Wait and Bleed is a song by Slipknot, released on July 28, 1999, as the 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 chart in February 2000 and number 27 in the UK Singles Chart. It was also ranked number 36 on VH1‘s 40 Greatest Metal Songs” list.
It remains one of the band’s most popular songs. Wait and Bleed earned Slipknot a first Grammy nomination in 2001 for Best Metal Performance, though it lost to Deftones‘ “Elite”.
This track, along with “Left Behind”, “Pulse of the Maggots”, and “Snuff”, were released as downloadable songs in the Rock Band series. A remix version of “Wait and Bleed” by Terry Date was featured on the soundtrack for Scream 3.
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 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 March 2024, the music video for Wait and Bleed has over 146 million views on YouTube.
Tracklist:
- Wait and Bleed (Terry Date Mix)
- Spit It Out (Overcaffeinated Hyper Version)
- (sic) (Molt-Injected Mix)
Slipknot
Sid Wilson: turntables
Joey Jordison: drums
Paul Gray: bass
Chris Fehn: percussion (credited but doesn’t perform)
Josh Brainard: guitar
Craig Jones: samples, media
Shawn Crahan: percussion
Mick Thomson: guitar
Corey Taylor: vocals
Additional personnel
Ross Robinson: production, mixing
Chuck Johnson: engineering, mixing, remix on track 2
Rob Agnello: additional engineering
Sean McMahon: mixing on track 2
Terry Date: remix on track 1
Ulrich Wild: remix on track 3
Eddy Schreyer: mastering
Thomas Mignone: direction on track 4
