Liberate B-naa-naas!
Thoughtspot - Slipknot
I remember when Slipknot first hit the scene just before the turn of the century. -Hey, people only get to say that every 100 years or so- ... I was a fan. At the time I had a job working in a Denny's kitchen on 3rd shift with a couple friends. Since the bosses were gone there was no one to spoil our boom box fun, and you guessed it, the Slipknot CD spun many nights. It was great to listen to when the bar crowd was in and we had 10 tickets on the line and more coming. The debut album had a good number of memorable songs, but perhaps even more memorable were the misunderstood .. or parodied.. lyrics. If you have every worked in a restaurant you know the cook - server relationship is a little tumultuous and it was no different there. One server in particular that was a little more of.. I'll say a stand out and we very much enjoyed singing at him 'Damn it Dan I knew it was a mis-take' Other great tracks included 'Inside Michelle I wait and bleed', and perhaps the most fun to belt out "LIBERATE....BA-NAA-NAAAS." Even though I was a fan I still had my doubts about the longevity of the band. The larger than life stage show, jump suits and masks showed up around other Shock Rock and although they stood out, it still seemed like they might rise and fall with the trend. Fourteen or so years later, I'm happy to report that is not the case.
.5: The Gray Chapter
There is nothing worse in the world of music than grabbing the new album you've been waiting for only to realize that this one sounds over produced and lacking some of the raw energy that attracted you to the band in the first place. That being said, I really like the direction they went with the new album. It starts out with an eerie, ethereal intro that leads into an evolved version of the heavy percussion driven metal that you've come to expect from Slipknot. A couple of tracks later you reach the first single, 'The Devil in I" which showcases a nice range of dynamics while still being anthemic. The next track I want to highlight is "Goodbye" which starts out soft and dark in a 6/8 time signature. It sounds like a bit of a deviation from your typical Slipknot but don't skip this one. It builds into a heavy grind that almost feels like a 6/4 time signature when they add in the palm muted crunching and heavy percussion section that separates them from Stone Sour. Goodbye bleeds right into Nomadic which restores the heavy evolved Slipknot feel. But just when you thought you thought they had evolved from that initial raw sound on the self titled debut, 'The Negative One" will remind you they are still the same Slipknot they were in 1999. I really enjoy the evolved sound but it brings a smile to my face to hear a new song that could have easily been pulled from the first album. Those are my highlights, but there are plenty more great songs on .5: The Gray Chapter.
Live well, listen loud. - Empthollow
I remember when Slipknot first hit the scene just before the turn of the century. -Hey, people only get to say that every 100 years or so- ... I was a fan. At the time I had a job working in a Denny's kitchen on 3rd shift with a couple friends. Since the bosses were gone there was no one to spoil our boom box fun, and you guessed it, the Slipknot CD spun many nights. It was great to listen to when the bar crowd was in and we had 10 tickets on the line and more coming. The debut album had a good number of memorable songs, but perhaps even more memorable were the misunderstood .. or parodied.. lyrics. If you have every worked in a restaurant you know the cook - server relationship is a little tumultuous and it was no different there. One server in particular that was a little more of.. I'll say a stand out and we very much enjoyed singing at him 'Damn it Dan I knew it was a mis-take' Other great tracks included 'Inside Michelle I wait and bleed', and perhaps the most fun to belt out "LIBERATE....BA-NAA-NAAAS." Even though I was a fan I still had my doubts about the longevity of the band. The larger than life stage show, jump suits and masks showed up around other Shock Rock and although they stood out, it still seemed like they might rise and fall with the trend. Fourteen or so years later, I'm happy to report that is not the case.
.5: The Gray Chapter
There is nothing worse in the world of music than grabbing the new album you've been waiting for only to realize that this one sounds over produced and lacking some of the raw energy that attracted you to the band in the first place. That being said, I really like the direction they went with the new album. It starts out with an eerie, ethereal intro that leads into an evolved version of the heavy percussion driven metal that you've come to expect from Slipknot. A couple of tracks later you reach the first single, 'The Devil in I" which showcases a nice range of dynamics while still being anthemic. The next track I want to highlight is "Goodbye" which starts out soft and dark in a 6/8 time signature. It sounds like a bit of a deviation from your typical Slipknot but don't skip this one. It builds into a heavy grind that almost feels like a 6/4 time signature when they add in the palm muted crunching and heavy percussion section that separates them from Stone Sour. Goodbye bleeds right into Nomadic which restores the heavy evolved Slipknot feel. But just when you thought you thought they had evolved from that initial raw sound on the self titled debut, 'The Negative One" will remind you they are still the same Slipknot they were in 1999. I really enjoy the evolved sound but it brings a smile to my face to hear a new song that could have easily been pulled from the first album. Those are my highlights, but there are plenty more great songs on .5: The Gray Chapter.
Live well, listen loud. - Empthollow
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