It's a pretty scary thing. 'Them Bones' is trying to put that thought to rest. Use what you have left, and use it well." In the liner notes of 1999's Music Bank box set collection, Cantrell said of the song: "I was just thinking about mortality, that one of these days we'll end up a pile of bones. It's a thought for every human being, whether you believe in an after-life or that when we die, that's it. The thought that all the beautiful things and knowledge and experiences you've been through just end when you end scares me, the thought that when you close your eyes for good, it's gone forever." Reception "Them Bones" was released as a single in 1992 and peaked at number 24 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and at number 30 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. The UK single was released on March 8, 1993. "Them Bones" reached the top 30 in the UK and Ireland. It is one of the band's most well known songs. Ned Raggett of AllMusic called the song "a brief, tightly wound explosion of sheer, inescapable riff power, focused and relentless" and added that "having made its point in two and a half minutes it stops — not a note is wasted." Music video The music video for "Them Bones" was released in 1992 and was directed by Rocky Schenck, who had previously directed the "We Die Young" music video for the band, and who would later direct the music videos for "What the Hell Have I" and "Grind". The video is available on the home video release Music Bank: The Videos. The video was also featured on an episode of Beavis and Butt-head (the episode Sick in 1993) where Butt-head claims that "this is the coolest video I've ever seen." The video shows the band playing in a cavern, apparently underground. In front of the band is a puddle, in which can be seen Layne Staley singing or various animals eating or fighting with each other and a child being born, which corresponds with the lyrics "Some say / We're born into the grave." Cover versions In 2006, Swedish death metal band Grave covered the song which appears on their seventh album, As Rapture Comes. In 2009, American deathcore band Suicide Silence covered the song which appears as a bonus track on the iTunes special