Wait and Bleed


"Wait and Bleed" is the debut single of American heavy metal band Slipknot's self-titled album of 1999. Remixed with more prominent clean-sung vocals, 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.

Meaning and background

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."

Release, awards, reception and use in popular culture

"Wait and Bleed" earned Slipknot a first Grammy nomination in 2001 for Best Metal Performance, though it lost to Deftones' "Elite". 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 and number 27 in the UK Singles Chart. It was also ranked number 36 on VH1's "40 Greatest Metal Songs" list. 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.

Music videos

There are two videos for "Wait and Bleed". The first, directed by Thomas Mignone, 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 insects dropping from a jar. As the band looks over the man, Chris Fehn's doll covers him in fuel and Shawn Crahan sets him alight, killing him.

Track listing

All songs credited to Slipknot.
;EU & Japan CD single
  1. "Wait and Bleed" – 2:34
  2. "Spit It Out" – 2:28
  3. "" – 3:28
;EU promo single
  1. "Wait & Bleed" – 2:34
  2. "Spit It Out" – 2:28
  3. "" – 3:28
;US promo CD single
  1. "Wait and Bleed" – 2:30
  2. "Wait and Bleed" – 2:27
  3. "Call-Out Hook" – 0:12
;One-track promo CD single
  1. "Wait & Bleed" – 2:30

    Personnel

;Slipknot – production
;Additional personnel

Certifications