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"Until It Sleeps"
Single by Metallica
from the album Load
B-side	2 X 4 (live)/ F.O.B.D./ Kill/ Ride Medley (live)/ Until it Sleeps (Herman Melville Mix)/ Overkill (live)
Released	May 21, 1996
Format	CD single
Recorded	1994
Genre	Hard rock
Length	4:30
Label	Elektra
Writer(s)	James Hetfield Lars Ulrich
Producer	Bob Rock James Hetfield Lars Ulrich
Metallica singles chronology
"Sad but True" (1992) "Until It Sleeps" (1996) "Ain't My Bitch" (1996)

"Until It Sleeps" is the first single and the fourth song from Metallica's 1996 album Load. It is credited to James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich.

Versions

The song was performed with orchestral accompaniment on the album S&M. It was the band's first number one song on the US Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, as well as their first and only song to hit the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 10.^[1]

An early demo version of this song was entitled "F.O.B.D", because it reminded the band members of the Soundgarden song "Fell on Black Days," in that the "It grips you...It stains you..." refrain is in the same 6/4 time signature that "Fell on Black Days" is in. The band can be heard saying "Fell on Black Days" on the fanclub-only Fancan 1 CD just prior to jamming on a portion of "Until It Sleeps." The 10" vinyl version of the single is red in color.

Lyrics

The lyrics of the song, written by Hetfield, address the loss of his father after a battle with cancer, similar to his mother's death. They can be seen as either describing the emotional pain he feels for the loss, or the physical pain his father was feeling while he was ill. Both of his parents were Christian Scientists, and did not believe in medicine. The lyrics are also interpreted as dealing with anger issues.

Music video

The song also has a music video directed by Samuel Bayer (Nirvana, Green Day, The Smashing Pumpkins). It was shot in various locations around Los Angeles on May 6 and 7 in 1996. It was premiered by MTV on May 23.^{[citation needed]} The video depicts surreal concepts dealing with fall of a human, taken from various paintings by Hieronymus Bosch. Apart from the general forms inspired from Bosch's paintings, the prominent figures in the video are the human eating monster from The Garden of Earthly Delights, the fall of Adam and Eve from Haywain and Christ in the Crucifige Eum (Crucify Him) scene of Ecce Homo.

Awards

The video of the song won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Rock Video in 1996.

Track listing

US Single

1. "Until It Sleeps"
2. "Overkill"

International Single Part 1

1. "Until It Sleeps"
2. "2x4 (Live)"
3. "F.O.B.D. (aka Until It Sleeps - early 'writing in progress' version)"

International Single Part 2

1. "Until It Sleeps"
2. "Kill/Ride Medley (Live)"
3. "Until It Sleeps (Herman Melville Mix)"

Japanese EP

1. "Until It Sleeps"
2. "Until It Sleeps (Herman Melville Mix)"
3. "Kill/Ride Medley (Live)"
4. "2x4 (Live)"
5. "Overkill"
6. "F.O.B.D. (aka Until It Sleeps - early 'writing in progress' version)"

Chart positions

References