2013.
3. "Hear Metallica Perform 'The Unforgiven II' Live For The Second Time Ever". Billboard. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
4. "The Unforgiven II". Metallica.com. Archived from the original on July 1, 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
5. "Metallica – The Unforgiven II". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
6. "Metallica – The Unforgiven II" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
7. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles". Music & Media . Vol. 15, no. 11. March 14, 1998. p. 12.
8. "Metallica: The Unforgiven II" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
9. "Metallica – The Unforgiven II" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
10. "Metallica – The Unforgiven II" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
11. "Top National Sellers". Music & Media. Vol. 15, no. 14. April 4, 1998. p. 12.
12. "Top National Sellers". Music & Media. Vol. 15, no. 15. April 11, 1998. p. 12.
13. "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (5.2.–12.2. 1998)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). February 6, 1998. p. 26. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
14. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – The Unforgiven II". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
15. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 12, 1998" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
16. "Metallica – The Unforgiven II" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
17. "Metallica – The Unforgiven II". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
18. "Metallica – The Unforgiven II". VG-lista. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
19. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
20. "Metallica – The Unforgiven II". Singles Top 100. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
21. "Metallica: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
22. "Official Rock & Metal Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
23. "Metallica Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
24. "Metallica Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
25. "ARIA Top 100 Singles for 1998". ARIA . Retrieved December 27, 2022.
26. "Íslenski Listinn Topp 100 – Vinsælustu lögin '98". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). January 2, 1999. p. 34. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
27. "The Year in Music 1998: Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks". Billboard . Vol. 110, no. 52. December 26, 1998. p. YE-84.
29. "Danish single certifications – Metallica – The Unforgiven II". IFPI Danmark . Retrieved January 25, 2022.
30. "New Zealand single certifications – Metallica – The Unforgiven II". Radioscope. Retrieved February 13, 2025.Type The Unforgiven II in the "Search:" field.
31. "Be on the Lookout". Gavin Report . No. 2187. January 9, 1998. p. 34.
32. "New Releases: Singles". Music Week . February 21, 1998. p. 29.
33. "Metallica". Sony Music Entertainment Japan. Archived from the original on January 24, 2001. Retrieved August 25, 2023.Click on Discography.