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For Whom the Bell Tolls (Metallica song)
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Wikipedia article
"'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. 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 long 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.
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), 'Franais Pour une Nuit' (DVD, 2009), 'Orgullo, Pasin, y Gloria: Tres Noches en la Ciudad de Mxico' (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
* James Hetfieldlead vocals, rhythm guitar
* Kirk Hammettlead guitar
* Cliff Burtonbass guitar
* Lars Ulrichdrums, percussion
Charts
Certifications
See also
* List of anti-war songs
References
Category:1984 songs
Category:Metallica songs
Category:Songs written by Cliff Burton
Category:Songs written by James Hetfield
Category:Songs written by Lars Ulrich
Category:Elektra Records singles
Category:Music based on novels
Category:Anti-war songs
Category:Ernest Hemingway
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