for the record, i do not fully dislike any of these albums! this band has done a lot for me even in the short amount of time i've listened to them and i love most of their music, i just also think ranking their discography is a fun exercise.
and if you disagree that's fine, i respect all opinions! this is my personal taste and my personal taste alone.
p.s. any tracks i skip out on in reviews are just because i don't have enough to say about them, or i don't wanna clog up the review.
there's always gotta be a "worst album" in a band's discography. there's always something that no matter how hard you try to like it, it just doesn't end up clicking. and for me, that's gotta be their 5th album, the gray chapter.
my main problem with this album is the fact that none of its tracks sound that distinct from each other, it all just ends up blending together mostly. when i put the album on it ends up being a 65 minute sludge-fest, and not in the cool electric wizard way. like, it's fine i guess? it's definitely not a bad album. i just don't think any of it is as interesting as their previous releases. i do like a few songs on it, but i've only revisited it once since my first listen and i felt exactly the same as i did when i first listened. none of it speaks to me that much.
i like custer a lot because it's got a great energy and the "cut cut cut me up" part is pretty earworm-y. killpop is my least favorite just because the lyrics don't speak to me that much at all really, even less than the rest of the other songs. although, it is cool that they got donnie steele back on here for a few unspecified tracks, and the introduction of jay weinberg on drums replacing joey, and alessandro venturella on bass replacing paul (who this album is a tribute to) was nice and i think they're both overhated in the community. they both have great styles and are huge assets to the band.
alright, so, this was the first slipknot album that i was around for the release of. naturally, i was pretty excited. the singles were pretty cool, and i liked how the chapeltown rag seemed to call back to eyeless in a way. corey's voice also sounds phenomenal on this record, it's intense in a similar way to S/T and iowa, but it's still safe so you know he isn't damaging his voice. obviously it isn't as intense as those, and probably never will be again, but the fact that he gets close in almost 25 years is impressive in it's own right. my problem with this album is similar to .5, it's just that none of it really sounds that interesting to me. like, it's passable, and when it came out i thought it was great. i even bought it on cd, which i don't regret. but besides adderall (which is a phenomenal opener by the way, i wish they did that sound more), chapeltown, and maybe acidic? none of it really stands out beyond just "here's our last album so we can get out of our contract." which, again, i know that's what they're trying to do, so it's fine with me, but i wish that even when they did call back to their earlier sound it was more than just nostalgia bait, and they actually leaned into it more.
so, honestly, i was debating putting this album on here at all since slipknot themselves consider it more a demo tape rather than an actual album, but i think it's unique enough and very fleshed out so i can consider it an album still.
so this is their first album, before corey, craig, chris, sid, or jim had joined. a super different sound than what they usually do, it's a far more funk influenced album - sounds more like mr. bungle with old school death metal production, and i really dig that kinda vibe. it's definitely rough, and it's nowhere near as fleshed out as their other albums, but it brings a nice energy to it that the other albums just don't have. a really cool part of this album is that you can hear ideas on this that would later be fleshed out on following releases - the riff on slipknot is basically a slower version of (sic), demo versions of only one, tattered and torn, and gently - all of which are stellar on this. i know a lot of people prefer the gently on this to the one on iowa, which i personally disagree with, though i do like the version of only one on this a bit more than the version on their self titled album. but i really think that do nothing/bitchslap is the absolute standout here, a song they haven't revisited at all, which is a shame because it's one of the most interesting tracks they've done in their whole discography. the opening slap bass, the heavy riff coming in, and then out of nowhere some elevator music? and then a fully fledged, headbanging, steal your soul and make you bleed drop that sounds fuckin' amazing. i think that the songs on here that weren't revisited for later albums could really work well if done with corey, as i'll admit, anders isn't the best vocalist.
for a while, this used to be my favorite slipknot album. obviously, i've since changed my mind, but i thought that was worth noting.
first of all let me say that i really do like the introduction of more melodic elements on this album, especially after the soul crushing heaviness of iowa. prelude 3.0 is a gorgeous opener, and i love how smooth his voice can be on this album. his scream also changes a lot on this album, and it's never really been revisited. i do like it though, even if i didn't at first - it's more of a strained kinda yell than a lower, whole throat growl. three nil is absolutely one of their best tracks. i think that it's really anthemic, it's got a great tempo and it feels super fleshed out, it changes at just the right times, and it keeps a great balance between a super fast thrasher and a slower, sludgy kinda vibe. although - my real problem with this album - it doesn't hit as hard when you just wanna let out a shit ton of anger. i absolutely love the ballads still, and circle, vermillion pt. 2, and danger - keep away are some of my favorite songs by them. they just don't connect with some of that rage i wanna feel when i listen to slipknot.
