Metallica’s ‘Nothing Else Matters’ performed on Renaissance lute is giving us life today

31 August 2018, 13:15

Metallica’s iconic ‘Nothing Else Matters’ is a masterpiece of accessible metal, and it was really only a matter of time before someone recorded it on a Renaissance lute.

The lines between hard rock and classical music, especially that of the Baroque period, have been well drawn for years now.

But this is a particularly righteous pairing for fans of Metallica and… err… John Downland. Lutenist David Hernández Romero has arranged the iconic melodic metal classic for his instrument - a 15-string beauty.

And far from being a po-faced re-imagining, it’s a delightful and stately work, making James Hetfield’s original sound like it really could’ve been written in the Renaissance period.

And if you want to hear what the lute's big brother sounds like, check out this theorbo improvisation: