Musical Ramblings: Slipknot's latest
Slipknot
All Hope Is Lost
I know that there are a lot of haters in the metal community that target Slipknot. Cries of “They're not metal” to “gimmicky crap” have resonated throughout the band's career. Their last effort, “Vol. 3 (The Subliminal Verses),” had some crying foul because of the introduction of acoustic guitars/ballads and some lightening of Corey Taylor's voice. Well, with this disc, haters will be haters, some people will cry foul again and Slipknot fans will have themselves another excellent disc (and I'm in this boat).
While another long hiatus that found the members of the band doing their own projects (with the most well known and successful being Stone Sour), the members reconvene to lay forth to some of Slipknot's most catchy tracks yet (not necessarily their most heavy — that award still goes to “Iowa”).
Like any Slipknot album, you'll go through and pick out songs that sound like ones that they've already done, argue with friends about whether or not singing in certain parts is better than Taylor just screaming and what the best songs are on the album.
I have to say that in the age of getting a deluxe edition with a bonus DVD, you better make yours stand out from some of the great ones that have come out in the last year. Slipknot's bonus DVD shows some backstage footage of the band during the making of the album (with and without their masks), but the problem lies with Clown's “artistic vision” plastered all over this. Like their “Voliminal” DVD release, the direction and editing, along with Clown's so called artistic touch, make this not fun to watch. It doesn't flow and as soon as you're getting comfortable watching a portion of the band (or one of its members) doing something interesting, it's cut immediately to something redundant. No, guys. I don't want to watch you walking around with your big head (for real) in a field. I want to watch the music!
I say that if you like the thickness and anger found on “Iowa” but some of the songwriting progression, singing and use of acoustics on “Vol. 3,” then this disc is for you. If you just want anger, this may not be for you. I actually enjoyed the disc as a whole (as with everything else they've put out).
All Hope Is Lost
I know that there are a lot of haters in the metal community that target Slipknot. Cries of “They're not metal” to “gimmicky crap” have resonated throughout the band's career. Their last effort, “Vol. 3 (The Subliminal Verses),” had some crying foul because of the introduction of acoustic guitars/ballads and some lightening of Corey Taylor's voice. Well, with this disc, haters will be haters, some people will cry foul again and Slipknot fans will have themselves another excellent disc (and I'm in this boat).
While another long hiatus that found the members of the band doing their own projects (with the most well known and successful being Stone Sour), the members reconvene to lay forth to some of Slipknot's most catchy tracks yet (not necessarily their most heavy — that award still goes to “Iowa”).
Like any Slipknot album, you'll go through and pick out songs that sound like ones that they've already done, argue with friends about whether or not singing in certain parts is better than Taylor just screaming and what the best songs are on the album.
I have to say that in the age of getting a deluxe edition with a bonus DVD, you better make yours stand out from some of the great ones that have come out in the last year. Slipknot's bonus DVD shows some backstage footage of the band during the making of the album (with and without their masks), but the problem lies with Clown's “artistic vision” plastered all over this. Like their “Voliminal” DVD release, the direction and editing, along with Clown's so called artistic touch, make this not fun to watch. It doesn't flow and as soon as you're getting comfortable watching a portion of the band (or one of its members) doing something interesting, it's cut immediately to something redundant. No, guys. I don't want to watch you walking around with your big head (for real) in a field. I want to watch the music!
I say that if you like the thickness and anger found on “Iowa” but some of the songwriting progression, singing and use of acoustics on “Vol. 3,” then this disc is for you. If you just want anger, this may not be for you. I actually enjoyed the disc as a whole (as with everything else they've put out).
