Gears of War: E-Day × Metallica

Where Metallica appears

NME first reported the soundtrack news in early August 2026. Xbox Wire later confirmed the launch trailer uses the same track. Xbox marketing also tied the collaboration to the multiplayer debut at early access.

The Metallica trailers

▶ Official media

The multiplayer reveal showed Horde Siege and the refined 4v4 Versus mode with E-Day's modernised controls and movement. Maxim called it a relentless return to form. It has around 2.4 million views on the Xbox channel.

The launch gameplay trailer arrived on October 1, the day early access opened, and also uses "For Whom the Bell Tolls". Both trailers can be watched on our trailer page, which lists every official video in order.

The main-menu track

In the game itself, the Metallica song appears as an instrumental. It is one of four main-menu soundtrack choices, so you can set it as the music that plays while you browse menus. Wikipedia also notes the option to pick an instrumental Metallica track for the menu.

Because it is instrumental, it suits the menus without competing with dialogue. If you prefer the game's own score, you can choose one of the other three options instead.

"Ride the Lightning" weapon skins

A series of weapon skins themed around Metallica's album "Ride the Lightning" was offered for pre-order, according to NME. That ties the collaboration into the game's cosmetics as well as its music. Availability and pricing after launch were not detailed in the sources we checked.

For other cosmetics, see the Premium Edition seasonal packs and the free Chainsaw Flex pose from the Liquid Death promotion.

The "For Whom the Bell Tolls" achievement

The game's hardest campaign achievement takes its name directly from the song. To earn it, you need to complete 100% of the campaign on Insane, plus meet a completion requirement on any difficulty. It is the ultimate campaign challenge.

Other campaign achievements include Remember Kalona for finishing every Act and Today We Are Canceling the Apocalypse for finishing on Insane. See how long to beat and the collectibles guide if you are going for it.

The rest of the music: Adam Lastiwka

The game's original score is by Adam Lastiwka, one of The Coalition's in-house musicians. He wrote around 25 hours of music for E-Day. He also arranged the reworked "Mad World" for the 2024 announce trailer.

Lastiwka adapted Barber's Adagio for Strings for the "Adagio" launch ad, too. That ad is not a Metallica trailer — a common mix-up, since it arrived around the same time as the Metallica-scored launch trailer.

Why Metallica fits Gears

Gears of War has long used music to set its tone, from the melancholy "Mad World" advert in 2006 to the reworked version for E-Day's reveal. A heavy metal partnership suits the series' brutal, battle-hardened image, and the war themes of "For Whom the Bell Tolls" match a game about the first day of a long conflict.

Metal runs through E-Day's merchandise too. The Xbox Design Lab controller and the Collector's Edition SteelBook were both designed by heavy metal illustrator Luke Preece. See our Design Lab page.

Timeline of the collaboration

The collaboration was used to frame the multiplayer side of the game in particular. Coverage around early access described the Metallica track as scoring the multiplayer debut. That fits the trailer's focus on Horde Siege and Versus rather than the story.

All of E-Day's trailer music at a glance

Only two of the trailers use Metallica. If you heard strings or a slow, melancholy track, you were probably watching the announce trailer or the "Adagio" ad instead. Both are composed or arranged by Adam Lastiwka, while the two Metallica trailers use the band's own recording.

Part of a bigger launch push

The Metallica launch trailer was one piece of a wider marketing push on October 1. The same Xbox Wire post also highlighted the Liquid Death promotion, the Limited Edition Xbox controllers going on sale and 8BitDo's E-Day keyboard and mouse. Music, merchandise and partner promotions were all timed around early access.

If you are collecting everything tied to the launch, see our pages on the Liquid Death promotion, the Limited Edition controller and the Collector's Edition.

Searching for the song title can also bring up the achievement of the same name, which has nothing to do with listening to the track. If you were looking for how to unlock it, the requirements are covered in the achievement section above.

Quick answers

• Which Metallica song is in Gears of War: E-Day? "For Whom the Bell Tolls".
• Is the song in the game or only the trailers? Both — an instrumental version is a main-menu option.
• Is "Adagio" a Metallica trailer? No. It uses Barber's Adagio for Strings.
• Which trailer used "Mad World"? The 2024 announce trailer.