so, on first listen, after binging their whole discography - this one blew me away, especially since i didn't really like anything after subliminal verses. hell, this site is named after the penultimate song on it, that's how much i was listening to it around that time. but now, revisting it, it doesn't really click nearly as much as it did then. i would have called it my favorite a while ago, and it's still #4, but i think that it's just barely too clean to really rank higher. it's an amazing album, and the songwriting is absolutely the best out of all their modern releases, but i don't know, it just doesn't land that much on revisits. excluding insert coin and death because of death, the first 3 tracks are an amazing run that's really impressive for coming out 20 years after their self titled album. nero forte especially really blew me away - the first time i heard that chorus i got extremely excited, was the most classic they had felt to me in a while, and the groove on that song is amazing. corey's voice sounds really good, and the lyrics seem to be fairly personal again which is always interesting. there's that one line on i think orphan where says "there's still a part of me that's dying in a dumpster, the one who rose is a motherfucking monster" and if you know the story it's interesting the see him revisit that topic as it's extremely dark.
a while ago this album was tied for my least favorite along with the gray chapter. so what made it shoot up to #3?
this album is fucking amazing, man. they lean more into thrash influences on this than any other album, gematria and all hope is gone are basically nu-thrash in the vein of god hates us all by slayer. it's also a far more political album, which i usually don't care for in nu-metal as it ends up being kinda corny, and without a lot of substance to their claims. but on this, it seems like he actually thought more about what he wanted to say, and how he wanted to say it, so i think it works fine, even if it isn't anything like rage against the machine. the backing vocals also sound amazing on this album - i always thought that clown and chris were underutilized, they have screams that are just as amazing as corey's, and chris especially has a super guttural edge to his voice that i love. the best display of this for me has to be this cold black, it's got an amazing interplay in the verses between corey, clown and chris, and that MOTHER NATURE IS A WHOREEE clown lets out next to the I PRAY FOR DEATH, BY THE HOUR gets me pumped. paul also does a lot more backing vocals on it, and he sounds great, especially for this being their last album with him. the solos on this are also really cool, i never loved solos in nu-metal because they always felt forced, but with the more thrashy vibe of this it really hits for me. i also wanna say - the singles for this thing are absolutely fucking amazing, they were picked wonderfully. i mean - the run from sulfur to dead memories is amazing, snuff is probably their best ballad, and the title track, which is my favorite from this album, has an amazing aggression that they really haven't had since iowa, and that chorus... fuck, man. what an anthem. (also, "we have seen the fall of the elites" is fucking awesome, shout out mick for throwing a halo 2 reference in there)
what can i say about iowa that hasn't already been said? this album is fucking insane.
this is actually the first slipknot album i tried listening to - and i really, really didn't like it no matter how hard i tried... got up to about the heretic anthem every time before i thought it was too melodramatic for me to continue. it wasn't until i listened to S/T after hearing wait and bleed that i gave them another shot and relistened to this album - but... i still didn't like it. recently, however, maybe it's because of shit in my life, i listened again and holy fuck. this album is incredible - every song just oozes pure misanthropy and apathy, everyone on the album sounds savage. i fully believe him when he says "you fucking touch me, i will rip you apart" on my plague. however, i do still have a few problems with it. it doesn't feel as diverse as S/T to me, this album is far more focused on being brutal and heavy whereas S/T leans back sometimes and throws in some melody, or rapping, or a more atmospheric song more often enough to where i don't feel fatigue as much listening to that album all day. this album still has melody and atmospheric songs - it's just in brief spurts. this album is also 16 minutes longer than the previous - mostly due to the last track being 15 minutes long. you'd think this wouldn't be an issue, but if you're not fully into it, sometimes the length of the album can be to its detriment. of course, i still love this thing to bits - it's fucking incredible, and if you're pissed off - throw on any of the back half of this album and corey's screams will be like therapy to you, especially new abortion and metabolic (the latter being the heaviest song i think they've ever done.)
an absolutely great album, but it's still edged out by one more...
pure, unadultered angst. from that charles manson documentary sample, to the "PAIN!" corey shouts - even (sic) alone gives you a perfect taste of what you're in for with this album. just the definition of the word angst. one of the most raw records i've ever heard. it feels frantic, incredibly off the walls - like you're on a sinking ship and the only way you can convey your stress is by getting out your instruments and playing your ass off for the remaining time you have. this album made me fall in love with nu-metal as a whole, i think it's probably one of the best albums in that genre - if not best metal albums of all time. excluding interludes, the first 6 tracks of this album have a savagery like none other - from the overwhelmingly intense tempo of (sic), the end "LOOK ME IN MY BRAND NEW EYEEEEE! MOTHER... FUCKERRRRR!" screams of eyeless, the more lax, but still stressed wait and bleed, "your new fuckin' national anthem," surfacing, and the aggressive rapping on spit it out - this album just crushes the whole way through and i personally don't think it ever really gets tired. the only song that i'm not absolutely in love with is only one - i just think that by the time it comes around in the tracklist, A. you've already heard songs quite similar to it, B. the surrounding tracks are way darker than this one and it doesn't fit too well, C. i personally just think that the MFKR version is better. but nonetheless, i still consider this album a perfect 10 - if not for quality of the music, for the sentimental value - the fact this album has helped me maybe more than any one person has - the fact that the anger of this album is the only thing that can calm me - running as fast as you can to the tempo of the eeyore - it's perfect.
