"Left Behind" is a song by American heavy metal band Slipknot. Released as the lead single from the band's second album, ''

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

'' (2001) on October 29, 2001. It was produced by

Ross Robinson Ross Robinson (born February 13, 1967) is an American record producer who discovered acts such as Korn, Glassjaw, The Blood Brothers, Slipknot, and Limp Bizkit. Robinson has also worked with Tech N9ne, The Cure, Sepultura, and many others. ...

. The single reached number 30 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Mainstream Rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent the middle ground between classic rock and active rock ...

chart, number 24 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

and number 5 on the

UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart The UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart and UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart are record charts compiled in the United Kingdom by the Official Charts Company (OCC) to determine the 40 most popular singles and albums in the rock and heavy metal genres. The ...

. It was also nominated for the

Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards to recording artists for works (songs or albums) containing quality performances in the heavy metal music genre. The Grammy Awards is an annual ceremony, where ...

in 2002.

Composition and lyrics

"Left Behind" was originally known as "Lust Disease": "An old song that we'd been playing around with before the first album," recalled frontman

Corey Taylor Corey Todd Taylor (born December 8, 1973) is an American musician, songwriter and actor. He is the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Slipknot (band), Slipknot, in which he is designated #8, as well as the lead vocalist and guitarist for the ...

. "We ripped it apart and rebuilt it. We wanted to have a melodic element in there somewhere, and 'Left Behind' had a darkness that meant it sat well with the other songs." It was described by British magazine ''

Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...

'' as "considerably more melodic than the rest of the album, providing a brief moment of respite from the outright nastiness elsewhere". Taylor recalls that the song was originally "much more melodic". Producer

accused the vocalist of "trying too hard" and encouraged him to make it "a little more

guttural Guttural speech sounds are those with a primary place of articulation near the back of the oral cavity, especially where it's difficult to distinguish a sound's place of articulation and its phonation. In popular usage it is an imprecise term for s ...

and put a lot more emphasis on it and just make it a smack in the mouth." Taylor has explained that the lyrics inspired by a period during which he was homeless, living under a bridge in his hometown of

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

. Speaking to VH1, he reminisced that "'Left Behind' is a song about a time of my life that was really hard – I was homeless ... it's funny how many people you meet when you're homeless ... you find out so much about them, and you rely on them so much, and then when things start happening for you, those faces disappear and they're gone," concluding that the song is "about leaving behind the lives that make up your past."

Promotion and release

Prior to its official release, "Left Behind" (along with "People = Shit") was leaked online and made available for digital download in July 2001. The song was subsequently played by several radio stations in the United States, forcing Roadrunner to officially release the track to radio earlier than originally intended. The song was released as a single on October 29, featuring live versions of '' Slipknot'' tracks "Liberate" and "Surfacing" as B-sides. "Left Behind" was performed regularly on tour in 2002, and according to

set list A set list, or setlist, is typically a handwritten or printed document created as an ordered list of songs, jokes, stories and other elements an artist intends to present during a specific performance. A setlist can be made of nearly any materi ...

aggregation website Setlist.fm is the fourth most frequently-performed song from ''Iowa'', behind "People = Shit", "Disasterpiece" and " The Heretic Anthem".

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for "Left Behind" was directed by Dave Meyers and filmed in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. The video combines footage of the band performing in a forest with a narrative centred around a young protagonist, who is described by Metal Injection's Nick Dauk as "something of an outcast". Ryan Book of The Music Times outlined the narrative of the video as follows: "A filthy kid works at a butcher shop chopping meat. He gets bullied. He lives alone in a rotting hulk of a house and eats his cereal with filthy water for some reason. Eventually those bullies throw a rock through the window of his rotting home and it rains." The

director's cut A director's cut is an edited version of a film (or video game, television episode, music video, or commercial) that is supposed to represent the director's own approved edit in contrast to the theatrical release. "Cut" explicitly refers to the ...

of the "Left Behind" music video was featured on the band's second video album ''

Disasterpieces ''Disasterpieces'' is the second video album by American heavy metal band Slipknot. Unveiled at an advance screening in New York City on November 1, 2002, and released on November 22 by Roadrunner Records, the two-disc set features a concert at ...

'', released in November 2002. The clean version of the video ends with the boy going into his basement whereas the director's cut version ends with a scene with the boy killing a goat off-screen cutting back to the scene at the butcher shop. "Left Behind" has received praise from a number of commentators for its music video.

Noisecreep Noisecreep is a hard rock and heavy metal music news and media website based in the United States. The site was created by AOL AOL (stylized as Aol., formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an Ameri ...

ranked "Left Behind" as the sixth best Slipknot music video of all-time in 2013. Metal Injection ranked it the band's ninth best video, praising it for effectively capturing "the remorseful lyrics that focus on vocalist Corey Taylor's sorrow in leaving behind the support system he had while going through a period of homelessness". ''

Rock Sound ''Rock Sound'' is a British magazine that covers rock music. The magazine aims at being more "underground" and less commercial, while also giving coverage to better-known acts. It generally focuses on pop punk, post-hardcore, metalcore, punk, e ...

