Hells Bells (song)


"Hells Bells" is the first track of Back in Black, the seventh studio album by Australian hard rock band AC/DC and their comeback album after the death of lead singer Bon Scott. "Hells Bells" is the second single from Back in Black, released on 31 October 1980. The song also appears on Who Made Who, AC/DC's 1986 soundtrack to the Stephen King film Maximum Overdrive and on both versions of 1992's AC/DC Live.

Composition

"Hells Bells" begins with the slow, funereal-sounding tolling of a 2000-pound bronze bell. Manufactured by John Taylor Bellfounders in the Leicestershire town of Loughborough, this was recorded by Tony Platt using Ronnie Lane's mobile studio inside the bell foundry following the completion of the Back in Black tracking sessions at Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas.

Personnel

Certifications

In baseball

The song was used as the entrance music for former Major League Baseball player Trevor Hoffman at home games from 1998 to 2010, thrilling the crowd as he emerged. The San Diego Padres' usage of "Hells Bells" for Hoffman was a forerunner in the heavy metal theme songs for closers used throughout MLB stadiums. The San Jose Mercury News and ESPN.com wrote that the song should be honored by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. At Hoffman's number retirement ceremony, Brian Johnson paid tribute in a video to Hoffman for "rocking the mound".