Released: July 27, 1984

Songwriter: Cliff Burton Lars Ulrich James Hetfield

Producer: Flemming Rasmussen Metallica

[Instrumental Intro]

[Verse 1]
Make his fight on the hill in the early day
Constant chill deep inside
Shouting gun, on they run through the endless grey
On they fight, for they're right, yes, but who's to say?
For a hill, men would kill, why? They do not know
Stiffened wounds test their pride
Men of five still alive through the raging glow
Gone insane from the pain that they surely know

[Chorus]
For whom the bell tolls
Time marches on
For whom the bell tolls

[Verse 2]
Take a look to the sky just before you die
It's the last time you will
Blackened roar, massive roar fills the crumbling sky
Shattered goal fill his soul with a ruthless cry
Stranger now are his eyes to this mystery
Hears the silence so loud
Crack of dawn, all is gone except the will to be
Now they see what will be, blinded eyes to see

[Chorus]
For whom the bell tolls
Time marches on
For whom the bell tolls

[Outro]

Metallica

Like Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden before, Metallica has managed to transcend the genre from which it was originated. To their metal fanbase they are considered one of the Big Four bands of thrash metal, alongside Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer; however Metallica is also one of the most commercially successful bands in all of rock music, having sold 110 million records including the 16x platinum Metallica, which stands as both the highest selling metal album of all time and most successful album of the past 25 years.

Metallica was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles after drummer Lars Ulrich placed an advert in the classifieds newspaper The Recycler, which was answered by singer/rhythm guitarist James Hetfield. They were soon joined by lead guitarist Dave Mustaine, who later formed Megadeth after being kicked out of the band because of his substance and alchohol abuse, and bassist Ron McGovney, a childhood friend of Hetfield. These two early members were replaced with Cliff Burton (who relocated the band to San Francisco) and ex-Exodus lead guitarist, Kirk Hammett to form the band’s classic line-up.

The band released three albums, 1983’s Kill ‘Em All, 1984’s Ride The Lightning and 1986’s Master of Puppets before the tragic and untimely death of Cliff Burton on September 27th, 1986.