10 Greatest Hard Rock Album Openers

AC/DC began the 80's with their backs against the wall. While the band had managed to finally attain massive success with the album Highway to Hell, the death of lead singer and general wildman Bon Scott put their prospering career in jeopardy. Refusing to bow out quietly, Angus and Malcolm Young kicked off their next record with poignancy and muscle on "Hells Bells."

Paying tribute to their frontman right out of the gate, the entire song opens with the toll of a bell, as Angus kicks off the song with a riff that seeps into your veins. Even with impossible shoes to fill, Brian Johnson's first turn on the mic is one of his most ferocious, as if he's channeling the very spirit of Bon through the back of his throat.

Sure, the song may be a bit on the slow side by AC/DC standards, but what it lacks in speed it makes up for in mountains of attitude. With Back in Black becoming the band's most successful album ever, "Hells Bells" serves as not only a good opening track, but the arrival of a resurrected band. Bon may have only been there in spirit, but this is the sendoff of a lifetime that makes the cold grasp of mortality seem almost exciting.