For Whom the Bell Tolls (Metallica song)

"For Whom the Bell Tolls"
Promotional single by Metallica
from the album Ride the Lightning
B-side
  • Album version
Released1985
RecordedFebruary 20 – March 14, 1984
StudioSweet Silence (Copenhagen, Denmark)
GenreHeavy metal[1]
Length
  • 5:11 (album version)
  • 3:59 (promo edit)
LabelElektra
Composer(s)
Lyricist(s)James Hetfield
Producer(s)
Metallica singles chronology
"Creeping Death"
(1984)
"For Whom the Bell Tolls"
(1985)
"Master of Puppets"
(1986)
Audio sample
Live performance
"For Whom the Bell Tolls" on YouTube

"For Whom the Bell Tolls" is a song by American thrash metal band Metallica. It was first released on their second studio album, Ride the Lightning (1984). Elektra Records also released it as a promotional single, with both edited and full-length versions. The song is generally regarded as one of Metallica's most popular; by March 2018, it ranked number five on their live performance count.[2] Several live albums and video albums include the song. In March 2023, Rolling Stone magazine ranked "For Whom the Bell Tolls" at number 39 on their "100 Greatest Heavy Metal Songs of All Time" list.[3]

  1. ^ Joel McIver (2009). To Live Is to Die: The Life and Death of Metallica's Cliff Burton. Jawbone Press. p. 119. ISBN 9781906002244. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  2. ^ "Song Statistics". Metallica.com. Archived from the original on July 27, 2018. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
  3. ^ "The 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. March 13, 2023. Archived from the original on March 13, 2023. Retrieved March 13, 2023.