Slither (song)

For the song by Earth Crisis, see Slither (album). For the song by Metallica, see Reload (Metallica album).

"Slither" is a song by American hard rock band Velvet Revolver, featured on their 2004 debut album Contraband. When it was released as the second single from the album in 2004, "Slither" topped both the American Billboard Mainstream Rock and Modern Rock charts, as well as reaching number 56 on the main Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 35 on the UK Singles Chart.^[2] The song won the 2005 Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance.

"Slither"
Single by Velvet Revolver
from the album Contraband
Released	2004
Recorded	August–December 2003 at NRG and Pulse Recording, Los Angeles, California
Genre	Hard rock alternative rock[1] alternative metal
Length	4:08
Label	RCA
Songwriter(s)	Velvet Revolver
Producer(s)	Josh Abraham
Velvet Revolver singles chronology
"Set Me Free" (2003) "Slither" (2004) "Fall to Pieces" (2004)
Audio sample
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Composition

Scott Weiland said, "The lyrics are about a relationship. 'When you look you see right through me, cut the rope, fell to my knees, born and broken every single time.' It's just feeling not right in a situation."^[3]

Music video

The video, directed by Kevin Kerslake, was filmed in Prague, Czech Republic and Los Angeles. It starts with the band members playing their instruments inside a tunnel while a woman is driving a car seeking for the way to get to that tunnel. As the song continues, people become much more aggressive and the underground concert reaches a peak as band members play hard. Often in the video, Scott Weiland is seen standing before a wall made of human skulls.

Success and awards

It was awarded a Grammy in 2005 for Best Hard Rock Performance, an award Weiland had won with his previous band, Stone Temple Pilots, for the song "Plush" in 1994. In 2009, the song was named the 85th best hard rock song of all time by VH1.^[4]

After Velvet Revolver members Slash and Duff McKagan rejoined their former band Guns N' Roses in 2016, Guns N' Roses began regularly playing "Slither" live starting at a concert in Berlin, Germany on June 3, 2018.^[5]

Track listings

European two-track edition

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Slither"	Scott Weiland Slash Duff McKagan Matt Sorum Dave Kushner	4:08
2.	"Negative Creep" (Nirvana cover)	Kurt Cobain	4:17

European three-track edition

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Slither"	Weiland Slash McKagan Sorum Kushner	4:08
2.	"Bodies" (live Sex Pistols cover)	John Lydon Steve Jones Paul Cook	3:19
3.	"Negative Creep" (Nirvana cover)	Cobain	4:17

United Kingdom double CD edition (disc one)

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Slither"	Weiland Slash McKagan Sorum Kushner	4:08
2.	"Bodies" (live Sex Pistols cover)	Lydon Jones Cook	3:19
3.	"Negative Creep" (Nirvana cover)	Cobain	4:17

United Kingdom double CD edition (disc two)

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Slither"	Weiland Slash McKagan Sorum Kushner	4:08
2.	"Money" (Pink Floyd cover)	Roger Waters David Gilmour	7:38
3.	"Set Me Free" (live)	Weiland Slash McKagan Sorum Kushner	7:11

United Kingdom 12" picture disc (side A)

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Slither"	Weiland Slash McKagan Sorum Kushner	4:08

United Kingdom 12" picture disc (side B)

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Set Me Free"	Weiland Slash McKagan Sorum Kushner	4:07

Personnel

• Scott Weiland – lead vocals
• Slash – lead guitar
• Duff McKagan – bass, backing vocals
• Matt Sorum – drums
• Dave Kushner – rhythm guitar

Chart performance

The song reached No. 1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, and stayed there for nine weeks. It also became their sole No. 1 hit on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, maintaining the position for four weeks. "Slither" also charted at No. 56 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it Velvet Revolver's highest-charting song and one of the highest-charting songs that Scott Weiland has appeared on.

Weekly charts Chart (2004) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[6] 26 Canada (Nielsen BDS)[7] 21 Canada Rock Top 30 (Radio & Records)[8] 1 Ireland (IRMA)[9] 47 Italy (FIMI)[10] 38 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[11] 46 Norway (VG-lista)[12] 12 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[13] 17 France (SNEP)[14] 81 Scotland (OCC)[15] 34 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[16] 58 UK Singles (OCC)[17] 35 UK Rock & Metal (OCC)[18] 1 US Billboard Hot 100[19] 56 US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[20] 1 US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[21] 1

Year-end charts Chart (2004) Position US Mainstream Rock Tracks (Billboard)[22] 2 US Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard)[23] 10

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[24]	Silver	200,000‡
United States (RIAA)[25]	Gold	500,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.