Hells Bells (song)

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“Hells Bells”
“Hells Bells” cover
Single by AC/DC
from the album Back in Black
B-side "What Do You Do for Money Honey"
Released November 1980
Format 7"
Recorded Spring, 1980 at Compass Point Studios in The Bahamas
Genre Hard rock, Heavy metal
Length 5:10
Label Atlantic Records
Producer Mutt Lange
AC/DC singles chronology
"You Shook Me All Night Long"
(1980)		 "Hells Bells"
(1980)		 "Back in Black"
(1981)
Audio sample
Info (help·info)
“Hells Bells”
Song by AC/DC
Album Back In Black
Released 25 July 1980
Recorded 1980
Genre Hard rock, Heavy metal
Length 5:12
Label ATCO
Writer Angus Young, Malcolm Young, Brian Johnson
Producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange
Back In Black track listing
“Hells Bells”
(1)		 Shoot to Thrill
(2)


"Hells Bells" [sic][1] is the first track of the album Back in Black of Australian hard rock band AC/DC. It is to this day one of their best known songs, being the first on their comeback album after the death of the iconic vocalist Bon Scott, introducing his replacement Brian Johnson to a worldwide fanbase for the first time.

The song starts off with the ominous slow tolling of a bell 4 times and an intro. After that, it goes for another 9 times. Eventually the bassist Cliff Williams and the drummer Phil Rudd start playing. The lyrics, sung by Brian Johnson, explain how the narrator will attack, comparing his actions with natural phenomena such as rain, thunders and hurricanes. The song invokes the feeling that the narrator has been sent to drag a soul into Hell. The lines "I got my bell/I'm gonna take you to hell," among others, appear to support this.

This song also appears on the Maximum Overdrive soundtrack, Who Made Who, and both versions of the 1992 live album AC/DC Live. The song is also featured in the movie The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift where the main riff is used when the main character is at the airport.

The song Hells Bells was written to commemorate the death of AC/DC's lead singer Bon Scott. He was found dead in his car following a night of binge drinking.

The song is used frequently in stadiums; The New York Giants football team uses this song at the start of their games, leading up to the opening kickoff. It is also well-known by baseball fans as the entrance music for San Diego Padres closer Trevor Hoffman.


[edit] Personnel

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ The title "Hells Bells" does not contain an apostrophe; it would need to be written "Hell's Bells" to conform to standard written English rules.