The Heretic Anthem

"The Heretic Anthem" (released as "Heretic Song" as a single) is a song by American heavy metal band Slipknot. The song was released as a promotional single from their second album Iowa. Revolver magazine praised the track and described that it "flirt[s] with full-on death metal in their extremity, both sonic and thematic."^[4]

"The Heretic Anthem" / "Heretic Song"
Cover art for the "Heretic Song" single
Promotional single by Slipknot
from the album Iowa
A-side	"Heretic Song"
Released	May 15, 2001
Recorded	2001
Studio	Sound City and Sound Image (Van Nuys, California)
Genre	Nu metal[1] death metal[2]
Length	4:19
Label	Roadrunner
Songwriter(s)	Paul Gray Joey Jordison Corey Taylor[3]
Producer(s)	Slipknot Ross Robinson

Song meaning

The song was written about record labels who initially showed no interest in signing a recording contract with the band. The lyrics, "I bleed for this and I bleed for you/ Still you look in my face like I'm somebody new/ TOY – nobody wants anything I've got/ Which is fine, because you're made of/ Everything – I'm – NOT", reflect this attitude.

Track listing

Promo single

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Heretic Song" (Rough Mix)	4:19

UK promo single

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Heretic Song" (Clean Version)	4:19

EU promo single

No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Heretic Anthem" (live)	4:45
2.	"The Heretic Anthem" (live video)	4:45
3.	"DVD Trailer" (video)	2:12

Covers

• The American band Periphery covered the song in 2012 and released as a bonus track for the limited edition of Periphery II: This Time It's Personal.^[5]
• Deathcore band Spite covered the song and released it as a single in 2014
• Carnifex covered the song on their 2018 EP Bury Me in Blasphemy

Personnel

Slipknot

• (#0) Sid Wilson – turntables
• (#1) Joey Jordison – drums
• (#2) Paul Gray – bass
• (#3) Chris Fehn – percussion, backing vocals
• (#4) Jim Root – guitar
• (#5) Craig Jones – samples, media
• (#6) Shawn Crahan – percussion, backing vocals
• (#7) Mick Thomson – guitar
• (#8) Corey Taylor – lead vocals

Production

• Ross Robinson – producer
• Mike Fraser – engineer
• Andy Wallace – mixing
• Monte Conner – A&R
• Steve Sisco – assistant engineer
• George Marino – mastering
• Steve Richards – executive producer