Wait and Bleed

"Wait and Bleed" is the debut single of American heavy metal band Slipknot's self-titled album of 1999. Remixed with a good portion of the growled vocals removed, it was released as the lead single from the album in July 1999, and peaked at number 34 on the American Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in February 2000. It remains one of the band's signature songs.

"Wait and Bleed"
Single by Slipknot
from the album Slipknot
Released
  • July 1999
  • February 28, 2000 (commercial)[1]
Recorded1998 at Indigo Ranch, Malibu, California
GenreNu metal[2][3][4]
Length2:27
LabelRoadrunner
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Slipknot singles chronology
"Wait and Bleed"
(1999)
"Spit It Out"
(2000)

Meaning and background

Joey Jordison recalled in an interview with Kerrang!: "I wrote the music for 'Wait and Bleed' on my own… I showed it to the guys at rehearsal, and then Corey wrote some lyrics really fast in our practice space… He took us to a new level immediately." "The song's about that switch in your head that can go at any moment," noted Corey Taylor. "You go from being a civilized human being to someone who can commit terrible acts. I've always been fascinated by the fact we represent ourselves as civilized when, at any moment, we can become animals."[5]

"Wait and Bleed" earned Slipknot a first Grammy nomination in 2001 for Best Metal Performance, though it lost to Deftones' "Elite".[6] The song won the Best Single award at the 2000 Kerrang! Awards. The song enjoyed a degree of commercial success, reaching number 34 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart[7] and number 27 in the UK Singles Chart.[8] It was also ranked number 36 on VH1's "40 Greatest Metal Songs" list.[9] This track, along with "Left Behind", "Pulse of the Maggots", and "Snuff", were released as downloadable songs in the Rock Band series. "Wait and Bleed" was also featured on the soundtrack for Scream 3.

"It was just a basic song. We didn't know it was going to be that popular. The funny thing is the record label, especially new guys at the record label, were coming around when we started getting big, and they're like, 'Oh, the next record, you can write, like, three Wait And Bleeds.' And we're just like, 'You are an idiot.' Therefore, we don't do that. But obviously the band, believe it or not, we have so much control over what we do that we don't write anything for money, we don't write anything for popularity, we have to like it first. And it's just a song that we liked, and it just so happened that it got on the radio and got the attention that we didn't expect." – Chris Fehn[10]

Music videos

There are two videos for "Wait and Bleed". The first, directed by Thomas Mignone,[11] features a live performance of the song, filmed during the band's appearance at Ozzfest. The second, known as the "Claymation version", depicts all nine members as small, animated, doll-like creatures inside a laboratory inhabited by a man who is attempting to catch them. Eventually, the band cause the man to fall and be stung by dropping a jar of insects. As the band looks over the man, Chris Fehn's doll covers him in fuel and Shawn Crahan's doll sets him alight, killing him.

Track listing

All songs credited to Slipknot.

EU & Japan CD single
  1. "Wait and Bleed" (Terry Date mix) – 2:34
  2. "Spit It Out" (Overcaffeinated hyper version) – 2:28
  3. "(sic)" (Molt-Injected mix) – 3:28
  • Includes "Wait and Bleed" live music video
  • "(sic)" (Molt-Injected mix) is missing on Netherlands release
EU promo single
  1. "Wait & Bleed" (Radio mix) – 2:34
  2. "Spit It Out" (Overcaffeinated hyper version) – 2:28
  3. "(sic)" (Spaceship Console mix) – 3:28
  • "Wait & Bleed" (Radio mix) does not have the final "and it waits for you!" scream unlike Terry Date mix
  • "(sic)" (Spaceship Console mix) is no different from Molt-Injected mix
US promo CD single
  1. "Wait and Bleed" (Radio mix) – 2:30
  2. "Wait and Bleed" (LP mix) – 2:27
  3. "Call-Out Hook"  – 0:12
One-track promo CD single
  1. "Wait & Bleed" (Radio mix) – 2:30

Personnel

Charts

Chart (2000) Peak
position
UK Singles (OCC)[12] 27
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[13] 34

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[14] Silver 200,000
United States (RIAA)[15] Platinum 1,000,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. https://australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Slipknot&titel=Wait+And+Bleed&cat=s
  2. "26 Nu Metal Workout Songs". Bodybuilding.com. May 28, 2015. Retrieved September 8, 2015.
  3. Chesler, Josh. "10 Nu-Metal Songs That Actually Don't Suck". Phoenix New Times. (May 18th, 2015)
  4. Alex Distefano. "The Top 10 Essential Nu Metal Albums". LA Weekly.
  5. Bryant, Tom (14 July 2012). "Hell unleashed". Kerrang #1423. p. 22–23.
  6. "Grammy Awards: Best Metal Performance". Rock On The Net. Retrieved 2008-09-05.
  7. "Artist Chart History - Slipknot". Billboard. Retrieved 2008-09-05.
  8. "The Official Charts Company - Slipknot". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2008-02-07.
  9. "VH1 40 Greatest Metal Songs". VH1. May 2006. Retrieved 2006-09-10.
  10. "Wait and Bleed by Slipknot". Songfacts.
  11. "Wait and Bleed" (Liner). Slipknot. Roadrunner Records. 1999.CS1 maint: others (link)
  12. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
  13. "Slipknot Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
  14. "British single certifications – Slipknot – Wait and Bleed". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved October 7, 2018. Select singles in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type Wait and Bleed in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  15. "American single certifications – Slipknot – Wait and Bleed". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 7, 2020. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 
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