Until It Sleeps
"Until It Sleeps" | ||||||||
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File:Metallica - Until It Sleeps cover.jpg | ||||||||
Single by Metallica | ||||||||
from the album Load | ||||||||
B-side | 2 X 4 (live)/ F.O.B.D (Demo)./ Kill/ Ride Medley (live)/ Until it Sleeps (Herman Melville Mix)/ Overkill (live) | |||||||
Released | May 20, 1996[1] | |||||||
Format | CD single, Cassette, Vinyl | |||||||
Recorded | 1995 | |||||||
Genre | Hard rock | |||||||
Length | 4:30 | |||||||
Label | Elektra | |||||||
Writer(s) | James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich | |||||||
Producer(s) | Bob Rock, James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich | |||||||
Metallica singles chronology | ||||||||
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"Until It Sleeps" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica from their 1996 album Load.
Contents
Versions
The song was performed with orchestral accompaniment on the album S&M. It was the band's first number one song on the US Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, as well as their first and only song to hit the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, debuting and peaking at number 10.[2]
An early demo version of this song was entitled "F.O.B.D" (recorded on December 8, 1995), because it reminded the band members of the Soundgarden song "Fell on Black Days," in that the "It grips you...It stains you..." refrain is in the same 6/4 time signature that "Fell on Black Days" is in. The band can be heard saying "Fell on Black Days" on the fanclub-only Fancan 1 CD just prior to jamming on a portion of "Until It Sleeps." The 10" vinyl version of the single is red in color.
Lyrics
The lyrics of the song, written by Hetfield, address his mother's battle with cancer, to which Hetfield's "it" refers. They can be seen as either describing the emotional pain he feels for the loss, or the physical pain his mother was feeling while she was ill. Both of his parents were Christian Scientists, and did not believe in medicine. The lyrics are also interpreted as dealing with anger issues. Hetfield's father, Virgil, died in late 1996, during Metallica's Load tour.
Music video
The song also has a music video directed by Samuel Bayer (Nirvana, Green Day, The Smashing Pumpkins). It was shot in various locations around Los Angeles on May 6 and 7 in 1996. It was premiered by MTV on May 23.[citation needed] The video depicts surreal concepts dealing with fall of a human, taken from various paintings by Hieronymus Bosch. Apart from the general forms inspired from Bosch's paintings, the prominent figures in the video are the human-eating monster from The Garden of Earthly Delights, the fall of Adam and Eve from Haywain and Christ in the Crucifige Eum (Crucify Him) scene of Ecce Homo.
Awards
The video of the song won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Rock Video in 1996.
The song won a 1996 Metal Edge Readers' Choice Award for Song of the Year.[3]
Trivia
"Until It Sleeps" became the first "officially" pirated MP3 when it was released by Compress ’Da Audio (a piracy group and spinoff of the Warez scene) via a Internet Relay Chat network on August 10, 1996.[4]
Track listing
US single | ||
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No. | Title | Length |
1. | "Until It Sleeps" | 4:36 |
2. | "Overkill" | 4:08 |
International Single Part 1 | ||
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No. | Title | Length |
1. | "Until It Sleeps" | 4:33 |
2. | "2 X 4" (Live) | 6:06 |
3. | "F.O.B.D." (aka Until It Sleeps - early 'writing in progress' version) | 4:56 |
International Single Part 2 | ||
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No. | Title | Length |
1. | "Until It Sleeps" | 4:36 |
2. | "Kill/Ride Medley" (Live) | 10:19 |
3. | "Until It Sleeps" (Herman Melville Mix) | 4:20 |
Japanese EP | ||
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No. | Title | Length |
1. | "Until It Sleeps" | 4:35 |
2. | "Until It Sleeps" (Herman Melville Mix) | 4:22 |
3. | "Kill/Ride Medley" (Live) | 10:19 |
4. | "2 X 4" (Live) | 6:08 |
5. | "Overkill" (Live) | 4:11 |
6. | "F.O.B.D." (aka Until It Sleeps - early 'writing in progress' version) | 4:56 |
Charts and certifications
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
Certifications
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Release history
Region | Date |
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Worldwide (except North America) | May 20, 1996 |
United States | May 21, 1996 |
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 8th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 421.
- ↑ Metal Edge, June 1997
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Metallica – Until It Sleeps". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
- ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Metallica – Until It Sleeps" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – Metallica – Until It Sleeps" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – Metallica – Until It Sleeps" (in French). Ultratop 50.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ "Metallica: Until It Sleeps" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
- ↑ "Lescharts.com – Metallica – Until It Sleeps" (in French). Les classement single.
- ↑ "Musicline.de – Metallica Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
- ↑ The Irish Charts - All there is to know
- ↑ Italian peaks
- ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Metallica search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40.
- ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Metallica – Until It Sleeps". Top 40 Singles.
- ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Metallica – Until It Sleeps". VG-lista.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Metallica – Until It Sleeps". Singles Top 60.
- ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Metallica – Until It Sleeps". Swiss Singles Chart.
- ↑ Metallica - Until It Sleeps - UK Singles
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 Metallica - Awards AllMusic
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Preceded by
"Humans Being" by Van Halen
|
Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks number-one single June 8, 1996 – July 19, 1996 August 3, 1996 |
Succeeded by "Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart" by Stone Temple Pilots |
- Use mdy dates from June 2013
- Pages with broken file links
- Articles with unsourced statements from February 2009
- Certification Table Entry usages for Australia
- Certification Table Entry usages for New Zealand
- Certification Table Entry usages for Norway
- Certification Table Entry usages for Sweden
- Certification Table Entry usages for United States
- Metallica songs
- 1996 singles
- 1996 songs
- Billboard Mainstream Rock number-one singles
- Number-one singles in Australia
- Songs written by Lars Ulrich
- Songs written by James Hetfield
- Song recordings produced by Bob Rock
- Music videos directed by Samuel Bayer
- Elektra Records singles
- Songs inspired by deaths
- Hard rock ballads