Songs From Hell

The other day at work, as we did our usual verbal wordplay games, I got stuck in a loop of "Hell" song titles. Hell's Bells, Hotter Than Hell, Heaven and Hell... and more. As I got rolling, I realized there were loads of them, but held off so I could compile a list on the blog. After all, without Hell, there would be no Heaven, right? Or so they say. Whoever they are. 

Some of the Hell songs are actually about Satan and his fiery domain, while others describe going through hard times, dealing with the roadblocks and problems of life. Some metal bands like to evoke a Satanic image via their lyrics and album artwork... but rarely is it the real thing... Satanism, that is. Mostly, it's just for show... to get attention and rile people up. It works. Look at Kiss.

Move along, folks, nothing Hellish going on here...

(photo credit: Brent Groh)

The average reader (and music listener) here will know many of the tunes on my list, as they are famous as Hell, though there are some lesser-known, equally cool tracks on there, too. Interesting, and apt, that nearly every one of these songs is by a heavy metal artist. You could count the non-metal bands here on one hand. Still, that doesn't take away from the power of legendary rock songs like Run Like Hell or Hell is For Children. Obviously, I don't know every single Hell song ever written, nor can I remember everything I've ever heard, but these are ones that I know off the top of my head, plus a few I got with a little jog of my memory after a glance at an online list. 

I hope you enjoy the Hell out of these... and don't forget to submit your own ideas in the Comments section!

Hell's Bells (AC/DC, of course)
Hotter Than Hell (duh... Kiss)
Heaven and Hell (good old Black Sabbath... er, make that great!)
Highway to Hell (AC/DC, in case you didn't know)
Bat Out of Hell (the big guy, Meatloaf)
Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be (an early AC/DC song)
To Hell With the Devil (just one of several Stryper songs... since they are a Christian band)
Burn in Hell (an early - and surprisingly heavy - Twisted Sister tune)
Run Like Hell (off Pink Floyd's album The Wall)
Hellraiser (by the one and only Ozzy Osbourne)
Go to Hell (Alice Cooper)
Hell or High Water (another AC/DC)
Hell Bent for Leather (the ultimate Judas Priest anthem)

Hell Awaits (a Slayer classic)
Hell is for Children (Pat Benatar)
Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers (an old bluesy ZZ Top gem)
Louder Than Hell (Motley Crue)
The Gates of Hell (a Black Sabbath song off their late 80's Headless Cross album)
Born to Raise Hell (Motorhead)
Welcome to Hell (Venom)
Guilty as Hell (a more obscure Sabbath song from the mid-90's)
Hot Rails to Hell (a Blue Oyster Cult classic)
Gonna Raise Hell (a screamer off the Cheap Trick album Dream Police)
Hell in a Bucket (Grateful Dead)
Long Way Back From Hell (a headbanger from Danzig)
Saints in Hell (definitive early Judas Priest)
What the Hell Have I (by doom and gloomers Alice in Chains)
Go to Hell (by thrash masters Megadeth)
Good Day in Hell (Eagles... in a lighter vein)
Into the Lungs of Hell (Megadeth again)