"Better than You" is a song by American
heavy metal band
Metallica. It is the fifth track on their seventh album, ''
Reload''. The song was originally titled "Better". It won the 1999
Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards to recording artists for works (songs or albums) containing quality performances in the heavy metal music genre. The Grammy Awards is an annual ceremony, where ...
, the band's fourth award in that category. The song is about someone who is obsessed of the struggle to be better than someone else. The band performed a jam of the song for the first time in London in 1995. The single cover features the same picture as the cover of Metallica's ''
Cunning Stunts'' as well as on the final page of ''Reload''. The 2011 book ''Metallica: The Music and the Mayhem'' describes the song as "
ualifyingon all grounds, with lyrics full of festering resentment, and
Hammett giving a lengthy solo."
Track listing
1998 CD promo
(USA: Elektra PRCD 1149-2)
#"Better than You" – 5:21
1998 CD promo
(USA: Elektra PRCD 1165-2)
#"Better than You (Edit)" – 4:44
Personnel
*
James Hetfield – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, producer
*
Kirk Hammett
Kirk Lee Hammett (born November 18, 1962) is an American musician who has been the lead guitarist and a contributing songwriter for heavy metal band Metallica since 1983. Before joining Metallica, he formed and named the band Exodus. In 2003, ...
– lead guitar
*
Jason Newsted
Jason Curtis Newsted (born March 4, 1963) is an American musician who was the bassist of Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Metallica from 1986 to 2001. He first performed with thrash metal band Flotsam and Jetsam (band), Flotsam and Jetsam from ...
– bass, backing vocals
*
Lars Ulrich – drums, producer
*
Bob Rock
Robert Jens Rock (born April 19, 1954) is a Canadian record producer, sound engineer and musician, best known for producing rock bands and music artists such as Metallica, Mötley Crüe, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, The Tragically Hip, the Cult, ...
– producer
References
1997 songs
1998 singles
Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance
Metallica songs
Songs written by James Hetfield
Songs written by Lars Ulrich
Elektra Records singles
Song recordings produced by Bob Rock
American hard rock songs
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