"Spit Out the Bone" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released as the fifth single from their tenth studio album, Hardwired... to Self-Destruct (2016), on November 14, 2017, through Blackened Recordings.[5] The song made its live debut at The O2 ArenainLondon on October 24, 2017.[6][7] "Spit Out the Bone" has been regarded as a fan and critic favorite from the album.[8][9][10][11] The song is featured on the soundtrack for the WWE 2K19 video game.
Regarding the song's meaning, Metallica vocalist and rhythm guitarist James Hetfield said:
"We could be a much more efficient race if we just allow computers to help us. And yeah, they are helping us, but how far does that go? All of that craziness. So 'Spit Out the Bone' is that your bones aren't needed. They break."[8]
Hetfield states the phrase "Spit Out the Bone" was taken from British punk rock band Charged GBH's song "Passenger on the Menu" from their 1982 album City Baby Attacked by Rats.[12]
On the writing of the song, drummer Lars Ulrich said:
" '[Spit Out the Bone]' was just an adventure, man. I have versions of that song that are two to three minutes longer. We just kept going and going and going. That was also the first song where we went, 'Wait a minute, is there too much of a good thing here?' And then we started peeling it back. It was one of those where you just keep going to different universes and different modes and areas because it was super fun."[13]
Robert Trujillo, Metallica's bassist, singled "Spit Out the Bone" as the song from Hardwired... to Self-Destruct that he looked most forward to performing.[14] Metallica's lead guitarist, Kirk Hammett, called "Spit Out the Bone" the "Mount Everest" of the new album, alluding to its complexity and speed.[15]
The music video of "Spit Out the Bone" was released on November 17, 2016, and was directed by Phil Mucci.[16] In keeping with the song's transhumanistic themes,[8] the video shows a group of renegade humans revolting against machine rule.[17] The music video was filmed in the Italian city of Matera.[18]
