10 Greatest Metal Anthems Of All Time
3. One - Metallica
If there's one thing metal is great at, it's showing the darkness of mankind at its most dire. Though most naysayers would call out metal for screaming about Satan, Metallica were a band that had their darker themes rooted in real-life scenarios rather than doom and gloom. On "One," the band tapped into one of the most horrific topics they had ever tackled.
Opening with soft guitars, the melody is incredibly mournful as the lyrics detail a man who has been hit by a landmine. With the loss of his limbs, sight, hearing, and speech, the man is rendered physically helpless. Only feeling pain, he cries out for help but no one is able to hear him.
The song quickly turns from despair into panic as the man realizes that he is trapped in a never-ending pattern of pain for the rest of his life. At this point, the song begins to pick up steam and presents one of the greatest send-offs in metal history, from the intensity of the double-bass drums to Kirk Hammett's brilliant tapping guitar solo. Instead of focusing on demonic forces, Metallica showed that the dark side of life is rooted in situations that aren't too far removed from reality.