| Slipknot - Iowa Roadrunner, 2001 Gloon: Ah the Slipknot debate, where to start. Nu-metal larrikins, gimmicky no talent losers I have heard them all and voiced them myself. The fact is 'yes' Slipknot is gimmicky and 'yes' they are aimed at appealing to the average white trash of America, but gimmicks and commercial success aside how does their music fare. To me Iowa is pure Roadrunner, Machine Head, Sepultura and other stable mates can be heard through out the album and the music has that bass-heavy American sound to it that has been recently label Nu-Metal by the metal community. Iowa on its musical merits however need not be labelled Nu-Metal, it shares more in common with Death Metal (the blistering drum work) and other Heavier bands then with Korn and Linkin Park. On first listen the album can easily be stereotyped into the dumb metal category, lame lyrics, low technicality and that damned bass sound. However on further listens the album begins to come into its own. Tracks such as 'My Plague' and 'Everything Ends' display that contrasting harsh/clear vocal chorus structure that Fear Factory have been perfecting over the years and the slow menacing build up of 'Gently' reminded me of Machine Head's 'Death Church' for its slow intensity and atmosphere. I found after a few spins I was banging and singing along to most of the first half of the album as if I had known it for years, catchy well played metal is a weakness of mine a SK play it in spades. However quite irritating is the constant barrage of obscenities, I don't mind the occasional 'Fuck' or 'Motherfucker' in a song for a effect, however it loses its affect when used this regularly. Also the album tacks a huge nosedive after the 9th track begging the question 'do we really need 14 tracks?' Adolescent lyrics and inconsistency aside, I really didn't mind Iowa and think the band could fill the hole made by the recent shit form of Sepultura, Pantera and others, and in finishing I pose a question "Do you really hate Slipknot the music, or do you really hate Slipknot the image, (band and fans alike) and if so is Black Metal any different?" Favourite Tracks - People = Shit, Heretic Anthem, Left Behind Rating - 7/10 Slipknot ‘Volume 3. The Subliminal Messages’ Roadrunner, 2004 Gloon: A lot of praise was heaped on the Knot’s last album ‘Iowa’, especially by the mainstream press hailing it as a masterpiece etc. While being a pleasant surprise and solid release it was hardly a classic, and still managed to ruffle enough feathers among the metal community to be dumped in the Nu Metal category. With Vol 3 Slipknot have begun to shed a lot of their dumb Nu Metal tendencies and even expand on their sound, largely in part to Corey’s vocal performances and more mature song writing. Corey has obviously tired of just screaming obscenities into the mike and his time in Stone Sour has seen him return to the band with a more varied and sometimes melodic approach. Tracks such as the opener and ‘Vermillion part 2’ are so far removed from anything the band has done previously that one can only wonder how the loyal maggot fans will receive this new approach. Fear not there are still moments of the vintage Slipknot sound and rumble present as in single ‘Duality’ and ‘Pulse of the Maggots’ but its not all full steam ahead and structuring and songwriting are far improved. Also more elements of the extreme side of metal are present and instead of breaking into a bassy thud every breakdown death metal chugs and even some thrashier components are inserted into the framework. Overall this is a much more varied and consistent album then their previous works and really shows a turn-for-the-best as the band start to grow out of their teen angst fuck the world mentality. Now all they have to do is get rid of those stupid masks and drop the gimmicks and the transformation will be complete and the metal community can start taking this talented band a little more seriously. Favourite Tracks – The Vermillion, Duality, Rating 8/10 |
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