So Slipknot is a weird journey, much like many of the children of the 90s; nu metal was something that took over MTV from around 1997-2008. You know, when MTV played videos and wasn’t just reality TV trash. Slipknot had a much more visceral aggression while also being angsty enough to be inviting. Wait and Bleed showcased a some of their radio sensibility with the cleaner parts, and got across the rage in spades when Cory screamed. For a long time they were also kind of a meme amongst musicians since they literally had a dozen people on stage playing trash cans and barely “musical” instruments.

This brings me to when they figured things out with Vol. 3 (The Subliminal Verses) in 2004; but that also marked a weird pivot in their sound. They definitely lost a lot of their angst and aggression, plus Cory was doing more with Stone Sour so the bands began to blend a little. There’s been a handful of Slipknot songs that have caught my attention in the last 18 years, but not many. So lets see if this a return to form, or at least them finally figuring out how to blend their sounds.

Slipknot is: Cory Taylor (vocals), Sid Wilson (turntables, keyboards), James Root (guitars), Craig Jones (samples, media, keyboards), Shawn Crahan (custom percussion, art direction, backing vocals), Mick Thomson (guitars), Alessandro Venturella (bass, piano), Jay Weinberg (drums), Michael Pfaff (custom percussion, backing vocals)

• Artist: Slipknot
• Album: The End, So Far (2022)
• Label: Roadrunner
• Total Track Time: 57:31

Adderall starts out with some white noise and very sparse plucking of some stringed instrument. Then we get a really weird drum kick and what sounds like a Hip Hop sample before joining into a very Billy Joel or David Bowie kind of instrumentation. Its really not how I was anticipating this album to start out, with a moody bluesy depression opener. The Dying Song (Time to Sing) well it starts off a capella and then we go into a bit of People = Shit aggression and the chorus is a bit cleaner to get the point of the song across, but at least this has some teeth. It makes enough of a point with the fact that Americans seem to be caring less and less with the way the society has plummeted. So full support of anarchy is always fun. The Chapeltown Rag continues the old school anger including the spoken word breaking up some of the rap and scream. ” Oh, how I missed your namaste, You never miss with your integrity, You’re gonna need a new disguise, Vessels burst, veins release, Just slide into the nearest lie” – fun concepts of media manipulation in a pretty groovy and angry song. Yen really does remind me of Subliminal Verses era Slipknot and Vermillion more specifically. It’s such a powerful song with imagery and sung in a haunting and disturbing way. Even if you can’t relate to the baser concept of “dying for someone” this could also be more abstract of a part of someone or an honorable sacrifice. Its just wrought with emotion lyrically and how its sung that I can’t find anything to be picky about.

Hive Mind is definitely a song with a point, and I often have my own complaints about Hive Minds or Tribalism nowadays, but this feels like its trying too hard musically. It sounds like it tries to recapture some of Tattered & Torn but while I don’t dislike the subject matter, the song is just generic mediocrity from a musical perspective. Warranty again, really tries to hark back to the 1999 sound, but I think the breaks in the aggression and how they do their harmonies takes away some of the bite. Plus lyrically it really feels like a song to rally around changing the system to stop the cycle of band aid fixes and guarantees; and just to buy brand new. So again, a topic I agree with, just musically it lacks something to really get the point across. Medicine For The Dead is obviously their covid song, but I’ll be honest, its painted in enough analogy that it just comes off like an ominous song. It’s like a weird combination of Queensryche & Nevermore. This is definitely a song where applying some weird little pop elements works well with the growled/aggressive vocals.

Acidic starts off like some prog King’s X style of song. The problem here, is that it definitely feels more Stone Sour than Slipknot. It’s a decent bluesy rock song, but it feels very out of place; and trying to ramp up the tempo and aggression as it goes on just gives off the vibe of trying too hard. Heirloom starts up right as Acidic ends, and that helps wake me back up. The record scratches and white noise early on brings back the old Slipknot vibes. “A moment never lasts that long, A moment never lasts so long right now, No matter how the past has gone, You’ll always have the past along for a lifetime now” – so heirloom is interesting. The chorus reminds me a bit of Megadeth Family Tree; and given the fact that the song is basically saying the heirloom you pass down is all of your accrued trauma and anger, it fits pretty well. H377 while I don’t love the title, though I get the point that 7s look like inverted Ls, its also confusing being a 1337 speak dork from the early 00s. However, my issues with the title aside, this…is pretty fantastic. Its vibes like an updated Wait and Bleed and brings in that syncopated rapping and rage filled flow Cory was well known for in the old days.

De Sade is far too pop. It sounds like an Adam Lambert song with heavier instrumentation. This song is just…no. Its another one of those songs that’s trying too hard and I find myself zoning out in how boring this song is. Finale while being in that almost Doom march style of slower “soft” song, it has a very good rhythm and is a catchy tune in its own right. The hopelessness of the lyrics are actually complimented with the odd chamber choir way the chorus is done toward the end. It bookends the album well since it started off with oddly dreary and slow as well.

Now I’ll admit, with how much hype this album was getting, I was expecting a lot more. While its not bad and generally their most well rounded effort in a long time, there’s quite a few weird elements to this album. When they recapture their older sound, it sounds great; but then there’s other times it just sounds like trying too hard. This could be a product of me growing up and not being driven by petty angst flavored lyrics, but I know myself well enough to be aware…I love being petty.

So with all that said, a few songs are real gems, but the better portion of the album is just serviceable to decent. If you’re a fan, you’ll probably eat it up. If you’ve only sparingly cared since their heyday (like me), cherry pick this album.

Final Judgment: 6.5/10