10 Best Hard Rock Intros

Metal is not a genre that is typically defined by its dynamic range. Most genres of music might like to start off slow and then bring everything to a crescendo, but metal bands (particularly in thrash) tend to be interested in just blowing out your speakers from the moment you put the record on. It wasn't until Metallica that we finally realized how effective a meaty intro can be.

Up until the Black Album, the band already had stellar openings, from the guitar harmonies of Battery to the reversed guitars that open the song Blackened, but the beginnings of Enter Sandman were the first to feel genuinely haunting. It seems like the band is just playing a different version of the main riff on the surface, but the way they build from clean and pretty to a smack in the mouth shows pure musical veteranship.

As the song starts off, it's almost like the riff is crawling like the snake on the album cover, slowly moving towards you before it finally reaches its peak and eats you whole. There have certainly been more complex material in the band's catalog, but sometimes it's better to just let things naturally play out rather than think everything through.