10 Scariest Tracks In Hard Rock

Throughout most of these entries, the scariness of the songs have been a combination of disturbing lyrics mixed with the intense power of rock instrumentation. With their sophomore release, Metallica proved that you didn't even need to have a full lyric sheet if you wanted to scare your audience to death.

Closing out Ride the Lightning, "The Call of Ktulu" is a moody instrumental inspired by the apocalyptic monster found in the writings of H.P. Lovecraft. With the song starting out with subtle clean guitar flourishes, the song quickly builds to bellowing climaxes, as the guitars bring life to the monster's stomp across the planet.

While the band does a fantastic job all around, the real star of the show is bassist Cliff Burton, who is credited as "lead bass" for his impeccable performance. His runs through various scale structures makes the song pulse with a potent musical throb, causing the listener's heart to skip a beat every time he ascends up the guitar neck.

With the track culminating in one more run through the main riff, Burton's bass practically comes alive, with his powerful bends almost mimicking the sound of the monster roaring to life. In one instrumental pastiche, Metallica taught a legion of young bands how to unleash the true darkness of metal.