all hope is not goneI brought this album in special edition and i must say it's the best slipknot album yet. songs like: sulphur,dead memories,butchers hook and psychosocial are the best to listen to and backed up by so many other cool tracks this album is a rare treat and the best album of 2008.
Yet Hope Remains! Newly converted...Slipknot are a strange entity. They've created a clever image for themselves that allows them to stand out from the crowd (Who says metal has to be serious all the time?), yet their music hasn't always followed suit.
Their first album was not what you'd call a classic in the grand scheme of all that is Metal. It had a dirty, heavy sound but the quality of the songwriting was sporadic, the riffs were often similar, and prone to a lot of noise for the sake of it.
It also went downhill very quickly after the first half. Not an uncommon phenomenon with metal albums, but it got pretty bad... Anyway...
I've never been a big fan of them ever since, and i'll be the first to admit i'm not an expert on them. They were ok, but not a band I could listen to for any length of time. They always seemed to be more for younger metal fans.
The most I heard after that was catching occasional glimpses of videos from later albums. Credit due - their videos are class. Duality was cool.
So, when their latest single Psychosocial appeared on my TV screen the other day and pounded my brain to mush with the bloody end of my own severed arm, I was pleasantly surprised.
So surprised that I actually found myself buying the new album today to see if any other surprises were
Occasionally (amongst the *&^% that some bands release these days) I find a new metal album that actually makes me smile and remember why I listen to metal in the first place.
This is not the same band that released that first album many years ago. This is a stripped down, refined, nonsense-free, focused, and professional, tight unit of a band who have put some thought into what they do.
Straight away when the intro builds up into opener "Gematria", you can tell this is going to be a different experience altogether.
The powerhouse behind Slipknot has always been Joey's awesome drumming and their use of percussion as a whole.
This can be a problem though if the rest of the band can't keep up. Thankfully this doesn't even enter into the equation anymore.
Gone is the Nu-Metal sludge, the self-indulgent mucking about and the excess fat that plagued their first album.
The riffs on offer are top quality, Corey's vocals are top-notch (he can SING!), the percussion pounds into your brain like it bloody well should(!) and the songs kick off with no pretense, messing about, or nonsense.
The end result is a highly polished (courtesy of Colin Richardson's HUGE sound) and slick, but heavy as *&^%, slab of pure, unadulterated METAL! Solos an'all. It deserves to be played loud.
I no longer consider them a Nu-Metal band, and that's not something I thought i'd ever say about Slipknot.
From "Gematria" (6 minute thrash classic!), through "Sulfur" (nasty beast of a tune with a great chorus), "Psychosocial" (a stomping BEAST of a tune with pounding drums), latest single "Dead Memories" (bit of a surprise this one!) and Vendetta (At the Gates & Arch Enemy would be jealous), and onto the songs that take a few listens like "Butcher's Hook", "Gehenna" (very moody. very good.), "This Cold Black" (ANGRY!) and the blistering title track, it's a rollercoaster ride that you'll not regret.
Grab your sledgehammer, crank the volume and smash something!
Or better yet, get it on in the car, windows down, drown out the neds with their techno-garbage, and scare christmas shoppers on a saturday afternoon in your favourite city. Childish, but fun at any age!
Not perfect, but definitely worthy of 4 stars (maybe 4 1/2 if they'd spelt Sulphur correctly!), and one of the best metal albums i've heard this year.
Slipknot All Hope is goneA quality album- not fot the die hard fan of Slipknot- they have adpated there sound a bit - solos and awesome riffs to head bang too. personally it shows they have matured as a band and moved on from the old sound. Still very heavy in parts- enjoyable if your into headbanging and not the imagery and bandwagon that people jumped on with Slipknot- this is about the music and very impressive!
Saving my sanityThank god for Slipknot!
I was just about going crazy with the lack of new music in my collection as everything sounds the same recently.
In my opinion this is the best slipknot album as a whole. The songs have really catchy choruses and although there are a couple of "softer" tracks, they do fit in with the flow of the album.
The dvd is a 30min short film that gives a visual incite into the recording of the album - with some eerie alien sceens.
All Hope really is GoneOh dear. The word 'experimental' has been used by Corey Taylor.
What are we in for now?
Musically this album is very good.
But it's not Slipknot.
'Snuff' is excellent but it really is bordering on a power ballad which isn't really what we want to be seeing from a Slipknot album is it?
In an interview leading up to the release of this album, Joey Jordison said that this would be the heaviest release to date. Really?
where's the heavy and fast-paced Slipknot with their incredibly powerful sound and chaotic style?
Gone. Along with All Hope apparently.
Is their really any track on this album which is even close to People=**** or the Heretic Anthem? I don't think so.
Songs like Gematria and the title track are relatively heavy but they don't pack the punch that was once felt in songs like (sic) and eyeless.
Musically sound and worth listening to.
But all the original fans will be heavily disappointed.
on one final note, what happened to Sid Wilson?
His frantic scratching miles above the heavily down-tuned guitars used to make songs work on previous albums.
His scratching seems very quiet and under-used on this effort.
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