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I was a freshman in high school when “All Hope is Gone” was released.
I remember getting in my ride’s car, putting on my headphones and listening to “.Execute.” and “Gematria (The Killing Name)” and being beyond excited.
It was so freaking cool. A perfect one-two punch to start the album.
But as soon as the giddiness of the prospects of an amazing metal album came, they left as the album quickly turned to complete garbage.
So six years later, one band member, bassist Paul Gray, having died, and another one, drummer Joey Jordison — arguably, the band’s most important member — gone, I really had lost almost all hope for the band I once loved so much.
My expectations for “.5: The Gray Chapter” were set very low before the album’s release.
I was expecting something even worse than “All Hope Is Gone,” or at the very least, definitely not something to hearken back to the “Iowa” days.
What I got was an entirely different story. “.5: The Gray Chapter” isn’t just Slipknot’s best album in more than a decade, it’s one of the best heavy metal releases of the past few years.
The album starts out with, once again, the brilliant one-two punch we’ve gotten used to with every single Slipknot album to date.
“XIX” and “Sarcastrophe” herald in the album as it should be done.
“XIX” is ominous, anxiety-inducing and catchy all at the same time. After a lengthy, slow intro, “Sarcastrophe” explodes, hitting us with full force at breakneck, brutal speeds.
Slipknot’s layers are back.
It’s no longer metal produced in the style of pop like “All Hope Is Gone.” It’s aggressive, thoughtful, elaborate heavy metal.
Granted, with the return to glory, we do lose some.
“Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses),” arguably Slipknot’s best album, had a certain refined quality that’s lacking in “.5.”
Each song on “Vol. 3” had a tightly focused flavor — each track had a very distinct personality of its own. Maybe I just haven’t had enough time with it, but I don’t get that as strongly on this album.
Unlike almost every album that I pass through these days, the new Slipknot album is not defined by the couple of hits on it, but rather, the fact that it only has a couple of duds — and even the duds aren’t that bad.
“Goodbye” and “If Rain Is What You Want” definitely could have been better.
Another problem with this album is that Slipknot has seemingly forgotten how to do “slow” well and in the style that suits the band.
But there are moments on this album that are simply so cool, words can’t be put to describe them.
Pretty much the entire song “Custer” falls into this category, specifically, the first 30 seconds and the way it goes from studio banter to ear-crushing aggression. The segue from “Be Prepared for Hell” into “The Negative One.” The list goes on and on.
Slipknot is a band built on percussion.
It was terrifying when Joey Jordison, one of the best drummers I’ve ever heard in my entire life, left the band.
Somehow, though, Slipknot pulled through and came up with one of the best albums you’re going to hear all year.
