Slipknot – We Are Not Your Kind

6th August 2019 0 By Donk

Since the late 90s one band has stood out from the extreme metal scene. They have had ups and downs and through it all have always remained loyal to the maggots. Slipknot are a band that have grown and grown. And with each album attract new fans, loyal fans and old fans back to the front.

This is an old, loyal fan that has been through every album with them. I’ve listened to the shit, the obscure and the damn right defining songs. From Mate, .Feed. Kill. Repeat. To All Hope Is Gone. Iowa to this, We Are Not Your Kind. I’ve listened to the bullshit of critics and part-time fans calling them nothing more than masked Stone Sour, yeah there are similarities, Corey Taylor is the vocalist for both bands for fuck sake. Jim Root had masses of influence on the early Stone Sour stuff but come on, if you think they are the same band, stop reading and go home, your drunk.

I’ll admit that certain albums haven’t been as strong as some others in my opinion. While Vol. 3 had some outstanding tracks it did lack a little something, maybe because it was following the brute that was Iowa? .5 The Gray Chapter was far and above All Hope and this, We Are Not Your Kind, is a new kind of beast. This album is another defining point in the career of a band that many may hate, but millions still love. It’s different but similar and well, I fucking love it.

First off, the production on this album is breath-taking. Even if you can’t stand them you need to listen to the mix on this album. With so many layers, effects, vocal harmonies and samples nothing gets lost. We have snare coming through with a tasty crack, but not too much. The bass is even there (V-Man is a legend though, so I expect nothing less). Mick and Jim’s tone on this album are insane. The crunch and leads, squeals and mutes are all held in check and are still powerful.

And Corey’s vocal, just yeah. No wonder he is always blowing out, he gives everything, and you can really hear it on Critical Darling. This track shows his vocal range of particularly well.

Insert Coin opens the album. An intro that doesn’t have the same punch to the gut as say (515) from Iowa, but it sets the tone of the album superbly. Then it’s into Unsainted and the harrowing choir intro before ultimately entering the body of the album. I am sure you will have no doubt heard this as it was the first single released back in May (All Out Life was released first but doesn’t feature on the album, WHY?!) followed by Solway Firth and more recently Birth of the Cruel which follows Unsainted.

Through the album we have a few little interludes that blend nicely with the rest of the tracks. Death Because of Death and What’s Next both introduce the tracks they precede, Nero Forte and Spiders respectively. Spiders is an emotive track giving you an eerie, melodic reminiscent feel of the All Hope days, whereas Nero Forte is a fast, technical, brutal throw back to the early days of the bands career with a modern vocal harmony twist. It is a goose-bump inducing, neck breaking track and one of the standout tracks for me.

Critical Darling, A Liar’s Funeral and Red Flag all follow it. And all are strong Knot songs. Red Flag in particular, is up there with some of the best on this album. This song would not be lost on ‘Slipknot’ along side Surfacing, Spit It Out and Liberate. Its huge, in your face and pit inducing!

Solway Firth came out in July and was another taste of how the album was forming. Another mix of old and new Slipknot and a belting track. My Pain and Not Long for This World show off the real creativity that the band has always had. The weird and lingering noises infused with heavy guitars, samples, filth and brutality.

I’ve saved this for last as for me it is everything that a Slipknot song is. Orphan. A deep song and lyrically quite disturbing and I really hope this makes it to a music video as I reckon Shawn Crahan would have a ton of fun with it. It kind of takes me back to one of the best songs the band ever released (in my opinion) Left Behind.

To summarize, is it the best album they have ever release? No. Not quite. But it’s close.

Is it one of the best metal albums released for 2019? Yes.

Are Slipknot back? They had never left us.

Maggots!

Score 10/10
Track List
01. Insert Coin
02. Unsainted
03. Birth Of The Cruel
04. Death Because Of Death
05. Nero Forte
06. Critical Darling
07. A Liar’s Funeral
08. Red Flag
09. What’s Next
10. Spiders
11. Orphan
12. My Pain
13. Not Long For This World
14. Solway Firth
Release Date
9th August 2019
Label
Warner