Slipknot-Slipknot
Rating:
When you first plop in the new Slipknot CD a voice keeps repeating "The whole thing I think is sick" at varying speeds over and over. If you interpret sick at its street value-incredibly cool-then this is a perfect start to the album.
After that brief introduction the music hits. And man, it is some kind of music. This is a percussion-heavy, anger-heavy pile of intense crap. That about sums it up. The second track (but the first real "song") is titled Sic. It's pretty intense. As are all the songs. This nine piece ensemble from good old Des Moines is going to make a splash, mark my words. They've got an underground following the like of which I haven't seen since Korn first started their tirade. And for good reason. With the help of ex-Korn producer Ross Robinson, these guys have that kind of Korn, Soulfly, Sepultura Ross Robinson sound that's huge right now on the metal scene. Huge riffs, groundscraping bass, and some incredibly intense drumming drive this band. But there's also the scraping of turntablist #0 (Sid) and some samples and other media provided by #5 (Craig). It's this diversity that really drives this album. It doesn't fall into the rut of many other metal albums, what with their constantly repeating riffs, with every song seeming to run into the next. This is different.
The songs themselves are all hits. This is one of those rare albums that doesn't have a song that warrants pressing the skip button. You just put it on and listen to it all. Even the "hidden" track. And the little scene at the end. Which I've in a way figured out, but I'm not going to post my thoughts here for fear of being totally off course. Some favorites of mine have to be the killer Eyeless (I especially like the riff that appears about halfway through) and the lyrics "You can't see California without Marlon Brando's eyes". So true. I also love the song Surfacing (Fuck it all. Fuck this world. Fuck everything that you stand for. Don't belong. Don't exist. Don't give a shit. Don't ever judge me). Not the most earth shattering lyrics, but incredibly powerful nonetheless. Purity is also a favorite of mine, along with the last numbered track, Scissors, especially when Cory (#8) gets into his "Biding my time until the time is right" section. Chilling. But who am I kidding. I could list off every song as a favorite.
Probably the thing I like best about this band is the drumming. With a regular behind the kit drummer and two additional percussionists, this is definitely a rhythm-heavy group. At times they've got that tribal Soulfly sound, at times that double kick bass rumble of heavier acts. It's just killer the way they can bring all this drumming together into one cohesive, powerful, rumbling rhythm section. I wish I had a system that could fade out everything else and just listen to the intricacies in the rhythm section. It's intense.
Don't get me wrong, the guitars are pretty solid too. Mick and James (#4 and #7) can really lay out some great riffs. This is just intense intense music. Sometimes they get into that new-age, Los Angeles-based low riffing (read as Korn) but at times they can really shred it up with some aggressive Slayer-esque shredding. And they don't spend their time on one riff in every song (like Godsmack) but instead open it up with time changes, rhythm changes, all incredibly backed up by the drums. What can I say, I love it. And then every now and then we hear these great bass rumbles orchestrated by Paul (#2). They bring it all together very well.
I know I mentioned that the band incorporates a turntablist and a sampler. Don't read anymore into than that. This isn't pussy white-boy rap here (read: Limp Bizkit). There is a pure aggression in those turntables, and pure fear in some of those samples.
And then comes singer Cory (#8). Wow. He's got it all. The metal growl is killer, but he shows some incredible range, and lyrically I was actually impressed. Sure it's dark, brooding, hate everything lyrics, but they actually show some depth and intelligence that is a breath of fresh air. One of the better new vocalists to come along in a while. This band is basically topnotch from top to bottom. Yet combining them all together is better than the sum of their individual talents
What more can I say? Buy this damn album. It is one of the best albums to come out in a long long time. It kinda reminds me of the first time I put Sepultura's Chaos AD in my CD player and was completely blown away. The force behind this record is tangible. This is going to be the next big band to take over the world of metal. When people see them touring with Coal Chamber and Machine Head they're going to know this band is better than those two bands by far (don't get me wrong, I like those bands). Pure aggression. Be warned, this ain't no Lilith Fair.
Other Ratings:
The masks- Don't get me wrong,
I think they are cool and all, but I just hate the way bands nowadays have to
sell themselves and not their music. Seriously, every good band either has to
have a marketing gimmick or play a cover of some cheesy 80's band. Focus on
the music, not the glitter. Look at all the bands that have gotten noticed on
other people's songs (Fear Factory, Limp Bizkit, and Coal Chamber. It's pathetic.
Even the Machine Head album has a Sting cover.). It's about the music. And Slipknot
has some great music. They shouldn't have had to don masks to get noticed. Sorry,
but now they're stuck with their masks. This isn't Gwar or Kiss. This is real
music. And now a lot of their fans are going to listen to them because they
think they're some metal version of the Insane Clown Posse.
The live show-Holy crap. This is the real thing. It's
like a warzone at a Slipknot concert. Just incredible. One of their percussionists
has actually cut open his head not once, but twice on the Ozzfest tour alone
because he was banging his head with such reckless abandon that he hit it on
the keg he beats on. One such instance (during the song Wait and Bleed ironically)
hit a vein and needed over 20 stitches to close. It's the intensity of the band
that makes them so incredible to watch live. All I have to say is wow. They
back up their album work well while on the road.
Their website-They actually have two official ones:
http://www.slipknot1.com and http://www.slipknot2.com which is actually
where I first heard of them. They had these killer riffs in the background and
I knew this was a band that was right up my alley. Unfortunately I had to wait
almost three months for the damn CD to come out. The first site is pretty cool,
with some scary images and all, but the second site is amazing. Purely amazing.
It's got some killer Shockwave effects that are worth the time it takes to download.
It's also set up very well. Even if you listen to country music this is a website
to check out.
Essential Information
The band is: #8 (Cory) Vocals; #7 (Mick) Guitars; #0 (Sid) Turntables; #6 (Shawn) Custom Percussion; #2 (Paul) Bass; #1 (Joey) Drums; #3 (Chris) Custom Percussion; #4 (James) Guitars; #5(Chris) Samples/Media.
Released 1999
Websites: http://www.slipknot1.com; http://www.slipknot2.com; http://members.tripod.com/~zzcrowzz/