10 Rock Songs With Horrible Backstories

10. To Live Is To Die - Metallica

Of all of the phenomenal metal albums that Metallica released in the '80s, And Justice For All seems to be a bit of a black sheep. Outside of the memes being made about how you can't hear the bass, there seems to be something missing from the traditional thrash sound that the metal gods were known for. And that missing puzzle piece's name was Cliff Burton.

After going on tour to promote their previous album, Cliff was tragically killed in a bus accident on their way to the next show. Still stricken with grief by the time they went on to record the next album, most of the hazing fell on replacement Jason Newsted, which turned a bit ugly when they decided to turn his bass down in the mix. When the smoke cleared though, To Live Is To Die is still one of the most heartbreaking things you will ever hear.

Inspired by their memories of Cliff, this entire instrumental plays out like the band members trying to cope with playing music after the loss of their friend, especially with the mid section where James Hetfield recites a poem that Cliff had written shortly before his death. Even though metal is known to be a mean genre, this is the closest thing you'll get to hearing people deal with the stages of grief in real time.