10 Hard Rock Albums You Need To Listen To With Headphones

There have been plenty of albums in the hard rock genre that have left you feeling scared. From the first moment Black Sabbath infected your eardrums, every other band wanted to have a sound that could match the audible intensity of their power. Though many have tried to blow you away with guitar muscle, it takes a real professional to put you on edge through sheer noise.

Out of all the important metal releases of the 90's, Nine Inch Nails produced one of the most intense experiences you can have wearing headphones. Structured as a rock opera into the darkest parts of the human psyche, every passing track gets more and more off-putting. You might think you have the full story if you hear something as balls-to-the-wall as "March of the Pigs," but once you dig a bit deeper into the album, you'll realize you're being held in sonic captivity by Trent Reznor's demons.

Given that Reznor recorded the album in the same place Sharon Tate was murdered, it's almost as if each of these songs has a little inkling of the dead hidden within its grooves. Reznor's genius behind a mixing board and his propensity for self-destruction often went hand in hand, but when he came up for air, fans got a descent into Hell they wouldn't soon forget.