"Jump in the Fire" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released as the second and final single from their debut album, ''

Kill 'Em All ''Kill 'Em All'' is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica, released on July 25, 1983, through the independent label Megaforce Records. Metallica began by playing shows in local clubs in Los Angeles. They recorded severa ...

''. The single was accompanied by fake live performances of "Phantom Lord" and "

Seek & Destroy "Seek & Destroy" is a 1983 song by the American heavy metal band Metallica and ninth track from their debut studio album, ''Kill 'Em All''. It was also featured on the demo '' No Life 'Til Leather''. It was the first song the band recorded in ...

" which were alternate studio recordings with sounds of a crowd overdubbed in. Alongside "Hit the Lights" and "No Remorse", "Jump in the Fire" is one of Metallica's first original songs, having been included on '' Ron McGovney's '82 Garage demo'', an unreleased recording. The original lyrics and content, which dealt with sex, were written by

Dave Mustaine David Scott Mustaine (born September 13, 1961) is an American musician. He is the co-founder, lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and primary songwriter of the thrash metal band Megadeth, as well as their sole consistent member. Mustaine has relea ...

in his former band Panic at the age of 16. The original version that Mustaine introduced to Hetfield and Ulrich upon joining Metallica was raw. The three worked together on refining the song and the final outcome is what is heard on the demo. However, much like the events surrounding "The Four Horsemen", new lyrics were written by James Hetfield upon Mustaine's departure from Metallica. The new lyrics revolve around people being damned to Hell and therefore "jumping in the fire." Lars Ulrich claims that they had written the song to sound like "

Run to the Hills "Run to the Hills" is a song by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was released as their sixth single and the first from the band's third studio album, '' The Number of the Beast'' (1982). It is their first single with Bruce Dickinson ...

" by

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...

, which was popular at the time. Current live performances since 2004 are in D standard tuning, as opposed to the E standard tuning of earlier live performances.

Commemoration

The single sleeve artwork depicts a red-skinned demonic creature basking in flames. This artwork copies the Demon off the cover of

Graham Masterton Graham Masterton (born 16 January 1946, in Edinburgh) is a British author known primarily for horror fiction. Originally editor of '' Mayfair'' and the British edition of '' Penthouse'', his debut novel, ''The Manitou'', was published in 1976. T ...

's 1978 novel, ''The Devils of D-Day'' (Sphere, 1979 edition), painted by

Les Edwards Les Edwards (born 7 September 1949) is a British illustrator known for his work in the horror, science fiction and fantasy genres, and has provided numerous illustrations for book jackets, posters, magazines, record covers and games during his ...

. In 2009, a collectible

action figure An action figure is a poseable character model figure made most commonly of plastic, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, military, video game or television program; fictional or historical. These figures are usually mark ...

of this character was released by MediCom Toy Inc. With an original retail price of $99.99, the approximately 12-inch (30.48 cm) tall figure is limited to 1,000 pieces and sold as an online exclusive.

Track listing

;International single

Charts

References

External links

Original work by Les Edwards used for the artwork of the single "Jump in the Fire"

"Jump in the Fire" lyrics
{{authority control 1983 songs 1984 singles Metallica songs Songs written by Dave Mustaine Songs written by James Hetfield Songs written by Lars Ulrich Megaforce Records singles