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JennYSlipknot - All Hope Is Gone Album Review
September 11th 2008 23:37
Genre: Alternative metal, Heavy metal
Length: 57:44
Label: Roadrunner, Nuclear Blast
I've always been intrigued by metal band Slipknot ever since their 1999 debut but I never picked up their CDs because a) their appearance scared me and b) their music was a bit too violent (in the thrash metal sense) for me. Now, we're in 2008 and although their masks still give me the creeps, their music seems to have mellowed enough for me to actually listen to their latest album All Hope Is Gone.
The album starts with a short intro called .execute. which is mostly radio static with a voice saying something in the background. The tracks rises in intensity to end with drums and voice growling (he finishes by screaming “All hope is gone”) instead of speaking calmly like in the beginning. It sounds pretty dark and gave me goosebumps at first listen.
Gematria (The Killing Name) is the first full song of All Hope Is Gone. The Metallica-style intro (one minute of instrumental only) really makes you understand that you're going to listen a heavy metal album, not just hard rock. The drumming is intense and Corey Taylor growls instead of singing. The final line - “America... What if God doesn't care?” - reminds me of politicians always saying “God bless America." Well, what if God doesn't care?
On Sulfur, Taylor actually sings and sounds a bit like Trapt's Chris Brown. They went a little overboard with the double-bass drums on this one; as a consequence, the instrumental between the singing parts doesn't really match with the rest of the song.
The second single of the album, Psychosocial, is the song that made me pay attention to Slipknot this year and pick up their album. The sound is vaguely similar to German metal band Rammstein which is one of my favorite bands. There's a bit of singing on the chorus but the rest is just growling.
Psychosocial Music Video
The third single, Dead Memories, is probably their most mainstream-friendly song. It sounds more alternative than heavy metal, and will probably attract all the Avenged Sevenfold/Three Days Grace/Evanescence fans. Taylor sings all the lyrics, there's no growling. In fact, it sounds like a Trapt song.
Taylor keeps singing on Vendetta, but this time, his voice is cross between Trapt's Chris Brown, Avenged Sevenfold's M. Shadows, and Metallica's James Hetfield. The double-bass drums are still very noticeable and by this point, it becomes more of a nuisance in the sound than an asset. The musical parts without the double-bass sound pretty good, so I feel like they could've tone it down a bit.
Butcher's Hook is one of those experimental songs. There's some scratching... There's actually some scratching on a heavy metal record – unbelievable. Taylor has gone back to growling. At first, it seems like he's saying a bunch of words just for the sake of it, but it actually makes some sense though it takes a couple of listens to get what he's saying.
Gehenna is a slow song but the growls bring some raw emotions into it - mainly rage. This Cold Black has more growling, and Wherein Lies Continue has a mix of growling and singing parts but this time, the singing weakens the song.
Snuff is one of the best songs of the album. A great ballad that is both sad and depressing, it's a completely different direction for Slipknot, but is truly a masterpiece.
The last song of the album and its first single, All Hope Is Gone, wakes you up after Snuff. It's a high-tempo apocalyptic-like song that ends the album on a hard note instead of a soft and slow track. What I really like about this song and its placement on the tracklist is that it leaves you wanting for more. After this track, you'll be anticipating Slipknot's next album.
In the end, All Hope Is Gone is a 'good' album, not quite excellent but not average either. The tracks I would definitely recommend are Gematria, Psychosocial, All Hope Is Gone, and Snuff. I give it a 3.5/5.
Next week, I'll try my best to review Metallica's Death Magnetic. Don't freak out if it's not there by Monday. University has just started for me, so it's kinda hard to maintain a precise posting schedule. Look for it between Monday and Friday.
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Comment by Stickman-X-
Q Noise
the added tribal drumming from Shaun and Chris really builds the dynamics of the album to a level not seen since Slipknot [ST].
Sadly not all the songs were as good, All Hope Is Gone, really got to me with the constant blast beats which seemed unnecessary in a Nu Metal album like this.
As for the similarity between Corey and Chris, i agree with you there and it disappointed me a lot because i feel Coreys clean vocals have changed dramatically between Vol.3 and All Hope Is Gone. not saying that Chris is a bad singer, nono, far from it. Just that, for Coreys vocals to sound similar, they have had to mellow a little and have lost a higher edge that was found in songs like Vermillion (pt1/2), Before I Forget and Opium Of The People.
good album though. not the best, and i was a little disappointed with some aspects but, good album all the same.