"For Whom the Bell Tolls" is a song by Metallica, the third track from their second album Ride the Lightning. The song was composed by Cliff Burton, James Hetfield, and Lars Ulrich. The chromatic introduction (which is usually mistaken for an electric guitar) is in fact Cliff Burton playing his bass guitar through distortion and wah-wah. The intro was written by Burton before joining Metallica. Burton plays it in a 12-minute jam at a battle of the bands with his first band "Agent of Misfortune."^[1] After the introduction, the bass settles into a steady triplet rhythm. The guitars in the song sound slightly sharper than a standard-tuned guitar should sound. However, this may not be intentional, as it is rumored that the song was sped up after recording. If the song was sped up too much or was sped up using low quality means, it would raise the pitch of the recording, thus apparently sharpening the guitar's tuning. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... A collection of various CD singles In music, a single is a short recording of one or more separate tracks. ... Metallica is a Grammy Award-winning American heavy metal/thrash metal band formed in 1981[1] and has become one of the most commercially successful musical acts of recent decades. ... For the album by Marshmallow Coast, see Ride the Lightning (Marshmallow Coast album). ... “B-Sides” redirects here. ... See also: other events of 1985 Musical groups established in 1985 Record labels established in 1985 list of years in music 1980s in music // January 28 - Various artists, including Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, Michael Jackson, Billy Joel, Cyndi Lauper, Steve Perry, Kenny Loggins, Willie Nelson, Lionel Richie, Smokey Robinson, Kenny... For other uses, see Copenhagen (disambiguation). ... This article is about the year. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music, one of the extreme metal subgenres that is characterised by high speed riffing and aggression. ... In the music industry, a record label can be a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. ... Elektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, and today operates under Atlantic Records Group. ... A songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics to songs, the musical composition (chords) or melody to songs, or both. ... James Alan Hetfield (born 3 August 1963, Downey, California[1]) is the main songwriter (with drummer Lars Ulrich and sometimes guitarist Kirk Hammett), co-founder, vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the American thrash/heavy metal band Metallica. ... Clifford Lee Burton (February 10, 1962 – September 27, 1986) was a bass guitarist best known for his work with the American heavy metal band Metallica from 1982 until 1986. ... Lars Ulrich (born December 26, 1963) is the drummer, main songwriter (with James Hetfield) and co-founder of Metallica. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... Metallica is a Grammy Award-winning American heavy metal/thrash metal band formed in 1981[1] and has become one of the most commercially successful musical acts of recent decades. ... Flemming Razz Rasmussen (born in Denmark in 1958) is a engineer, producer and owner and founder of Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen, Denmark. ... Mark Whitaker is a San Francisco born music producer who was the manager of Exodus and sound engineer of Metallica in the 1980s. ... Metallica is a Grammy Award-winning American heavy metal/thrash metal band formed in 1981[1] and has become one of the most commercially successful musical acts of recent decades. ... Creeping Death is a song by Metallica and is the seventh track on their album Ride the Lightning. ... Music sample Master of Puppets Problems? See media help. ... Metallica is a Grammy Award-winning American heavy metal/thrash metal band formed in 1981[1] and has become one of the most commercially successful musical acts of recent decades. ... For the album by Marshmallow Coast, see Ride the Lightning (Marshmallow Coast album). ... Clifford Lee Burton (February 10, 1962 – September 27, 1986) was a bass guitarist best known for his work with the American heavy metal band Metallica from 1982 until 1986. ... James Alan Hetfield (born 3 August 1963, Downey, California[1]) is the main songwriter (with drummer Lars Ulrich and sometimes guitarist Kirk Hammett), co-founder, vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the American thrash/heavy metal band Metallica. ... Lars Ulrich (born December 26, 1963) is the drummer, main songwriter (with James Hetfield) and co-founder of Metallica. ... Battle of the Bands is a generic term for a contest in which many bands, usually rock/guitar bands but often from a range of different styles, compete for the title of best band. The winner is determined by a panel of judges, the general response of the audience, or...

The song is about a section of the novel For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway, in which International Brigades soldiers of the Spanish Civil War attempt to escape the fascists with their stolen horses and are killed by enemy aircraft on a hill on which they are surrounded. For other uses, see For Whom the Bell Tolls (disambiguation). ... Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 — July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. ... The three-pointed red star, symbol of the International Brigades The International Brigades were Republican military units in the Spanish Civil War, formed of many non-state sponsored volunteers of different countries who traveled to Spain, to fight for the republic in the Spanish Civil War between 1936 and 1939. ... Not to be confused with the Spanish Civil War of 1820-1823. ... Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler Fascism (in Italian, fascismo), capitalized, refers to the right-wing authoritarian political movement which ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943 under the leadership of Benito Mussolini. ...

Tracklist

Side A:

1. For Whom The Bell Tolls (05:11)

Other versions

"For Whom the Bells Tolls" has also appeared on Metallica's live 1999 album S&M, in which Metallica performed with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. S&M is a live album by the American heavy metal band Metallica, recorded live with the San Francisco Symphony on April 21-22 of 1999. ... The San Francisco Symphony (SFS) is a leading orchestra based in San Francisco, California. ... For other uses, see Orchestra (disambiguation). ...

