| "Wait and Bleed" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single bySlipknot | ||||
| from the albumSlipknot | ||||
| Released |
| |||
| Recorded | 1998 at Indigo Ranch, Malibu, California | |||
| Genre | Nu metal[2][3][4] | |||
| Length | 2:27 | |||
| Label | Roadrunner | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) |
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| Slipknot singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Wait and Bleed" onYouTube | ||||
| Claymation music video | ||||
| "Wait and Bleed" onYouTube | ||||
"Wait and Bleed" is a 1999 song by Americanheavy metal bandSlipknot, released as their debut and leadsingle from their 1999self-titled debut album. After being remixed to replace the screamed vocals in the verses with more melodic singing, it was released as thelead single from the album in July 1999, and peaked at number 34 on the USBillboardHot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in February 2000. It remains one of the band's most popular songs.
Joey Jordison recalled in an interview withKerrang!: "I wrote the music for 'Wait and Bleed' on my own… I showed it to the guys at rehearsal, and thenCorey wrote some lyricsreally 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."[7]
"Wait and Bleed" earned Slipknot a firstGrammy nomination in2001 forBest Metal Performance, though it lost toDeftones' "Elite".[8] The song won theBest Single award at the 2000Kerrang! Awards. The song enjoyed a degree of commercial success, reaching number 34 on theHot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart[9] and number 27 in theUK Singles Chart.[10] It was also ranked number 36 onVH1's "40 Greatest Metal Songs" list.[11] In 2020,Kerrang andLouder Sound ranked the song number four and number one, respectively, on their lists of the greatest Slipknot songs.[12][13] This track, along with "Left Behind", "Pulse of the Maggots", and "Snuff", were released as downloadable songs in theRock Band series. A remix version of "Wait and Bleed" byTerry Date was featured on the soundtrack forScream 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[14]
There are two videos for "Wait and Bleed". The first, directed byThomas Mignone,[15] features a live performance of the song, filmed during a performance on July 31, 1999, at the Ankeny Airfield in the band's hometown ofDes Moines.[16] 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 andShawn Crahan's doll sets him alight, killing him.
As of July 2024, the music video for "Wait and Bleed" has over 150 million views onYouTube.[17]
All songs credited to Slipknot.
Slipknot[edit]All tracks produced bySlipknot
| Additional personnel[edit]
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| Chart (2000) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[20] | 46 |
| Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[21] | 98 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[22] | 52 |
| Scotland (OCC)[23] | 25 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[24] | 27 |
| UK Rock & Metal (OCC)[25] | 1 |
| USMainstream Rock (Billboard)[26] | 34 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[27] | 2× Platinum | 160,000‡ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[28] | Platinum | 30,000‡ |
| Portugal (AFP)[29] | Gold | 20,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[30] | Gold | 400,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[31] | Platinum | 1,000,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
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| Live albums | |
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| Singles |
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| Promotional singles | |
| Other songs |
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| Related articles |
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