The latest dispatch from metal veterans Slipknot, .5: The Gray Chapter, comes a full six years after the release of their fourth album, All Hope Is Gone, and is their first album without late bassist Paul Gray and departed drummer Joey Jordison. So anticipation is high, to say the least.
To further stoke the fire, frontman Corey Taylor has described the album as a cross between their seminal 2001 release Iowa, and 2004’s Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses), which saw the group flip the script on their own fans and reach previously unthought-of levels of experimentation and artistic scope.
With so much riding on one release, and with the band set to return to Australia as part of the Soundwave 2015 lineup, we’ve decided to find out if the wait has yielded the kind of release that will remind maggots why they fell in love with the band in the first place.
Hit
Firstly, it must be said that this album succeeds purely on the grounds that it’s great and perhaps even a relief to have a new Slipknot album out. Personal tragedy aside, the fate of Slipknot has always been teetering precariously on a cliff edge and by their own admission, every album feels like it could be the last.
Bearing that in mind, it’s important to note that the band has never sounded more energised or vital than on .5: The Gray Chapter. If their fifth album is indeed their last ever, then they’re going out on a high note.
The album is replete with all of the hallmarks of classic Slipknot, from the churning guitar riffs and tom-heavy drums, to the creepy atmospherics, industrial samples, and Corey Taylor’s unmistakable, chest-beating vocals. And yet, it never even approaches self-parody, something even the most hardened cynic ought to appreciate about the Des Moines veterans.
If .5: The Gray Chapter is, as Taylor described it, a cross between Iowa and Vol. 3, then it’s because those two records best define the two sides of Slipknot, and that in turn makes the band’s fifth album a triumph.
Shit
However, being a quintessential Slipknot album, .5: The Gray Chapter unfortunately arrives with all of the band’s worst excesses. Taylor’s ever-sophomoric lyrics will induce a cringe any time he clumsily attempts to display his vocabulary or insightfulness. As you will see, it often comes with nonsensical results – “Will you come testify in the court of myopic opinion?”
That said, when Taylor is simply expressing his grief and pain, as he does so frequently on .5, and not trying to dress them up in obtuse metaphors and flowery verbiage, which he again, does frequently, his lyrics demonstrate a beautiful, shadowy simplicity, as on lead single ‘The Devil In I’ – “Undo these chains, my friend / I’ll show you the rage I’ve hidden“.
Furthermore, as fresh and engaging as each track is, some of them could have simply used an editor. Tracks like ‘AOV’ overstay their welcome without introducing any new musical concepts, which is disappointing, particularly in the case of ‘AOV, as the song comes so early in the album and is otherwise a propulsive rush of crisp, industrial-sounding drums and monolithic walls of guitar.
It’s baffling, as other tracks like ‘Sarcastrophe’, ‘The Devil In I’, and ‘Skeptic’ — each running at over or close to the five-minute mark — belie their track length and seem to rush through like a swift tornado.
Hit
As was mentioned before, .5 is not the first time that Slipknot have managed to pull some of their finest work out of unfathomable emotional and psychological duress. And yet, you can’t give the ‘Knot enough props this time around.
Operating in the wake of the tragic loss of bassist Paul Gray and the mysterious departure of drummer and key member Joey Jordison, Slipknot have not only found their feet, but have returned to mercilessly crushing everything underfoot.
Whoever the new bass player and drummer are (we have a pretty good idea) they’ve managed to slip into the band like two Aces into a deck of cards. Is Jordison sorely missed? You bet. Is the new drummer a more-than-capable replacement who consistently performs gobsmacking rhythmic feats of his own? Hell yes.
As for Gray, .5 is an appropriate and wholly loving tribute. His presence is felt throughout the album and it’s once again to the band’s credit that they had the gumption to make their tribute record experimental as well as arguably their most expository.
Shit
It must also be said that .5 is one of the band’s heaviest records. If you’ve ever read any of Mr. Taylor’s books, then you know self-discipline isn’t one of Slipknot’s strong suits.
Unfortunately, .5 occasionally suffers as a result of the band not quite being able to keep it in their pants when they perhaps should (again, read Taylor’s books).
Novel ideas are relegated to the status of mere intros or interludes when guitarists Jim Root and Mick Thompson inevitably come barrelling in with a winding riff, which, as sublime as they all are, don’t always serve the song in the best way possible. This is particularly evident on tracks like album closer ‘If Rain Is What You Want’ and ‘Killpop’.
“Hey, lay off, it’s Slipknot. They’re never going to be some folky acoustic act,” you say. You’re right, and certainly no one would expect them to be. But when every peculiar passage of industrial cacophony that piques your interest is just the countdown to another mosh riff, things can get predictable.
Verdict: Hit
This one is a no-brainer. Slipknot’s long-awaited follow-up to 2008’s All Hope Is Gone is heavy, open, raw, and, believe it or not, a lot of fun. Despite some classic Slipknot foibles, nothing threatens to derail .5: The Gray Chapter.
It’s a bittersweet sentiment, but as it stands, Slipknot are in damn fine shape. They’re a well-oiled machine, commanding years of experience and a seemingly inexhaustible well of creative ideas, thanks largely to the powerhouse that is the Jim Root-Shawn “Clown” Crahan songwriting partnership.
It was a long and winding road, but the ultimate destination is one that Slipknot fans can happily and proudly call home.
