My review of Slipknot's "All Hope is Gone"

[Vekoma Fan Boy]

Ok, so I managed to get a copy of Slipknot's new album, which came out a few days ago, on the 26th, and since I'm bored, I figured I'd do a review of the album. So song-by-song, this is what I think of the album.

 

Track 1: ".execute."-1:49 I don't really know what to think of this song, it is for the most part somewhat garbled music with Corey speaking something radio-staticy and somewhat unintelligible. Then about 3/4 of the way through Joey begins to pound on his drums and Corey's speaking becomes more intelligible. Not much to the song, but I guess it wouldn't be a Slipknot album without a weird intro track. 3/10

 

Track 2: "Gematria (The Killing Name)"-6:01 Kind of an awkward transition between the end of .execute. and this song, but that isn't really worth much mention. This song is great! Nice opening riff, cool guitar solo (or solos you could say) a great, rhythmic chorus. Overall, a Thrash/Speed metal-like song that is pretty damn good! 7.5/10

 

Track 3: "Sulfur"-4:37 An ok song, it is nice and rhythmic. (most the songs off of this album seem to have this trait) It has some nice double bass beats and tom rolls from Joey. The song has typical Slipknot vocals, which are somewhere between speaking, grunting and screaming, but also mixes in a nice melodic chorus. (another common trait of a few songs from the 'Knot) 7/10

 

Track 4: "Psychosocial"-4:43 One of my favorites off of the album. It has some more awesome double bass, wich Joey breaks down with some nice 1/4 notes on the bass drums every few measures, followed by a nice groove of 1/8 notes and a nice tom roll here and there. It has an awesome, face melting guitar solo, courtesy of Jim and Mick, (Or so I would assume, it seems to me that they switch off during the solo) a great opening riff and a fitting main riff. And still more of the awesome mix of traditional Slipknot singing and a melodic chorus. Overall, great pick for a single. 9/10

 

Track 5: "Dead Memories"-4:28 A very melodic song compared to most of the album, but not the most melodic from the album. The song is a great break from the heavier tracks before it. It is supposed to be a recall of the last 10 years of Corey's life, without naming names of those who have hurt him. It has a nice chorus with thick music in the background. But it does have a few awkward moments, such as the guitar solo about 5/8th of the way through, which leads into a short, soft section, and back into the thick chorus. Overall, another great pick for a single. 8/10

 

Track 6: "Vendetta"-5:15 This song has a great opening drum segment from Joey with some great 1/16 note kicks. (If you haven't figured out by now, I'm a real drum enthusiast) I don't know why, but the singing from this song kinda reminds me of a rocked out country song...(????) A nice all around song that almost anyone could like. Great drumming, guitar, and vocals. 7.5/10

 

Track 7: "Butcher's Hook"-4:14 For the name of this song I was expecting something really heavy and old Slipknot-ish, which isn't exactly what I got, but I still got a great song!. There isn't really much to this song if you ask me, but that doesn't stop it from being great. It does have some older Slipknot type lyrics. Such as the verse:

"You'll never censor me!/You'd better cherish me!

My reason has a voice!/Freedom's gone but we'll always have a choice!

It's my present future tense!/It doesn't make much sense!

I'm coming after you!/F*ck you all I'm the only point of view!" Which then leads into a great guitar solo. Not something most radio stations will play, but just about any metal fan would like this song. 8/10

 

Track 8: "Gehanna"-6:53 (Damn, these are getting pretty long for Slipknot! Excluding the song Iowa anyway.) This song was pretty slow and freaky. It opens up with a thin sounding guitar riff, which then thickens up into the main riff. For a good part the song has some depressing vocals, broken up with a few screams. The song brakes out into a great guitar solo and then goes back to the odd, depressing lyrics and main riff. It seems to me that this album is to Slipknot what Ten Thousand Fists was to Disturbed. Solos appear in this album much more often than in the previous albums. Vol. 3 had what? 3 solos? And I don't even think there were any in the Slipknot and Iowa albums. But overall, it is very listenable for its length. With most songs this long, about 1/2 to 3/4 of the way through, I'm thinking to myself: "Ok... You can die any time now..." I think it is a very good song, so I'll rate it at 7/10.

 

While this is only about half of the album, (There are 15 tracks, including the 3 bonus ones) I'll leave you with this for now and I'll have a review for tracks 9-15 up later today. For now, tell me what you think of my review and the album too!

