The Call of Ktulu

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"The Call of Ktulu"

Song by Metallica
from the album Ride the Lightning
Released	November 16, 1984
Recorded	Sweet Silence Studios Copenhagen, Denmark, 1984
Genre	Thrash metal
Length	8:53
Label	Elektra Records
Writer(s)	Dave Mustaine James Hetfield Cliff Burton Lars Ulrich
Producer(s)	Metallica, Flemming Rasmussen , Mark Whitaker
Ride the Lightning track listing
"Fight Fire with Fire" "Ride the Lightning" "For Whom the Bell Tolls" "Fade to Black" "Trapped Under Ice" "Escape" "Creeping Death" "The Call of Ktulu"

This article is about the song by Metallica. For H. P. Lovecraft's short story, see The Call of Cthulhu.

"The Call of Ktulu" is the title of an instrumental composition by the metal band Metallica, inspired by the writings of H. P. Lovecraft, particularly The Call of Cthulhu. It appeared on the band's second album, Ride the Lightning in 1984 and was written by James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Cliff Burton, and Dave Mustaine. It was Metallica's second recorded instrumental, and first in which the entire band played together.

This is one of the few Metallica songs to have been largely written by lead guitarist Dave Mustaine and was originally entitled "When Hell Freezes Over." Late bassist Cliff Burton was a huge Lovecraft fan and it is likely he was responsible for the title change.

Interestingly, the main arpeggios in this song are played note for note as chords in the Megadeth song, Hangar 18 (song), probably as a sly tribute to Dave Mustaine's original writing of the song. It was also used in the Megadeth song "When" from their album The World Needs A Hero

The song is also notable for being the longest Metallica song as of the release of Ride the Lightning, with a length of nearly nine minutes (8:54 to be exact), and still remains their fourth longest studio recording (discounting two cover songs).

The song was re-arranged by Michael Kamen for Metallica's 1999 S&M project and won a Grammy for the best rock instrumental performance.