Ramble-Review: Slipknot 2019-2022
- Jamie's Dead
- Mar 7
- 5 min read
Overview
Here we are, my reviews of the (as of now) last two slipknot albums. I really hope y’all have enjoyed this little series because I certainly had fun making it. Now that this series is over, I’m going to be posting many more unrelated posts in the future as I have a lot of ideas. My media analysis will live on. Get stoked, get hyped, here is my review of WANYK and TESF.
We Are Not Your Kind
For me, this album is the first one in years to make it up to the same level as their first three albums. It has a very distinct sound all the way through, reminiscent of The Gray Chapter, but the song writing is better and it has more standout tracks. In addition it includes a good amount of experimentation that works very well. The album sounds exactly like what the cover looks like which is also a bonus for me as well. It has that same creeping unease as The Gray Chapter, but it does it almost better. Definitely a 10/10 album for me.
Standouts
Unsainted
This song is one of my all time favorite Slipknot songs. It has a radio rock chorus à la Psychosocial, but with these background choral vocals that add so much atmosphere to it, and the verses are still plenty heavy. It goes hard no matter how many times I play it. According to Corey Taylor, the track is about his bouts of severe depression and how to deal with them. The song has so many elements to it, a common theme on this album, and they all work together incredibly well.
Favorite lyric: “Oh, I'll never kill myself to save my soul/I was gone, but how was I to know?/I didn't come this far to sink so low/I'm finally holding on to letting go”
Nero Forte
Another track with softer choruses and heavier verses, Nero Forte opens with rhythmic harsh vocals that make the track groove incredibly well. When the chorus finally comes in, it has a call and response between higher almost background clean vocals and the fast rap-screaming Corey is so good at. The track is similar to Unsainted in that it shows the dynamic of Slipknot incredibly well, having some spoken word, a lot of harsh vocals, and good clean vocals. I would argue this track does it in a more integrated way in that the different parts are more tied together and flow into each other extremely well.
Favorite lyric: “A hope like yours won't help me now/You can do your worst to me/At the end of the day, that's what you do best”
Spiders
One of the most experimental tracks on the album, and in Slipknot’s whole discography, Spiders is a brilliant clean song. It echoes songs like Killpop or Vermilion pt. 2, but is definitely its own distinct thing. It has this extremely unsettling piano part that plays throughout the song which really helps to build the vibes of the song. It is a very weird song, and I love it for that. It has a section with background vocals just saying “spiders” over and over. The song highlights Corey’s voice in an amazing way, which is always a bonus for me.
Favorite lyric: “The fingers pull your stitches tight, but knowing someone's secret is not enough”
Solway Firth
Solway Firth was the second single from the album and also acts as the closing track. It begins with a soft clean vocal intro before exploding into the first verse. The song, from what I’ve seen, is a favorite among fans. Asides from the intro it is heavy almost all the way through, and it has that same angry intensity that Slipknot are so good at. The song’s title is most likely a reference to the Solway Firth Spaceman photograph, and deals with themes of things seeming to be there when they are not in actuality.
Favorite lyric: “While I was learning to live, you taught me how to die”
The End, So Far
The last studio Slipknot album released as of writing this, The End, So far is another divisive one. Some fans find it excessive or just a middle of the pack album, while others love it. For me, the album is extremely interesting. I personally enjoy it quite a bit, but I don’t think it is necessarily their best work. However, it does make me incredibly interested and excited for what they do next as the album has a lot of elements on it that I adore.
Standouts
The Dying Song (Time To Sing)
The Dying Song is a great heavy track, it reminds me of Unsainted a bit, though with an entirely different overall vibe to it. The track is unsettling in its own way, with the chord progression causing it to constantly feel unresolved. It starts with a chorus and it is an extremely strong start to the song. This song just makes me want to thrash and sing along. It's done incredibly well and features some sick bass skills which makes my bassist heart happy.
Favorite lyric: “The heart begins to suffer when the soul has given up/And the flesh is barely more than bone/When no one else is listening, only when you've had enough/Time to sing this dying song alone”
Yen
This song is one of my all time favorite Slipknot songs. It is a beautiful, haunting track with a brilliant vocal performance and it still gets incredibly heavy. It's one of the rare songs that has soft verses and heavy choruses. The beginning features one of my favorite Corey Taylor performances, and the chorus hits every time it comes in. It even features some record scratching which you don’t get too much from modern Slipknot. It's a great example of how good this album can be when it’s done right.
Favorite lyric: “As the knife goes in, cut across my skin/When my death begins/I wanna know that I was dying for you/I died for you”
Hive Mind
Hive Mind begins with an intro that gives me such anxiety as it builds to a frenzy. When the guitar chugs come in, you immediately know you’re in for a banger, and when you hear that signature Corey Taylor “Yeah!” to start the lyrics, your suspicions are confirmed. The song features some good gang vocals in the background during the verse, and a fun chorus that goes back to the higher and creepy unresolved feeling from The Dying Song. The heavier verses and long instrumental breaks make the song fun to just vibe along to.
Favorite lyric: “Crawl across the broken glass of every window you're pressed against/And scrawl your little bits of hate, your little digital graffiti breaks”
H377
A gang vocal intro? Hell yes. While I’m unsure how to pronounce this song, I’m sure it goes incredibly hard. The drums drive the song into the first fast and harsh verse and I immediately just want to bang my head. The chorus being a continuation of that intro makes me incredibly happy as gang vocals always give a song a cool quality. The call and response between those in the background and Corey is amazing. All around just a really fun, really heavy song.
Favorite lyric: “I was a sign, the sign was in the eyes/The eyes were in the skull, the skull was in the wall/The wall was in my head, my head was in the ground”
And that’s every studio Slipknot album! I had so much fun making these three posts and I highly recommend just listening to the albums front to back. I also can not recommend the 2023 single Bone Church enough. It's a weird gothic rock song with some good creepy vibes. Thank you to those who tuned in. Here is my final tierlist of the albums (and two stand alone singles).
And here is a link to a playlist I made of all the good slipknot songs.
Till next time!
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