10 Greatest Closing Tracks In Metal

Any metalhead who has heard the Downward Spiral by Nine Inch Nails still has the scars to prove it. Even with over 20 years under its belt, Trent Reznor's disturbing tale of one man's descent into madness has left many casual rock fans shell-shocked after listening. While much of the album is focused on self destruction and hedonistic behavior, everything comes to a somber conclusion at the end.

Arriving with just a subtle piano figure, Reznor sings Hurt like a broken man trying to figure out how he got so lost inside of his own mind. Given the amount of turmoil and allusions to suicide taking place on the title track before this, it's possible that these final thoughts from our protagonist are his last words as his spirit departs from this Earth. Even if he would like to write his wrongs, the downtrodden nature of the melody feels like those hopes are unfounded.

Though Reznor left a piece of his soul in this song, most people tend to remember it nowadays as one of the final Johnny Cash songs ever released, where he turned this disturbing art piece into a meditation on his own life. Nine Inch Nails had always been known to be on the dark side, but you know you've hit pitch black when you have the Man in Black himself paying tribute to you.