The live versions of "For Whom the Bell Tolls" are traditionally started off with a bass solo in memory of Burton. A sunburst-colored Fender Precision Bass The electric bass guitar (or electric bass[1][2]; pronounced , as in base) is a bass stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers (either by plucking, slapping, popping, or tapping) or using a pick. ... In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer (solo is an Italian word literally meaning alone). ...

A remix by DJ Spooky appears on the Spawn soundtrack. For some reason this song version is not available on any of the online versions of the CD except Napster; which ironically, Metallica sued in 2001. DJ Spooky, That Subliminal Kid (born Paul D. Miller, 1970), is a Washington DC-born electronic and experimental hip hop musician whose work is often called illbient or trip hop. He is a turntablist and producer. ... Spawn is a film adaptation of Todd McFarlanes creator-owned Image comic book of the same name. ...

Cover versions

• Drone metal band Sunn O))) recorded a very loose cover of the song on their album Flight of the Behemoth, entitled "F.W.T.B.T.

• The song was also covered partially by punk band Sum 41 at the Metallica's MTV Icon special in 2003.

• Another punk rock band, Goldfinger, played a partial cover at Bumbershoot in 1996.

• The Moonsorrow EP Tulimyrsky features a cover of the song, and it adds approximately two and a half minutes to the original song; it is 7:43.

Drone metal, also known as drone doom, is a subgenre of doom metal that takes the heaviness and slowness of its progenitor to a new extreme. ... Sunn O))) (pronounced simply sun) is an American drone metal band, in its broadest sense; however, it incorporates elements of the dark ambient, metal and drone doom genres as well. ... Flight of the Behemoth is the third album by Sunn O))). The band began taking a more experimental approach with this album, collaborating with Japanese noise artist Merzbow, who remixed tracks 3 and 4, and using drums and vocals on FWTBT. FWTBT is actually a cover of Metallicas For... Sum 41 is a Canadian rock band from Ajax, Ontario. ... MTV Icon was an annual tribute show held by MTV, running from 2001 to 2004. ... For other uses, see Goldfinger. ... Look up bumbershoot in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Moonsorrow are a folk/pagan metal band formed in Helsinki, Finland in 1995. ... Tulimyrsky (Firestorm) is the first EP of the Finnish folk metal band Moonsorrow. ...

Tribute versions

• The song was covered by Eric Bloom, Al Pitrelli, Tony Franklin, and Aynsley Dunbar for the album Metallic Assault: A Tribute to Metallica.

Eric Bloom, 2006 Eric Bloom (born December 1, 1944) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and keyboardist. ... Al Pitrelli (born September 29, 1962 in New York, NY) is a guitarist, best known for his work with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Megadeth, Savatage, Blue Öyster Cult and O2L. // Al Pitrelli attended Berklee School of Music in Boston in the early 80s where he studied with other notable... Tony Franklin is an English musician. ... Prolific English drummer Aynsley Dunbar (born on January 10, 1946, in Liverpool, England) has worked with some of the top names in rock and roll, including John Mayall, Frank Zappa, Jeff Beck, David Bowie, and Sammy Hagar. ...

Sampled on

• A song by The Bloodhound Gang called "Mope" features the chromatic introduction riff in the chorus of the song.

The Bloodhound Gang redirects here. ...

Remix

• There is a remix of the song on the The Memory Remains single, entitled the "Haven't Heard It Yet Mix."

The Memory Remains is a song by Metallica in their 1997 album Reload. ...

In popular culture

The 2007 West Virginia University Mountaineer football team used the song when running out of the tunnel before games, as part of a new tradition. While the song was played, clips from past WVU would play (such as Steve Slaton's 52 yard touchdown run in the 2006 Nokia Sugar Bowl.) West Virginia University Mountaineers is the name used by the athletic teams of West Virginia University. ... Steve Slaton (born January 4, 1986 in Levittown, Pennsylvania) is a junior running back for the West Virginia University Mountaineers. ... The Sugar Bowl is an annual college football (American football) bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana, usually on January 1. ...

• At Rutgers Football games, when there is a third down on defense, "For Whom the Bell Tolls" plays with the entire student section miming playing a guitar with three fingers.

• The tolling bells of the intro are sampled and played at Chicago's Soldier Field, whenever the Chicago Bears of the National Football League score a touchdown.

• It has been used in a video shown during United States Army basic training graduation videos during a montage of recruits in various trainings.

• Plays at the start of every third period at home games for the Montréal Canadiens.

Rutgers University Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is located in New Brunswick, Piscataway, Camden and Newark, New Jersey. ... Flag Seal Nickname: The Windy City Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location Location in Chicagoland and northern Illinois Coordinates , Government Country State Counties United States Illinois Cook, DuPage Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 606. ... Soldier Field (formerly Municipal Grant Park Stadium) is located on Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, Illinois, and is currently home to the NFLs Chicago Bears. ... City Chicago, Illinois Other nicknames Da Bears, The Monsters of the Midway Team colors Navy Blue and Orange Head Coach Lovie Smith Owner Virginia Halas McCaskey Chairman Michael McCaskey General manager Jerry Angelo Fight song Bear Down, Chicago Bears Mascot Staley Da Bear League/Conference affiliations Independent (1919) National Football... NFL redirects here. ... The United States Army is the largest, and by some standards oldest, established branch of the armed forces of the United States and is one of seven uniformed services. ... The Montréal Canadiens are the oldest established National Hockey League franchise. ...

References