Before I ever heard the Rick Rubin produced Vol 3: The Subliminal Verses, I for some reason believed the rumors or myths that the members of the Iowa based band Slipknot inflicted physical harm upon themselves and then proceeded to smear feces upon each other before shows. I always thought that this went along with their deviant and “shock rock” image, and as a result I avoided their music much in the same way as I would avoid a histrionic Richard Simmons twirling hot dogs chasing me. I had heard a couple of their songs off previous albums such as “Wait and Bleed” and “The Heretic Anthem” but didn’t really take heed due mainly to the throaty/yelling vocals and their use of strange masks and costumes.
And finally after four years of waiting comes "All Hope Is Gone." I am in it for the thundering drums on their hard-hitting first single “Psychosocial” and their chugging riffs, breakdowns, and varied song structures on songs such as the opener “Gematria”, “Sulfur”, and “This Cold Black”. They do some interesting pick squeals on “Dead Memories” and “Wherein Lies Continue”. I have a disclaimer that comes along with my review of music of this nature: with songs this intense and when I know what bands like this are capable of based on their previous works, I tend to tune out the lyrics and vocals at times and focus more on the instruments. This also leads me to gravitate towards their harder and more aggressive songs because that is what made Slipknot famous in the first place and had the biggest impact on me. Having said that I would have to say that the best song on the album is either “Psychosocial”, “Gematria”, or “This Cold Black”. These three songs coincidentally happen to be their hardest with Gematria edging out the other two for my affection. The squeals in “Gematria” are awesome as well as their dropped A and B tunings which bring an interesting twist on the word “heavy” and should make a lot of guitar players out there upset who probably won’t even be able to tune their guitars that low to play along.
Casual listeners will likely enjoy the choruses in songs like “Snuff”, “Dead Memories”, and “Sulfur”. These songs are the closest a teenage girl will get to an actual sing or shout along chorus in the more traditional verse/chorus/verse/chorus/bridge/verse/chorus song form. For Slipknot, their bridge is traditionally a heavy breakdown that usually erupts into a mosh pit live. In “Vendetta” there is a shout-along chorus which is probably more effective live than from your speakers, but it’s still fun. On songs such as “Wherein Lies Continue” and “All Hope Is Gone”, the band sound especially unhappy and this does mix things up nicely since they have mixed this album up with some slower more peaceful songs.
Slipknot definitely takes an interesting direction on this album by adding a few slower songs such as “Snuff”, “Til We Die”, “Vermillion Pt. 2”, and “Gehenna”. It is a distinct change in style because they are markedly slower and more melodic than most of the stuff that they have ever written. I personally do not think that this is the right direction for them to go because the songs stray from their beaten path and although the band does stick to their proverbial guns on some songs, these slower songs bring the overall intensity of the album to a screeching halt. Another issue I have with the band is that they have two or three unnecessary band members. Two of which run around and beat on kegs with baseball bats to give more emphasis to the thundering drum beats, and another who plays the keyboard for effects. I saw them live in concert and although the extra members do add an extra “oomph” to some of the songs, they are overall unnecessary.
Tasty solos: Gematria, This Cold Black, Psychosocial, Butcher’s Hook
Suffice to say, all the members of Slipknot are still angry at a lot of things. In some songs it is easier to discern what exactly is being said than in others. Through the machine-gun drumming and layered guitars you can for the most part tell what is going on. But with a dash of sarcasm I am pretty sure that those lyrics that are more difficult to decipher are most likely about the band’s affinity towards horseback riding, embroidery, and interior design. A perfect example of their singing/yelling style can be heard on “Wherein Lies Continue” whereas on songs such as “Gematria” and “All Hope is Gone”, Slipknot take a more aggressive political approach lyrically. On the latter, lyrics such as “What are we conceding for freedom? Why does anybody think we need em’…. I would rather fight, than let another die. We’re the problem, but we’re also the solution” showcase their opinion on what seems to be America’s stance on international affairs. Slipknot adheres mainly to pointing out the hypocrisy within American society and steers fairly clear of love except for in “Vermillion Pt. 2”. For those who think that their main message is something along the lines of “kill your family, kill your neighbors, kill your dog, kill yourself…….make sure you get both barrels in your mouth”, will hopefully be pleasantly surprised that this is not their message on this album.
I must say that I am a bigger fan of their previous album, The Subliminal Verses because songs like “Before I Forget”, “Pulse of the Maggots”, “Vermilion”, “The Blister Exists”, “Three Nil”, “Duality”, and “Opium of the People” are the blueprint for the type of Slipknot song that I am partial to. More importantly I am just glad that they stick to their guns on most songs and don’t seem to care whether or not they are breaking certain taboos of what constitutes good clean family fun or of what a Bible-thumping conservative might think of them. More importantly I am also glad to find out that they in fact do not engage in doo doo-smearing activities. Highlights include “Gematria”, “Butcher’s Hook”, “All Hope is Gone”, “Sulfur”, “This Cold Black”, “Vendetta”, and “Psychosocial”.
I’m going to give this album a 70% because I really liked about six of the songs, about six were forgettable, and I just didn’t care for Vermillion Pt. 2 and Gehenna.
P.S.
I chose to review this album in particular because Slipknot seems to be such a polarizing band creating ravines between fans. There are dozens bands that I like more than Slipknot but I chose to lead off with them because I just wanted to throw some gas on the fire so to speak and stir up some reactions. In the spirit of this blog’s creed, I would like to say that this is the first time I have ever attempted writing a music review and I know that Slipknot is not at the top of everyone’s list of music to listen to before they die, so feel free to rip me to shreds for mixing things up a bit if you think A) I’m being lazy and haven’t done enough research for this review…..B) are full of shit…..or C) write complete garbage.
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