Review Summary: A mainly raw, heavy, aggressive album, from a band that mirrors those personalities. This album got Slipknot back together, and gave them some great success. Definitly a great listen for all metal fans alike.
Slipknot is a very unique group to say the least, forming in the late 90’s in the thick of the nu-metal era. Tons of rip-off nu-metal bands trying to copycat Deftones and Korn were emerging around the time Slipknot started getting noticed. Slipknot were not one of those copycat bands, they were something very different. Similar to Marilyn Manson their image was not anything cute and cuddly; they wore grotesque homemade Halloween masks, referred to their fans as “maggots”, and in live performances were extremely unpredictable and at times dangerous. I remember watching a video of their’s around 2000 or so, I was about 7 and was scared for my life when it was over. Also in the summer of 1999 percussionist Shawn “Clown” Crahan split his skull open twice during touring by banging it through his own drum kit. Slipknot was no ordinary band, at the time they were something different.
Slipknot got together in 1995, and in 1996 self-released an album called “Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat.” This got some buzz around Slipknot, and eventually got Roadrunner to sign them in 1997. Then in 1999 Slipknot released their self-titled album, went on to constant touring, built up a fan base, and finally gaining enough momentum to play at Ozzfest that year in 1999. Ozzfest got Slipknot around by word of mouth and some airplay with tracks “Wait and Bleed” and “Spit It Out” launching Slipknot certified as platinum in 2000. Their next album “Iowa” didn’t do so well with a lot of competition, and debuted at number 3 on the charts. After “Iowa” Slipknot toured a bit, then the members of the band split to different side projects and such, but returned in 2004 and released “3 Subliminal Verses”. A new breed of third generation masks were made and they toured for awhile after. “ Vol.3 (The Subliminal Verses)” basically got the band back together, and was a breath of fresh air for “maggots” everywhere.
Slipknot themselves includes 8 members, each doing something different. A good person to start with would be Corey Taylor, lead vocals for Slipknot and his former/current band Stone Sour. In Slipknot, Taylor has very aggressive vocals, and darker lyrics, basically the opposite of himself in Stone Sour. Taylor’s vocals can be wild and unpredictable at times and others very melodic. “Vermilion”, “Vermilion Pt. 2” and “Opium of the People” can be examples of Taylor’s more melodic vocals. His vocal range is tremendous, he could be going from a scream to fast paced singing, to yelling, and finally all the way back to a whisper all in one song, a good example of that would be the fourth track “Duality”. All throughout “Vol.3 (The Subliminal Verses)” Taylor’s vocals fit very well with Slipknot’s heavy metal sound, and don’t ever get annoying or out of place.
Next up on the lineup is Joey Jordison, Slipknot’s extremely talented drummer. Jordison is also a guitarist, but in Slipknot he plays drums, and close to god-like in some people’s perspective. Jordison is as good of a drummer I’ve ever heard so far, and his drum work is amazing at all times in “Vol.3 (The Subliminal Verses)”. His drums are never in-audible, and largely make up most of Slipknot’s sound. Jordison’s tremendous double bass pedal drum set sounds off constantly, and sounds very complex and heavy. A great example of his drum work could be the second track “The Blister Exists”. Jordison’s play is the backbone to the entire song, making the song much catchier and heavier, and even has a solo that sounds like a heavy metal version of a military drum beat. Jordison’s drum work as I said before is amazing on “Vol.3 (The Subliminal Verses)” as well as Slipknot’s other releases.
Others included in Slipknot would be the guitarists, bassist Paul Grey, guitarist Mick Thompson and guitarist James Root. Grey’s bass riffs often blend well with Jordison’s bass pedal, and at times sound in sync, a great example would be the song I talked about with Jordison, which is “The Blister Exists”. It’s one of the better tracks on the album, it’s more bass oriented, and has a very heavy metal sound. Grey’s bass lines help add the heavier side to Slipknot as well as Jordison, his riffs are quick, heavy, and definitely help establish some of the raw, aggressive, brute, and dark Slipknot sound.
Root and Thompson are Slipknot’s other guitarists, and aside from Grey and Jordison they don’t always have as much face time as other guitarists. That doesn’t mean they aren’t heard, their play is a big part of Slipknot’s sound. It can range from heavy and fast, to acoustic. The transition from “Vermilion” and “Vermilion Pt. 2” for Root and Thompson is huge. In “Vermilion” they have heavier, quicker, and louder riffs that go along with Grey during the verses, and even take a turn with a frenzied distortion solo that goes on for half a minute or so. On “Vermilion Pt. 2” Root’s play completely changes, along with the rest of Slipknot, besides Taylor. Root plays acoustic guitar, which sounds very strange, and dark. It adds another element to Slipknot’s sound, a darker, softer, and catchier sound. Both Root and Grey don’t disappoint at any time during “Vol.3 (The Subliminal Verses)”, and help make the album that much better.
And what you have left of Slipknot besides the members I have described are the secondary members you could call them. Their DJ Sid Wilson is probably the next to describe, in order of importance. His highlight of the album is the twelfth track “The Nameless”, immediately his turntables add a sloppier, quicker, and frenzied pace to the song, playing along side of Root and Gray. Wilson also adds some background atmosphere; a good example of this would be “Pulse of the Maggots”. During the beginning you can hear the repeated chant of the crowd, and a loud alarm to start off the song. Finally the last members of the band are the percussionists, Chris Fehn and “Clown” who I described earlier. They don’t have a whole lot of noticeable work on “Vol.3 (The Subliminal Verses)” and are mainly seen in live performances. Both of them are equally crazy, but on one live performance I saw “Clown” running around with a pipe, hitting the members of the band with it. That in itself shows you the kind of influence “Clown” and Fehn have on the “maggots” as well as Slipknot’s live sound.
Well those are the members of the band, but I haven’t really described the album itself. “Vol.3 (The Subliminal Verses)” came at a very important time in Slipknot’s career. The members were at a crossroads; they had begun different bands and done various different things and side projects. Taylor posted a commentary on the band’s site, saying they hadn’t talked in an extended period of time, and would rather break up than becoming “the next Gwar”. This sparked an argument between Gwar’s front man and Taylor that was quickly resolved. Taylor withdrew his comments and said the band was getting back together to start a new album. “3 Subliminal Verses” came at a time where most of the “maggots” had either gone on to different things, or forgotten. It had to get Slipknot noticed again, and it did just that. “Vol.3 (The Subliminal Verses)” peaked at #2 on the billboard charts, and got Slipknot to appear on Ozzfest that summer in 2004.
“Vol.3 (The Subliminal Verses)” all in all is an excellent album. It brings back that raw, aggressive feel to Slipknot that some might have thought they lost in their brief hiatus. They got the masks back on and created an album that is as heavy as ever for Slipknot, which can at times sound very dark and soft, and others a very loud, aggressive, musical heart attack. It has more good tracks than bad, doesn’t get very repetitive, has great contribution by every band member, and always entertains whether it’s through a heavier or softer sound. It is definitely a gem to come out of the nu-metal era, and a great listen for metal fans around.
