"Wait and Bleed" is a 1999 song by American heavy metal band Slipknot, released as their debut and lead single from their 1999 self-titled debut album. After being remixed to replace the screamed vocals in the verses with more melodic singing, it was released as the lead single from the album in July 1999, and peaked at number 34 on the US '' Billboard''

Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart published by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States. It is an administrative category that combines the " active rock" and " heritage rock" ...

chart in February 2000. It remains one of the band's most popular songs.

Meaning and background

Joey Jordison recalled in an interview with ''

Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British music webzine and quarterly magazine that primarily covers rock, punk and heavy metal music. Since 2017, the magazine has been published by Wasted Talent Ltd (the same company that owns electronic music publication ...

'': "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 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

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

chart and number 27 in the UK Singles Chart. It was also ranked number 36 on VH1's "40 Greatest Metal Songs" list. In 2020, '' Kerrang'' and '' Louder Sound'' ranked the song number four and number one, respectively, on their lists of the greatest Slipknot songs. This track, along with " Left Behind", " Pulse of the Maggots", and " Snuff", were released as downloadable songs in the ''

Rock Band ''Rock Band'' is a series of rhythm games first released in 2007 and developed by Harmonix. Based on their previous development work from the Guitar Hero, ''Guitar Hero'' series, the main ''Rock Band'' games have players use game controllers mod ...

'' series. A remix version of "Wait and Bleed" by Terry Date was 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 a performance on July 31, 1999, at the Ankeny Airfield in the band's hometown of Des Moines. The second, known as the "

Claymation Claymation, sometimes called clay animation or plasticine animation, is one of many forms of stop-motion animation. Each animated piece, either character or background, is "deformable"—made of a malleable substance, usually plasticine cl ...

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. As of July 2024, the music video for "Wait and Bleed" has over 150 million views on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

Track listing

All songs credited to Slipknot. ;CD single #"Wait and Bleed" – 2:34 #" Spit It Out" – 2:28 #"(sic)" – 3:28 * Includes "Wait and Bleed" live music video * "(sic)" (Molt-Injected Mix) is missing on Netherlands release ;EU promo single #"Wait & Bleed" – 2:34 #" Spit It Out" – 2:28 #"(sic)" – 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 #"Wait and Bleed" – 2:30 #"Wait and Bleed" – 2:27 #"Call-Out Hook" – 0:12 ;UK promo CD single #"Wait & Bleed" – 2:30

Personnel

Slipknot

*(#0) Sid Wilson –

turntables A phonograph, later called a gramophone, and since the 1940s a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogue reproduction of sound. The sound vibration Waveform, waveforms are recorded as correspond ...

*(#1) Joey Jordison – drums *(#2) Paul Gray – bass *(#3) Chris Fehn – percussion (credited but doesn't perform) *(#4) Josh Brainard – guitar *(#5) Craig Jones – samples,

media Media may refer to: Communication * Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Interactive media, media that is inter ...

*(#6) Shawn Crahan – percussion *(#7) Mick Thomson – guitar *(#8) Corey Taylor – vocals

Additional personnel

* Ross Robinson – production, mixing *Chuck Johnson –

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

, mixing, remix on track 2 *Rob Agnello – additional engineering *Sean McMahon – mixing on track 2 * Terry Date –

remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...

on track 1 * Ulrich Wild – remix on track 3 *Eddy Schreyer – mastering * Thomas Mignone – direction on track 4

Charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1999 debut singles Slipknot (band) songs Songs about suicide Songs written by Corey Taylor Songs written by Jim Root Songs written by Paul Gray (American musician) Songs written by Joey Jordison Roadrunner Records singles 2000 singles