10 Legendary Rock Songs That Feature Weird Instruments

There have been countless posts made on this Internet that are nothing but Metallica fans complaining about how much the band has lost their way. While St. Anger is a pretty good candidate for that, and some of the thrash purists may claim the Black Album ruined them, the Load/Reload albums are a healthy change of pace for the band, giving us a hard rock flavored taste of what they can do. And if you thought the ballads were weird on the Black Album, you weren't ready for what happened on Low Man's Lyric.

Since most of the hooks in Metallica songs come down to James Hetfield's riffs, this is a definite change of pace, using the hurdy gurdy as the main focus of the song. Though this instrument feels like it should be reserved for Renaissance fairs a lot of the time, its use in this song just gives an extra layer of sadness to the lyrics, which deal with a character who's dealing with his vices and not making his way to the other side.

Being closer to a campfire song than metal, you can hear the pain in James' voice, as he tries to seek comfort from his loved ones only to want to go back to his hedonistic lifestyle. If you look at it that way, the hurdy gurdy isn't just a weird little instrument that they decided to throw in there. It's practically soundtracking a funeral wake for this man's future. He might find his way to the other side some day, but it's never going to be the same with his relationships falling apart.