Album A Day: Slipknot – All Hope Is Gone

There was once a time when Slipknot would release an album and I would either shrug my shoulders and go about my life, or I’d spit blood and avoid it at all costs. What happened? Stone Sour, Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor’s other band. Stone Sour proved to the world that Taylor actually had a pretty strong voice behind that absurd mask gimmick, and that musical proficiency wasn’t completely lost on Taylor. After Stone Sour became a hit, suddenly Slipknot started taking on a different sound. That’s when I started paying attention.

All Hope Is Gone isn’t a total departure from the bang-and-scream sound Slipknot became famous for. In fact, in large part that sound persists. But alongside that sound is a tune and melody that lure in listeners more than their “People = Shit” days. Lead single “Psychosocial” lets the band run riot for awhile, but come the chorus Taylor reigns everyone back in for an intense, fist-pounding anthem. But all in all Slipknot is still a metal band, for better or for worse. Lyrically metal is often some of the most interesting music to listen to (the metalheads I know are actually largely well-spoken, intelligent people). But musically, there’s only so much growling I can take before I just tune it out. This is where All Hope Is Gone tests my patience. The melodic moments like “Psychosocial” and “Wherein Lies Continue” are few and far between. These moments are the most interesting because they contrast with the demonic sounds of everything else. But the balance is off. Too often the nine-man ensemble runs riot with little tying them together, and for all his charisma as a singer, Corey Taylor can only do so much. So Slipknot has certainly grown in the ten years they’ve been scaring the shit out of people, but they’re still not winning that many friends.

Slipknot – Psychosocial [iTunes] (YSI)

==TJ==