"Spit It Out" is a song by American heavy metal band Slipknot, released as the second and final single from the band's 1999 self-titled debut album. The song is usually played last at concerts.

Background

Originally, "Spit It Out" was recorded as the leading track in the 1998 demo of the band's self-titled album. They initially intended to re-record it for the final release, resulting in the faster "over-caffinated" remix, and the slower "Stamp You Out" remix. Unsatisfied with their later attempts, they decided that they "could not capture the magic of he originalrecording" and opted to use the original demo recording in the final release.

Style

Rick Anderson of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

described the song as a "speed

rap metal Rap metal is a subgenre of rap rock and alternative metal music which combines hip hop with heavy metal. It usually consists of heavy metal guitar riffs, funk metal elements, rapped vocals and sometimes turntables. History Origins and earl ...

song".

Release and reception

There was a dispute over the release of this song as the band and album's first single. While deciding which track to release, guitarist

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 ...

and percussionist

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 ...

were reportedly very enthusiastic about releasing "Surfacing" as the next single. "Spit It Out" was chosen to be released. The song reached number 28 in 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 ...

. In 2020, ''

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-of ...

'' and ''

Louder Sound ''Classic Rock'' is a British magazine and website dedicated to rock music, owned and published by Future. It was launched in October 1998 and is based in London. The magazine publishes 13 editions a year, mainly covering rock bands from the 60, ...

'' both ranked the song number eight on their lists of the greatest Slipknot songs.

Music video

A music video was made for "Spit It Out" the video was directed by

Thomas Mignone Thomas Mignone is an American feature film, streaming media, commercial, and music video director, and screenwriter. He is best known for directing and writing the dark drama ''On the Doll'' and ''The Latin From Manhattan'' and for directing co ...

and consists of cuts between a live performance of the song and a band homage of the 1980 horror film '' The Shining'', with Joey Jordison as

Danny Torrance Daniel Anthony Torrance, also known as Doc, Danny, Dan, and later Doctor Sleep, is a fictional character who first appears in the 1977 novel '' The Shining'' by Stephen King as a child with psychic powers called "the shining". His parents are fathe ...

; Shawn Crahan and

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 ...

as the Grady twins; Corey Taylor as

Jack Torrance John Daniel Edward "Jack" Torrance is the main antagonist in Stephen King's horror novel '' The Shining'' (1977). He was portrayed by Jack Nicholson in the novel's 1980 film adaptation, by Steven Weber in the 1997 miniseries, by Brian Mu ...

; Mick Thomson as Lloyd the Bartender; Paul Gray as Harry Derwent; Anthony Stevens as Roger; Craig Jones as

Dick Hallorann Richard Hallorann is a fictional character created by Stephen King from his 1977 novel '' The Shining''. He has telepathic abilities he called "the shining" and is the head chef at the Overlook Hotel. He meets Danny Torrance, a young boy who is ...

; James Root as

Wendy Torrance Winnifred "Wendy" Torrance is a fictional character and protagonist of the 1977 horror novel '' The Shining'' by the American writer Stephen King. She also appears in the prologue of '' Doctor Sleep'', a 2013 sequel to ''The Shining''. Character ...

; and

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 dr ...

as Lorraine Massey. ''The Shining'' sequences for the video were shot at the

Villa Carlotta Villa Carlotta is a villa and botanical garden in Tremezzo on Lake Como in Northern Italy. Today the villa is a museum, whose collection includes works by sculptors such as Antonio Canova, Bertel Thorvaldsen, and Giovanni Migliara; painters su ...

, in

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...

, and were art directed by Chris Jordan and Robert Piser. This music video was banned from MTV, for various violent depictions, including Corey Taylor's smashing through a door with an axe (a spoof of the "Here's Johnny!" scene) and the scene wherein James Root viciously assaults Corey Taylor with a bat. A re-edited, less violent version was subsequently aired on MTV. The song came out in MTV's return of the rock compilation. As of September 2022, the song has 70 million views on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and 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 Google, and is the second mo ...

Track listing

: ;CD single #"Spit It Out" – 2:41 #" Surfacing" – 3:46 #"

Wait and Bleed "Wait and Bleed" is a song by American heavy metal band Slipknot. Released as the band's debut single off their 1999 self-titled debut album. After being remixed to replace the screamed vocals in the verses with more melodic singing, it was re ...

" – 2:45 * Includes "Spit It Out" music video ;7" single #"Spit It Out" – 2:41 #"Surfacing" – 3:46 ;UK promo single #"Spit It Out" – 2:41 #"Surfacing" – 3:46 #"Wait and Bleed" – 2:45 ;US promo single #"Spit It Out" – 2:40 #"Call-Out Hook" – 0:12 ;EU promo single #"Spit It Out" * Includes "Spit It Out" music video

Personnel

Slipknot

*(#8) Corey Taylor – vocals *(#7)

– guitar *(#6)

– 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 e ...

*(#4) Josh Brainard – guitar *(#3) Greg Welts – percussion *(#2) Paul Gray – bass *(#1) Joey Jordison – drums, mixing *(#0)

–

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 ...

Production

*Sean McMahon – engineering, mixing * Steve Remote – engineering on "Surfacing" (live) and "Wait and Bleed" (live) *

Jay Baumgardner Jay Baumgardner is an American record producer, engineer and mixer. He has worked on albums by The Regulators, Seether, Superheist, Ugly Kid Joe, Bush, Helmet, Sevendust, Papa Roach, Endwell, Coal Chamber, Drowning Pool, Godsmack, Three Days ...

– mixing on "Surfacing" (live) and "Wait and Bleed" (live)

Charts

References

{{Authority control 1999 songs 2000 singles Slipknot (band) songs Songs written by Shawn Crahan Songs written by Paul Gray (American musician) Songs written by Joey Jordison Roadrunner Records singles American hip hop songs Rap metal songs Music video controversies