Talk:Fade to Black (Metallica song)

Song similarity
"Goodbye Blue Sky" by Pink Floyd is similar in chord progression to Fade to Black. I was wondering if there was anything to this or just coincidence, there's no mention of this song on the page for GBS or vice versa. 70.15.100.177 (talk) 02:08, 6 June 2009 (UTC)

Covers of this song
Sonata Arctica has covered this song, and possibly somebody else. Perhaps this should be mentioned

No. So it's been covered, as have a million other pop songs. Big deal. Pillsbur 21:22, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

Fade to black is not a pop song — Preceding unsigned comment added by 171.239.134.106 (talk) 18:53, 17 January 2020 (UTC)

Whats all this about Dimmu Borgir doing a 30 second solo in one of their songs? First of all it just says "a song" on the album. Second of all I have listened to Demons Path and only hear one solo that is even remotely close. This solo uses the same scale, yes but is not the same solo. I could be wrong so could someone check this out? 98.200.182.144 08:56, 5 October 2007 (UTC)

Controversal song?
I changed the statement that says "..Is a controversal song by Metallica," into "..Is a song by Metallica," because the article does not state how the song is controversal. Can anybody tell me this song's controversy (if there is controversy) so I can add it to the article, or someone else can add it? M2K 20:36, 4 April 2006 (UTC)


 * The controversy was the suicidal nature of the lyrics. Back in around '86 after the kid killed himself after supposedly listening to the Judas Priest song, this one and Suicide Solution by Ozzy came under fire for the reason kids were depressed and killing themselves.   Somewhere on video tape I have a 60 minutes story about the supposed relationship between metal and suicide.  This song featured prominantly in that.   Sabalon 20:49, 15 May 2006 (UTC)

Jason Newsted
Perhaps there should be some mention that this was the last song performed by Jason Newsted before leaving Metallica?

This song was released on the album Ride the Lightning. Newsted joined well after this was released. His first work with Metallica was the Garage Days EP.

You dont know nothing, wikipedia.
If this stupid site knew anything about metallica AT ALL.. they would know this is not a song about suicide. It was written after the band had all their equipment stolen out of a u-haul that was parked at a hotel after a gig in the early 80s. People who try to "group" songs and the interpretation of songs are ignorant. How can you take 1 line of a song and say that its about suicide. Give me a break. Get over it, and get a life.


 * Uh, dude, Wikipedia entries are written and contributed to by 'thousands' of people. And besides, the song 'is' about it, or at least can be interpreted as such. There's far more than just "one line" about killing yourself. Which I think you should do, so.

Bottom line is, nobody should say what the song is about except the person who wrote it. Anything else is just opinion. Even if it's interpreted, it's still one person's opinion, or many opinions. If you think it's about suicide, good for you. If you think it's about the band's equipment getting stolen, good for you. If you think it's about Mr. Hanky the Christmas Poo, good for you. And so on... J-Dog 20:38, 22 October 2006 (UTC)
 * Uh, no, to say it's about Mr. Hanky would be ridiculous. And the person who writes a song is simply another interpreter of it.  The lyrics to "Fade to Black" are clearly about suicide (or at least the contemplation of it), and noting that the source of those feelings was the theft of the band's equipment is perfectly acceptable (it can be cited).  That's not to say the song is about the band's equipment getting stolen -- that's just as dumb as it being about Mr. Hanky, but it doesn't automatically preclude the entire idea of interpretation.  After all, well-founded interpretation is what we do all the time when we think anything is "good." Pillsbur 02:14, 24 October 2006 (UTC)
 * I'm pretty sure the Mr. Hanky thing was my attempt at sarcasm. The songwriter is an interpreter?!? Really. That's more ridiculous than Mr. Hanky. Or is that your attempt at being sarcastic? So you mean that Roger Waters saying that "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" is specifically about Syd Barrett is actually his interpretation? I think he would beg to differ. If an author says that a song is about something, then that's what it's about. J-Dog 02:27, 24 October 2006 (UTC)
 * Sure, but that doesn't mean interpretations are limited to what the author might claim. That's how songs gather meaning across history, across subcultures, etc.  It (specifically the lyrics) can be about Syd Barrett and on another level be about something else for someone else, but that opening doesn't mean we're in Mr. Hanky land and you get to be taken seriously (or have anyone know what the heck you're talking about) no matter what you claim a song "means." And yes, Waters is interpreting.  He's expressing thoughts and emotions about Syd Barrett using a specific set of musical cues.  He is "interpreting" his own ideas/memories/whatever about Syd into music. Pillsbur 02:52, 1 November 2006 (UTC)
 * That's all fantastic. But interpretations aren't what we are here for. If we spent the time and space trying to represent all the interpretations that are out there, the length of these articles would be infinite, and that's just not practical. Info is supposed to be encyclopedic. An author's interpretation is encyclopedic. Other people's interpretations aren't. J-Dog 03:28, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

