A fan wrote lyrics and sang over Metallica’s legendary instrumental song “The Call of Ktulu”.

the ride the lightning closer album is considered one of metal’s all-time greatest instrumentals and showcased Metallica’s progression towards the more complex and nuanced songwriting that would later be expressed on Puppeteer and even more so in its successor, …And justice for all.

It’s an imposing song for any seasoned band to cover, let alone write original lyrics for the track inspired by horror/sci-fi fantasy writer HP Lovecraft’s famous short story, Call of Cthulupublished in early 1928.

YouTuber Less, who alerted Loudwire to his bold venture, really went to great lengths and wrote his own story for the lyrics (nearly 350 words), which span the song by nearly 10 minutes, including parts of spoken words that reinforce its epic breadth. Vocally, there are obviously shades of James Hetfield at play, but Less isn’t trying to be a clone singer and instead walks between clean vocals and a gruff, more typical thrash approach that works well.

Listen to this slice of musical fan-fiction, so to speak, at the bottom of the page and read the lyrics below. To subscribe to Less’ YouTube channel, go here.

Lyrics written by fans of “Call of Ktulu”

There are remains of Monster
stuck in a human race world
It brought us destruction
from aeons long gone in time

And I saw, I made the shape
Believe me, this Thing will wake up

We live in ignorance on the seas of infinity
We can’t run away
of this deadly dark age light
You should know it’s strength
was before humanity

Gods, they make my blood run cold
and I’m crazy, when I dream about it
I saw the manuscript
and I couldn’t fall asleep
And I tried every night
But sickly was my imagination

I read a strange story
secret societies and cults
Dark voices from the past
and titanic walls of slimy stones
And this sound, mysterious
like a monstrous flapping of wings

A man was crying at night
to be saved from an infernal Being
And then another
jumped from the heights of the window
There was fear, there was a cry
haunted moans of tormented lives

Go through the waves
where Cthulhu slipped
under choppy water, so go

There was a bang just like the stench
of thousands of open graves, then go

Time never waits, the Force is awakened
Only to lead us to a war
Ready to crush, destroy the earth
with one punch

His trace erases memories with death
Darkness has been overthrown, humanity is gone
growing in the murderous darkness

No we won’t survive, all stuck in fear
facing dripping Babylon
What if this Thing was just a lie?

The hideous stone city of R’lyeh, the monolithic fortress, hides the great Cthulhu and his horde in muddy tombs. People’s words can’t describe this Thing and an abyss of screaming and madness. Soon the monster will make its way through the black doors. And when I think about the size of everything there – I want to cease to exist.

We live in a temporary place
There’s no courage until that thing’s still there
Our empty destinies will be left
forever undone

“The Call of Ktulu” with fan vocals (Metallica cover)