Screaming Suicide
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Screaming Suicide
| cover = Screaming Suicide Metallica.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Metallica
| album = 72 Seasons
| released = January 19, 2023
| genre = *Heavy metal{{Cite web|url=https://www.ghostcultmag.com/metallica-shares-a-behind-the-scenes-video-for-screaming-suicide/|title=Metallica Shares a Behind-The-Scenes Video for "Screaming Suicide"|publisher=Ghost Cult Mag|date=February 21, 2023|access-date=April 14, 2023}}
- thrash metal{{Cite web|url=https://www.metalsucks.net/2023/01/19/yeah-this-new-metallica-song-rules/|title=Yeah, This New Metallica Song "Screaming Suicide" Rules|website=MetalSucks|last=Knifeson|first=Alex|date=January 19, 2023|access-date=April 14, 2023}}
- groove metal{{Cite web|url=https://audioinkradio.com/2023/04/metallica-72-seasons-track-by-track-album-review/|title=Metallica, "72 Seasons" - Track-by-Track Review|publisher=Audio Ink Radio|last=Erickson|first=Anne|date=April 11, 2023|access-date=April 14, 2023}}
| length = 5:30
| label = Blackened
| writer = * James Hetfield
| producer = * Greg Fidelman
- James Hetfield
- Lars Ulrich
| prev_title = Lux Æterna
| prev_year = 2022
| next_title = If Darkness Had a Son
| next_year = 2023
}}
"Screaming Suicide" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica, released as the second single in promotion of their eleventh studio album 72 Seasons.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/metallica-new-single-screaming-suicide-3384034|title=Metallica confront taboos on new single 'Screaming Suicide': "It's a human experience, we should be able to talk about it"|website=NME|last=Gallagher|first=Alex|date=January 20, 2023|access-date=April 14, 2023}} It was released on January 19, 2023, along with a music video directed by Tim Saccenti.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/metallica-new-song-screaming-suicide-1234664779/|title=Metallica Unleash 'Taboo'-Shattering New Song 'Screaming Suicide'|magazine=Rolling Stone|last=Kreps|first=Daniel|date=January 20, 2023|access-date=April 14, 2023}}
Background
According to Hetfield, the song is about the "taboo word of suicide" and to communicate the "darkness we feel inside of us", further adding how people cannot deny that they have had dark thoughts at one point in their lives.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/metallica-screaming-suicide-song-explanation-1235203154/|title=Metallica Explains Meaning Behind New Song 'Screaming Suicide': 'We Should Be Able to Talk About It'|magazine=Billboard|last=Peters |first=Mitchell|date=January 21, 2023|access-date=April 14, 2023}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.revolvermag.com/music/read-lyrics-metallicas-powerful-new-song-screaming-suicide|title=Read lyrics to METALLICA's powerful new song "Screaming Suicide"|website=Revolver|date=January 19, 2023|access-date=April 14, 2023}} In the same statement he continues:
"To face it is to speak the unspoken. If it's a human experience, we should be able to talk about it. You are not alone."{{Cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/music/metallica-screaming-suicide-song-james-hetfield-explains/|title=Metallica explain new song 'Screaming Suicide': 'I believe most people have thought about it'|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|last=Travis|first=Emlyn|date=January 20, 2023|access-date=January 14, 2023}}{{Cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/metallica-share-video-for-new-song-screaming-suicide-watch/|title=Metallica Share Video for New Song "Screaming Suicide"|website=Pitchfork|last=Hussey|first=Allison|date=January 19, 2023|access-date=April 14, 2023}}The track's lyrics have also been interpreted as telling the story of a person who is born craving dopamine, only to be lured by their darkest fears and insecurities thinking themself as "living a mistake".
Reception
Drew Review's overall enjoyed the song, noting how it is less fast-paced than "Lux Æterna" and that it felt more like a modern rock song than what you would typically expect from the band.{{Cite web|url=https://drewsreviews.org/2023/01/20/single-review-metallica-screaming-suicide/|title=Single Review: Metallica – Screaming Suicide|publisher=Drew's Reviews|author=Drew|date=January 20, 2023|access-date=April 14, 2023}} Writing for Metal Planet Music, Paddy Gallagher also liked the track, noting how it sounds like the refreshed 2020s version of Kill 'Em All. They also believed that it felt like the band was moving towards a less complex, more basic sound.{{Cite web|url=https://metalplanetmusic.com/2023/01/single-review-metallica-screaming-suicide/|title=Single Review : Metallica: Screaming Suicide|publisher=Metal Planet Music|last=Gallagher|first=Paddy|date=January 20, 2023|access-date=April 14, 2023}}
Personnel
Metallica
- James Hetfield – vocals, rhythm guitar, production
- Lars Ulrich – drums, production
- Kirk Hammett – lead guitar
- Robert Trujillo – bass
Production
- Greg Fidelman – production, mixing, recording
- Sara Lyn Killion – engineering
- Jim Monti – engineering
- Jason Gossman – additional engineering, digital editing
- Kent Matcke – assistant engineering
- Dan Monti – digital editing
- Bob Ludwig – mastering
- David Turner – cover art
- Lee Jeffries – band portrait photography
Charts
= Weekly charts =
= Year-end charts =
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align: center"
|+Year-end chart performance for "Screaming Suicide" ! scope="col"| Chart (2024) ! scope="col"| Position |
| scope="row"| US Rock Airplay (Billboard){{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2024/rock-airplay-songs/|title=Rock & Alternative Airplay Songs – Year-End 2024|magazine=Billboard|access-date=January 18, 2025|archive-date=December 14, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241214015403/https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2024/rock-airplay-songs/|url-status=live}}
| 49 |
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