Some rock and metal bands know their classic literature, evidenced by all of these songs named after popular books!
Seriously, it would be surprising to learn that some of these bands didn’t have their noses buried in books while on tour.
READ MORE: 23 Books That Inspired the Names of Big Rock + Metal Bands
Take Iron Maiden, for example. They have enough songs named after popular books that they could fill an entire album.
Metallica could very well pull it off someday as well. Ride the Lightning alone featured two tracks named after books.
Here is a look at 27 times big rock and metal bands named their songs after popular book titles.
‘Moby Dick,’ Led Zeppelin (1969)
Album: Led Zeppelin II
Book it’s named after: Moby-Dick by Herman Melville (1851)
‘Behind the Wall of Sleep,’ Black Sabbath (1970)
Album: Black Sabbath
Short story it’s named after: Beyond the Wall of Sleep by H.P. Lovecraft (1919)
‘Childhood’s End,’ Pink Floyd (1972)
Album: Obscured by Clouds
Book it’s named after: Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke (1953)
‘Frankenstein,’ The Edgar Winter Group (1972)
Album: They Only Come Out at Night
Book it’s named after: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (1818)
‘Lord of Light,’ Hawkwind (1972)
Album: Doremi Fasol Latido
Book it’s named after: Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny (1967)
‘1984,’ David Bowie (1974)
Album: Diamond Dogs
Book it’s named after: Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell (1949)
‘Anthem,’ Rush (1975)
Album: Fly By Night
Book it’s named after: Anthem by Ayn Rand (1938)
‘Damnation Alley,’ Hawkwind (1977)
Album: Quark, Strangeness and Charm
Book it’s named after: Damnation Alley by Roger Zelazny (1969)
‘Phantom of the Opera,’ Iron Maiden (1980)
Album: Iron Maiden
Book it’s named after: The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux (1909)
“Charlotte Sometimes,” The Cure (1981)
Album: Faith
Book it’s named after: Charlotte Sometimes by Penelope Farmer (1969)
‘The Call of Kutlu,’ Metallica (1984)
Album: Ride the Lightning
Book it’s named after: The Call of Cthulhu by H.P. Lovecraft (1928)
‘For Whom the Bell Tolls,’ Metallica (1984)
Album: Ride the Lightning
Book it’s named after: For Whom the Bell Tolls, by Ernest Hemingway (1940)
‘The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner,’ Iron Maiden (1986)
Album:: A Matter of Life and Death
The book it’s named after:: The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner, by Alan Sillitoe (1959)
‘The Shining,’ Black Sabbath (1987)
The album is ::
The Eternal Idol
The book it is based on ::
The Shining , Steven King(1977)
‘The Invisible Man,’ Queen(1989)
The album is ::
The Miracle
The book it is based on ::
The Invisible Man , H.G. Wells(1897)
‘Pet Sematary,’ Ramones(1989)
The album is ::
The Miracle
The book it is based on ::
The Invisible Man , H.G. Wells(1897)
‘The Unforgiven,’ Metallica(1991)
The album is ::
The Unforgiven
The book it is based on ::
The Unforgiven , Alan Le May(1957)
‘Lord of the Flies,’ Iron Maiden(1995)
The album is ::
X Factor
The book it is based on ::
The Unforgiven , William Golding(1954)
‘The Trick is to Keep Breathing,’ Garbage(1998)
The album is ::
The Trick is to Keep Breathing
The book it is based on ::
The Trick is to Keep Breathing , Janice Galloway(1989)
‘Malleus Maleficarum,’ AFI(1999)
The album is ::
Malleus Maleficarum (1486)
‘Brave New World,’ Iron Maiden(2000)
The album is ::
Malleus Maleficarum (1486)
23 Rock + Metal Bands Named Named After Literary Works or Characters
Gallery Credit: Rob Carroll