'' magazine included "Left Behind" at number two on its list of "Slipknot's 10 Most Shocking Music Video Moments", describing it as "the stuff of nightmares". As of January 2022, the song has 75 million views on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

Reception

Commercial

"Left Behind" debuted at number 37 on the ''

Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in Ma ...

chart. It spent a total of 10 weeks on the chart and peaked at number 30. Outside of the United States, the song reached number 97 on the

Australian Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

, number 24 on the

, number 22 on the

Scottish Singles Chart The Scottish Albums Chart is a chart compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) which is based on how physical and digital sales towards the UK Albums Chart fare in Scotland. The official singles chart for Scotland, the Scottish Singles Chart, ...

, and number five on the

Critical

"Left Behind" received positive reviews from critics. Steven Wells of the ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' praised Slipknot as "the perfect American rock band" on the song, outlining that it "stammers, spasms and shits itself and then it splatters the spinal columns of hard-bodied jock-zombies all over the fucking walls". ''

Loudwire ''Loudwire'' is an American online media magazine that covers news of hard rock and heavy metal artists. It is owned by media and entertainment business Townsquare Media. Since its launch in August of 2011, ''Loudwire'' has secured exclusive ...

'' ranked "Left Behind" as the band's eighth best track, claiming that "it shows off the band's attention to and knack for melody, without losing its meaty, metal edge". The website also ranked it as the 15th best hard rock song of the 21st century, praising its "frantic drum patterns, blistering riffs and ... venomous screams". In January 2002, "Left Behind" was nominated for the

at the 44th Annual Grammy Awards, alongside "

The Wizard Wizard, the wizard, or wizards may refer to: * Wizard (fantasy), a fictional practitioner of magic * Wizard (supernatural), a practitioner of magic Art, entertainment and media Fictional characters * Wizard (Archie Comics), a comic book supe ...

" by

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

, "Disciple" by

Slayer Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California. The band was formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style ...

, "

Chop Suey! "Chop Suey!" is the first single from Armenian-American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band System of a Down's second album ''Toxicity (album), Toxicity''. The single was released in August 2001 and earned the band its first Grammy Award, Grammy ...

" by

System of a Down System of a Down (also known as SoaD or simply System) is an Armenian-American heavy metal band formed in Glendale, California, in 1994. Since 1997, the band has consisted of Serj Tankian (lead vocals, keyboards); Daron Malakian (guitar, voc ...

and "

Schism A schism ( , , or, less commonly, ) is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization, movement, or religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a split in what had previously been a single religious body, suc ...

" by

Tool A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates ba ...

. The band's bassist Paul Gray commented that "It's cool that we're nominated. I guess it's somewhat of an honor to be nominated. I'm not really worried about if we win or not", adding that he predicted System of a Down would win the award. The Grammy was instead won by Tool for "Schism", the lead single from the band's third full-length studio album ''

Lateralus ''Lateralus'' () is the third studio album by American rock band Tool. It was released on May 15, 2001, through Volcano Entertainment. The album was recorded at Cello Studios in Hollywood and The Hook, Big Empty Space, and The Lodge, in Nor ...

''.

Personnel

Slipknot

* (#8)

– vocals * (#7)

Mick Thomson Mickael Gordon "Mick" Thomson (born November 3, 1973) is an American musician. He is one of two guitarists for the heavy metal band Slipknot, in which he is designated #7. Thomson originally met founding Slipknot members Anders Colsefni, Donn ...

– guitar * (#6)

Shawn Crahan Michael Shawn Crahan (born September 24, 1969), more commonly known by his stage persona "Clown", is an American musician. He is the co-founder and one of two percussionists for heavy metal band Slipknot in which he is designated #6. Crahan he ...

– percussion * (#5) Craig Jones – samples,

media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass el ...

* (#4)

Jim Root James Donald Root (born October 2, 1971) is an American guitarist. He is one of two guitarists for heavy metal band Slipknot, in which he is designated #4, as well as the former lead guitarist for rock band Stone Sour. Life and career R ...

– guitar * (#3)

Chris Fehn Christopher Fehn (born February 24, 1973) is an American musician. He was a percussionist and backing vocalist for the heavy metal band Slipknot from 1998 to 2019, in which he was designated #3. He was also the bassist for Will Haven from 201 ...

– percussion * (#2) Paul Gray – bass * (#1)

Joey Jordison Nathan Jonas "Joey" Jordison (April 26, 1975 – July 26, 2021) was an American musician. He was the original drummer and co-founder of the heavy metal band Slipknot, in which he was designated #1, as well as the guitarist for the horror punk s ...

– drums * (#0)

Sid Wilson Sidney George Wilson (born January 20, 1977) is an American musician. He is the turntablist for the heavy metal band Slipknot, in which he is designated #0. Wilson was the youngest member of the band until bassist Alessandro Venturella and dru ...

–

turntables A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

Track listing

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Left Behind (Slipknot song) 2001 songs 2001 singles Slipknot (band) songs Roadrunner Records singles Songs written by Corey Taylor Songs written by Jim Root Songs written by Paul Gray (American musician) Songs written by Joey Jordison Music videos directed by Dave Meyers (director) American hard rock songs