Wikipedia is supposed to be objective. The only way to do so and still list what a song is about is if there is documented proof of an author or co-author stating that the song is about what the article claims it is. Opinions should be kept in user and talk pages according to policy. You could argue for days that the song is about committing suicide, but it could simply be about contemplating and/or attempting suicide; it could even be about a hallucination in which the speaker meets a physical incarnation of death. With no evidence to support the article's statement that the song is about suicide, it should just be removed. If the information is kept, then something like "Some (or 'Many' instead) listeners believe that..." needs to be added to that part of the article. --72.23.147.74 (talk) 21:24, 17 April 2009 (UTC)

The song is about suicide, it doesn't really require any "interpretation"...  this user is commenting on how Wikipedia does know something, like the title of this "section" says, that is why he amde such a ridiculous argument for what the song is about...   he knows that songs with lyrics like this are clearlyabuot suicide and songs with lyrics like, "Fell the grace of God, it's in you every day" are clearly about the author having a misinterpretation of Christianity in which they believe Christianity shows love; as he said, Wikipedia doesn't know nothing, hes just demonstrating this by writing something absurd. ~Rayvn 07:38, 16 October 2010 (UTC)  —Preceding unsigned comment added by RayvnEQ (talk • contribs)

FFS - Please, no revert wars
Asssume Good Faith and that People Aren't Idiots. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Elaragirl (talk • contribs)

song's theme
Any halfwit who listens to the lyrics of Fade to Black knows the theme is suicide:

"No one but me, can save myself, but it's too late... Now I can't think, think why I should even try"

"...Death greets me warm, now I will just say goodbye"

The fact that it was written when James was feelin down about his gear getting stolen doesn't cancel this fact out. Dave Mustaine wrote My Darkest Hour after he heard about Cliff Burton's Death. But that song's lyrics have nothing to do with Cliff. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 159.53.46.141 (talk) 17:12, 25 January 2007 (UTC).


 * Exactly, this this is definetly suicide. along with the lyrics the above poster posted: "I have lost the will to live, simply nothing more to give. There is nothing more for me, need the end to set me free."--Vandalism destroyer 08:51, 16 September 2007 (UTC)

Thrash
Is this song really thrash? just because its Metallica it does not automaticaly make it tharsh this needs to be thought about. User: King Alaric —Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.106.35.96 (talk) 15:51, 15 September 2007 (UTC)


 * Believe me, I've been trying to convince people here that a song isn't a genre just because the rest of the album is. But no, they say you have to have a reference for them to believe that it's not thrash metal! I think it should be plain to see that it's not, just listen to the song!
 * --Rock Soldier 20:34, 14 November 2007 (UTC)

I agree: labeling this song as "thrash metal" is absurd. If it can't be labeled something else without a reference, I'd sure as hell like to see the reference that calls FTB a thrash metal song! Hold on... Lemme change this back. Pillsbur (talk) 03:45, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

This song is either progressive metal or a power ballad, it sure as hell isn't thrash metal. James25402 (talk) 20:43, 22 March 2008 (UTC)

The genre of "Fade to Black" is in my opinion classified as a mixture of a power ballad and heavy metal, let it be unchanged with that description. A Powerful Weakness (talk) 17:54, 22 April 2008 (UTC) A Powerful Weakness

Have you people even tried to listen to the riffs in the distorted parts of the song? It is definetly a thrash song, just as "One" and "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)" is. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 93.179.57.96 (talk) 19:58, 31 March 2010 (UTC)
 * Please see WP:NOR and WP:RS. Nymf hideliho! 20:36, 31 March 2010 (UTC)

It's alternative metal. ~Rayvn 07:31, 16 October 2010 (UTC)  —Preceding unsigned comment added by RayvnEQ (talk • contribs)

Pet Semetary
Is it true that Fade to Black is in this movie? The article for the film on Wikipedia has no details about its soundrack.--Jeff79 (talk) 17:09, 29 December 2007 (UTC)y 2008 (UTC)

Other songs with the same name
On Every Street is a very popular album by Dire Straits that contains a different song with the same name. Surely some effort should be made not to confuse the public. -- Nic Roets (talk) 19:28, 8 December 2008 (UTC)

Producers
In the infobox, it lists the producers as Eduardo Cardenas, Flemming Rasmussen, and Mark Whitaker, i thought it was produced just by Metallica and Flemming Rasmussen. Nowhere on Ride the Lightning does it mention the other producers, and on the wikipedia page for Ride the Lightning, it just says Metallica and Flemming Rasmussen, and there is no source for the other producers, so i'm gonna remove it. --Chickenguy13 (talk) 00:24, 20 September 2010 (UTC)

Different versions
As this song has at least 4 different versions, why is there no mention of this? ~Rayvn 07:31, 16 October 2010 (UTC)

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Should we change the name of the article?
This is one of only two songs named "Fade To Black" that Wikipedia has an article on, and I feel it's considerably more well-known than the other one by Nadir Rustamli. AngryMiner5704 (talk) 19:40, 20 April 2024 (UTC)