Until It Sleeps

"Until It Sleeps" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica, released on May 20, 1996, as the lead single from their sixth studio album, Load. "Until It Sleeps" reached number 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100, making it Metallica's highest-charting single and only top-10 hit in the United States to date. The song also topped the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, peaked within the top five in the United Kingdom, and reached number one in Australia, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, and Sweden. The song's music video, directed by Samuel Bayer and inspired by the paintings of Hieronymus Bosch, won the Best Hard Rock Video award at the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards.

"Until It Sleeps"
Single by Metallica
from the album Load
B-side	"Overkill"
Released	May 20, 1996 (1996-05-20)[1]
Recorded	1995
Genre	Alternative rock[2]
Length	4:30
Label	Elektra Vertigo
Composer(s)	James Hetfield Lars Ulrich
Lyricist(s)	James Hetfield
Producer(s)	Bob Rock James Hetfield Lars Ulrich
Metallica singles chronology
"Sad but True" (1993) "Until It Sleeps" (1996) "Hero of the Day" (1996)
Music video
"Until It Sleeps" on YouTube

Versions

An early demo version of this song was entitled "F.O.B.D." (recorded on December 8, 1995) 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", and also featured on one of the two CD single releases.

The 10-inch vinyl version of the single is red in color and featured a B-side industrial-sounding remix by Moby, credited as "Herman Melville".^[3] In April 2025, this remix, as well as the "F.O.B.D." version and a 1996 live version, were re-released with a re-mastered version as a digital single ahead of the June 2025 reissue of Load.^[4]

The song was performed with orchestral accompaniment on the album S&M, and a live version featured on the Cunning Stunts video release in 1998.

"Until It Sleeps" became the first "officially" pirated MP3 when it was released by Compress 'Da Audio (a piracy group and spinoff of the Warez scene) via an Internet Relay Chat network on August 10, 1996. An EFnet member on the #mpeg3 IRC channel named Coyote666 was responsible for creating the first mp3 ripping software.^[5]

Lyrics

While many listeners interpret Metallica's "Until It Sleeps" as being about James Hetfield's mother's battle with cancer, James himself has stated that the song is not solely about that experience. He has indicated it's about pain and grief in general, and some interpret it as reflecting his personal struggles with addiction and trauma. The lyrics of the song, can be seen as either describing emotional pain or loss, or the physical pain.

Both of his parents were Christian Scientists, and did not believe in medicine. The lyrics are also interpreted as dealing with anger issues. Hetfield's father, Virgil, died in late 1996, during Metallica's Load tour.

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 21.^[6] The video depicts surreal concepts dealing with the fall of man, 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. The video won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Rock Video in 1996.^[7]

Awards

The song won a 1996 Metal Edge Readers' Choice Award for Song of the Year.^[8]

Track listings

US CD single^[9]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Until It Sleeps"	4:33
2.	"Overkill"	4:07

UK and European CD1^[10]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Until It Sleeps"	4:33
2.	"2 X 4" (live at Castle Donington, England)	6:06
3.	"F.O.B.D." (aka Until It Sleeps – early 'writing in progress' version)	4:56

UK and European CD2^[11]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Until It Sleeps"
2.	"Kill/Ride Medley" (live at Castle Donington, England)
3.	"Until It Sleeps" (Herman Melville mix)

Japanese EP^[12]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Until It Sleeps"
2.	"Until It Sleeps" (Herman Melville Mix)
3.	"Kill/Ride Medley" (live at Castle Donington, England)
4.	"2 X 4" (live at Castle Donington, England)
5.	"Overkill" (live at the Plant Studios in Sausalito, California)
6.	"F.O.B.D." (aka Until It Sleeps – early 'writing in progress' version)

Personnel

Personnel are adapted from the album's liner notes,^[13] except where noted.

• James Hetfield – vocals, rhythm guitar
• Kirk Hammett – lead and rhythm guitars^[14]
• Jason Newsted – fretless bass^[15]
• Lars Ulrich – drums

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1996) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[16] 1 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[17] 12 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[18] 8 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[19] 16 Benelux Airplay (Music & Media)[20] 3 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[21] 5 Canada Rock/Alternative (RPM)[22] 6 Czech Republic (IFPI CR)[23] 3 Denmark (IFPI)[23] 1 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[24] 4 European Hit Radio Top 40 (Music & Media)[25] 16 European Alternative Rock Radio Top 25 (Music & Media)[26] 11 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[27] 1 France (SNEP)[28] 10 Germany (GfK)[29] 15 Hungary (Mahasz)[30] 1 Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[31] 4 Ireland (IRMA)[32] 3 Italy (Musica e dischi)[33] 7 Latvia (Latvijas Top 40)[34] 5 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[35] 9 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[36] 5 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[37] 11 Norway (VG-lista)[38] 2 Quebec (ADISQ)[39] 6 Poland Airplay (Music & Media)[40] 2 Scotland (OCC)[41] 3 Spain (AFYVE)[42] 16 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[43] 1 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[44] 22 UK Singles (OCC)[45] 5 UK Rock & Metal (OCC)[46] 1 UK Network Singles (Music & Media)[47] 2 US Billboard Hot 100[48] 10 US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[49] 27 US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[50] 1

Year-end charts Chart (1996) Position Australia (ARIA)[51] 44 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[52] 71 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[53] 76 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[54] 61 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[55] 68 Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[56] 47 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[57] 83 Sweden (Topplistan)[58] 23 US Billboard Hot 100[59] 92 US Mainstream Rock Tracks (Billboard)[60] 3

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[61]	Platinum	70,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[62]	Gold	5,000*
Norway (IFPI Norway)[63]	Gold
Sweden (GLF)[64]	Gold	25,000^
United States (RIAA)[65]	Gold	500,000[66]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United Kingdom	May 20, 1996	10-inch vinyl CD	Vertigo	[1]
United States	May 21, 1996	CD cassette	Elektra	[67]
Japan	July 3, 1996	CD	Sony	[68]