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| "King Nothing" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byMetallica | ||||
| from the albumLoad | ||||
| B-side | "Ain't My Bitch (live)" | |||
| Released | January 7, 1997[1] | |||
| Recorded | May 1995 – February 1996 atThe Plant Studios, inSausalito, California | |||
| Genre | Heavy metal | |||
| Length | 5:28 | |||
| Label | Elektra | |||
| Composer(s) | ||||
| Lyricist(s) | James Hetfield | |||
| Producer(s) | ||||
| Metallica singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "King Nothing" onYouTube | ||||
| Audio sample | ||||
King Nothing | ||||
"King Nothing" is a song by Americanheavy metal bandMetallica from their 1996 albumLoad, released on January 7, 1997.
The song was written byJames Hetfield,Lars Ulrich, andKirk Hammett. The song starts on a bass riff which develops into the main riff of the song. A single of "King Nothing" was released in the United States. It included a live version of the song "Ain't My Bitch", which is also on the albumLoad. A music video also accompanied the song. The guitars and bass are both tuned to Eb.
The words"Off to never-never land", heard at the end of the song, are a nod to the song "Enter Sandman", from Metallica's preceding album, which also contains these words. Both songs have a similar structure.
"King Nothing" appeared as background music in the ninth episode of the second season ofThe Sopranos, "From Where to Eternity", in a scene in whichTony Soprano is speaking withPaulie Gualtieri in theBada Bing strip club.
On the US charts, the song reached number 90 on theBillboard Hot 100, while peaking at number six on theMainstream Rock Tracks chart.
The song circles around the theme of "be careful what you wish for". The lyrics depict a man who just wants to play the king and does not care about anything else. This ultimately leads to his downfall, as shown in "And it all crashes down, and you break your crown".[according to whom?]
In the music video, "King Nothing" is seen wandering around a snowy wasteland, throwing away his crown, and then putting another one on. He does this so much, by the end of the video, there are crowns everywhere. At the very end, hundreds of other King Nothings surround him.
The music video, directed byMatt Mahurin, was filmed inPark City, Utah, in December 1996.
The demo of "King Nothing" was called "Load" (hence the title of the album on which it is featured) and was recorded inLars Ulrich's home studio 'Dungeon' byJames Hetfield and Ulrich on November 30, 1994.
Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[2]
| Chart (1997) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| USBillboard Hot 100[4] | 90 |
| USMainstream Rock (Billboard)[5] | 6 |
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