For Whom the Bell Tolls (Metallica song)

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"For Whom the Bell Tolls"
Metallica - For Whom the Bell Tolls cover.jpg
Promotional single by Metallica
from the album Ride the Lightning
B-side
  • Album version
Released1984
RecordedFebruary 20 – March 14, 1984
StudioSweet Silence (Copenhagen, Denmark)
GenreHeavy metal[1]
Length
  • 5:10 (album version)
  • 3:59 (promo edit)
LabelElektra
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Metallica singles chronology
"Creeping Death"
(1984) 		"For Whom the Bell Tolls"
(1984) 		"Master of Puppets"
(1986)
Audio sample
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"For Whom the Bell Tolls" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica. It was first released on the group's second album, Ride the Lightning (1984). Elektra Records also released it as a promotional single, with both edited and full-length versions. The song is generally regarded as one of Metallica's most popular; by March 2018, it ranked number five on the band's live performance count.[2] Several live albums and video albums include the song.

Composition[]

The song was inspired by Ernest Hemingway's 1940 novel of the same name about the process of death in modern warfare and the bloody Spanish Civil War. Specific allusions are made to the scene described in Chapter 27 of the book, in which five soldiers are obliterated during an airstrike after taking a defensive position on a hill.

Cliff Burton plays the bass guitar introduction with heavy distortion and a wah pedal. Burton wrote the intro before joining Metallica and first played it during a 12-minute jam at a battle of the bands with his second band Agents of Misfortune in 1979.

Track listing[]

"For Whom the Bell Tolls" was released as a promo single with two versions of the song. An edited version appears on the A-side, with the full-length album version on the B-side.

Promotional 12-inch single
No.TitleLength
1."For Whom the Bell Tolls" (Edit)3:59
2."For Whom the Bell Tolls"5:10

Other versions[]

Metallica

In 1999 and 2019, Metallica recorded "For Whom the Bell Tolls" with the San Francisco Symphony for the live albums S&M and S&M2, respectively. Other live versions appear on Cliff 'Em All (VHS, 1987), Live Shit: Binge & Purge (1993), Cunning Stunts (DVD, 1997), Français Pour une Nuit (DVD, 2009), Orgullo, Pasión, y Gloria: Tres Noches en la Ciudad de México (2009), The Big Four: Live from Sofia, Bulgaria (DVD, 2010), Quebec Magnetic (DVD, 2012), and Metallica: Through the Never (soundtrack, 2013).

Mixes

  • A remix by DJ Spooky appeared on the Spawn soundtrack, titled "For Whom the Bell Tolls (The Irony of it All)". Metallica later released it on "The Memory Remains" single, re-titled "For Whom the Bell Tolls (Haven't Heard It Yet Mix)". "The Irony of it All" has vocals from both the chorus and verses of the song, while "Haven't Heard It Yet Mix" only has vocals from the chorus.

Personnel[]

Charts[]

Chart (2019) Peak
position
US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[3] 18

Certifications[]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[4] Silver 200,000double-dagger
United States (RIAA)[5] Gold 500,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
double-dagger Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References[]

  1. ^ Joel McIver (2009). To Live Is to Die: The Life and Death of Metallica's Cliff Burton. Jawbone Press. p. 119. ISBN 9781906002244. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  2. ^ "Song Statistics". Metallica.com. Archived from the original on July 27, 2018. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
  3. ^ "Metallica Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  4. ^ "British single certifications – Metallica – For Whom the Bell Tolls". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  5. ^ "American single certifications – Metallica – For Whom the Bell Tolls". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved April 23, 2021.

External links[]

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