[Millenium Man]

I listened to this album on the internet the day it came out(also listening to it now) and it's definitely I think probably the best Slipknot has done yet.I like it especially beacause it has more melodic type songs unlike their old albums and they try different things.Psycosocial is probably my favorite Slipknot song now.

[chmilo24]

^^Are you going to review the rest or what?

 

I thought it was an amazing album and the best Slipknot has ever done. I'm a little mad that they didn't have a really hardcore song. I figured in this album they would have made another Heretic Anthem or People=Sh!t(my favorites), but what the have is just fine. Also, is it me or does Dead Memories sound a little like Metallica, except for Corey singing?

--Chris

[the ghost]

^ Gemetria (sp) was a pretty hardcore song. I really like this album but I liked volume 3 better.

[KPWoCkAxX]

Now i'm not much of a Slipkot fan, However! I really have a thing for this album. It's hard to describe but I think i'm slightly addicted to that sort of 'Grungy' Sound. I'm sure people will understand. I would rate this album 8/10 Simply because it lacked quality in some places. Such as execute, I find it WAY too hard to even make out the first 3 words let alone the rest of the song.

[Vekoma Fan Boy]

^^Are you going to review the rest or what?

 

I thought it was an amazing album and the best Slipknot has ever done. I'm a little mad that they didn't have a really hardcore song. I figured in this album they would have made another Heretic Anthem or People=Sh!t(my favorites), but what the have is just fine. Also, is it me or does Dead Memories sound a little like Metallica, except for Corey singing?

--Chris

 

Well I guess I will (after I finish my homework) since this topic seems to have been resurrected.

 

 

EDIT: I'm writing the review for the last half of the album now...

[Vekoma Fan Boy]

Track 9:"This Cold Black"-4:40 This is a great song! It has a really great, thick, in-your-face guitar riff, and some really great, fast double bass passages. (Nothing like the sound of rapid beating on a nicely muffled pair of 22x18s...) And a really, really messed up (In a good way) guitar solo. Though a little death metal-ish (not my favorite kind of guitar solo), it is really good. 7/10

 

Track 10:"Wherein Lies Continue"-5:36 This song is okay. There is nothing really special to it. But it is not bad by any means. It has a nice chorus. It also seems that Slipknot has matured a great deal since their first two albums, though I loved the heavier, darker, more Nu-Metal sound from them. (Especially Iowa) 6/10

 

Track 11:"Snuff"-4:36 Wow, this is probably my favorite song off of the entire album. While I did just mention that I liked the old sound from Slipknot, the slow songs like this one and Circle and Vermilion Pt. 2 from Vol.3 are just about my favorite things that the new albums have brought to the table. It is a great, slow song. While the lyrics are depressing, they are at the same time uplifting, this would be a great song to slow dance to with your girlfriend (Or boyfriend). 10/10

 

Track 12:"All Hope is Gone"-4:47 Ah, the title song. This is another great song! It has an awesome intro with some fast blast beats barely 10 seconds into the song. This song is close to the old Slipknot, but it just doesn't quite hit that bell in my opinion. Nevertheless, it is still another one of my favorites! 8.75/10

 

Bonus Track 1:"Child of Burning Time"-5:09 I don't really know how to describe this song, other that great! It is pretty much all clean vocals, and is a peaceful, yet thrilling song. The drumming is pretty slow for the most part in this song, but it fits it really well. 8.5/10

 

Bonus Track 2:"Vermilion Pt.2 (Bloodstone Remix)-3:39 This is a nice little treat. VP2 was one of my favorites off of Volume 3. And the more synthetic, echo-ey sound of the remix, plus the addition of some simple drumming and some great guitar about halfway through made it sound better than the original in my opinion! 9/10

 

Bonus Track 3:" 'Til We Die"-5:45 Not one of my favorites. It just didn't feel 'right'. I'm not sure how to describe it, but it just didn't flow right to me. 4/10.

The average rating for the album based on the songs, would be about 6.75, though I would rate it higher as a whole. Probably about an 8.5 or 9.

[kennywood!007]

I like some Slipknot, but this cd kinda brought my liking of them down a little bit. I didn't really like any of the songs. But I agree with you on most of your comments.

[KrakenKing]

I just gotta say. Why isn't this in "What are you listening to now?"

 

Why does Slipknot (Of all bands...) need it's own seperate thread?

[Wes]

^ They are the perfect blend of manufactured rage and faux anger that teenagers get really into because they hate their parents making them clean their room and crap.

 

I agree, there's no real reason for this to exist outside of "What song are you listening to" thread...