1st Allusion: Metallica-Creeping Death

     Anyone that knows me well enough can tell I am a huge fan of heavy metal and all its sub-genres.  One of the most influential bands across the spectrum are the trash legends Metallica!  Their song "Creeping Death," from the album Ride the Lightning, is an allusion to the story of the Hebrews in Egypt told in Exodus in the Old Testament of the Bible.  More specifically, it tells of the plagues God sends to the Egyptians as a result of the pharaoh's refusal to release the Israelites.

     According to the band, former bassist Cliff Burton (R.I.P.) uttered the words "Whoah, it's like creeping death," after the scene in which all of Egypt's firstborn are killed in the movie The Ten Commandments.  The band liked the sound of "creeping death" so they set out to write a song based around it and the plagues.

     The song starts by telling of the 400 years of Hebrew servitude to the pharaoh, in the first verse.  Then, the chorus sets the darker tone that is continued throughout the song:

So let it be written
So let it be done
I'm sent here by the chosen one
So let it be written
So let it be done
To kill the first born pharaoh's son
I'm creeping death

The reference here is to the tenth, and final, plague from Exodus 12:

 ²⁹ At midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock. ³⁰ And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians. And there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where someone was not dead.

The second verse of the song refers to three (out of 10) of the other plagues sent by the Lord to Egypt:

Now

Let my people go, Land of Goshen

Go

I will be with thee, bush of fire

Blood

Running red and strong down the Nile

Plague

Darkness three days long, hail to fire

     The first plague mentioned is the turning of the water of the Nile River to blood, which is the first plague (Exodus 7:20).  Next is the ninth plague, three days of darkness (Exodus 10:22).  Finally, singer James Hetfield screams "Hail to Fire," which is an allusion to the seventh plague of hail (Exodus 9:23).  Also of note is the reference to the protagonist, God, speaking to Moses through the form of a burning bush (Exodus 3). 

Later in the song they even allude to the Passover:

I
Creep the steps and floor, final darkness
Blood
Lamb blood painted door, I shall pass

     Exodus 12 explains the process for assuring one's household is passed over during the killing of the firstborn sons of Egypt.  This includes painting the doorposts and lintels of the houses of the people of Israel with the blood of an unblemished lamb.  

     Heavy metal is full of biblical allusions, most of which refer to the apocalypse, but there are many others.  Other religions and classical literature of often referred to as well.  Led Zeppelin uses stories from Norse mythology and even the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien several times.  Manowar released an album called Gods of War dedicated to the Greek gods.  Metallica, in the same album the song discussed above comes from, has a song called "Call of Ktulu" which is a nod to the story by H.P. Lovecraft.  You'd be surprised to see where the "scariest" form of music has drawn inspiration for its lyrics.