Metallica "Creeping Death/Jump In The Fire"

"Creeping Death" is a song by the American heavy metal band Metallica, released as the lead and only commercial single from their second studio album Ride the Lightning (1984) ("Fade to Black" and "For Whom the Bell Tolls", from the same album, were issued as promotional singles). Written from the perspective of the Angel of Death, it describes the Plague of the Death of the Firstborn (Exodus 12:29). One of Metallica's most frequently performed songs, it has been played live 1,458 times (third only to "Seek & Destroy" at 1,484 and "Master of Puppets", at 1,553), and it has occasionally been used on various tours as the opening song of the band's set. It stands as a classic example of the band's thrash style, albeit slower than the material on their first album, Kill 'Em All. The song's middle section, with its ominous chants of "Die!" set to a phrygian mode chord progression, is a fan participation staple during Metallica shows.

The single was released through Music for Nations in the UK and France. The B-sides were the cover songs "Am I Evil?" (originally by Diamond Head) and "Blitzkrieg" (originally by Blitzkrieg). Together these covers were known as Garage Days Revisited, which set the stage for Metallica's next cover album, The $5.98 E.P.: Garage Days Re-Revisited EP.

The artwork was done by Alvin Petty. The logo and the song's title were added with a plastic layover to the existing artwork. Kirk Hammett had seen the picture hanging up at Petty's house and remarked that it would be perfect for the single and picture-disk that were about to be finished.

The band was inspired for the song by the second half of the film The Ten Commandments, which is based upon the Bible tale of the plagues which were bestowed upon the Egyptians. While watching a scene in which one of the plagues kills every Egyptian first-born child, Cliff Burton remarked "Whoa – it's like creeping death." The band liked the sound of "creeping death" and decided to write a song about the plagues, with the phrase as its title.

The song is being told from the point of view of the "destroyer," as described Moses' Book of Exodus, chapter 12. Throughout the song, some of the ten plagues are mentioned, all from the story of the "Hagadah", The Passover exodus. Moses repeatedly demanded from Pharaoh to set the Hebrew slaves free from Egypt. Moses, through his older brother Aaron, insisted he was sent by God, and that Pharaoh free his people to the promised land of Caanan (for the last 400 years, the Hebrew people lived in the Goshen region of Egypt as slaves "Land of Goshen"). To prove his point and persuade Pharaoh as Pharaoh refused to do, Moses, guided by God, laid ten plagues on the Egyptians. The ten strikes:

To kill the first born Pharaoh's son: The tenth and most severe strike — The God of Israel killed every firstborn Egyptian that was a boy (In reference to the Pharaoh's order to throw every Hebrew firstborn into the Nile). One such child was the Pharaoh's firstborn

I will be with thee, bush of fire: Refers to God speaking to Moses through a burning bush.

Blood, Running red and strong, down the Nile: The first of the ten plagues, water of the Nile turned to blood

Plague: This line refers to any of the ten plagues

Darkness three days long: The ninth of the ten, the sun was blocked for three days

Hail to fire: The seventh of the ten, burning hail fell from the sky


Blood, lamb's blood painted door; I shall pass: Passover; the night God slew the firstborns of Egyptian families. The Hebrews were warned earlier by Moses to paint the doorpost with lamb blood so God would pass over their houses and not kill their sons (this is actually why the holiday is called Passover).

"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. The single was accompanied by fake live performances of "Phantom Lord" and "Seek & Destroy" 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 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" by Iron Maiden, 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.

The single sleeve artwork depicts a red-skinned demonic creature basking in flames. This artwork copies the Demon off the cover of Graham Mastertons' 1978 novel, The Devils of D-Day (Sphere, 1979 edition), painted by Les Edwards. In 2009, a collectible action figure 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.