Review Summary: Mixing old tendencies with unexpectedly remarkable ideas, Slipknot finds a way to stay relevant whether you like it or not.
We’ve been down this road before. Corey Taylor states the next Slipknot record is the heaviest and angriest release they’ve ever made. Stoked by new flames of inspiration, it’s something we’ve never heard before and Loudwire eats it up with dozens of interview snippets spread throughout the months before release. Though 2019’s
We Are Not Your Kind didn’t reach those dizzying heights, it did show the fire was still lit under the band giving us a modern take on Slipknot by incorporating songwriting and production techniques heard from the most popular bands in the metal scene with their own twist.
The End, So Far isn’t as successful as their last effort, but it stitches together their typical formula with interesting and new ideas to give us a great albeit disjointed record that shines when they stray from the beaten path.
Would you believe me if I told you
The End, So Far starts off with a melodic piece that has more ties to 70’s outfits like The Who and Pink Floyd than any metal group by incorporating funky bass lines, angelic harmonies, tight drums that never reach for the double pedal, and dreamy piano sequences? Out of the gate, “Adderall” proves that even the most jaded listener can see that Slipknot have more up their sleeves nearly 25 years since their debut. With each listen, I become enamored with everything that is here. The only unfortunate thing is midway through my first listen I wondered how the hell this would transition into one of the singles, “The Dying Song (Time to Sing)”. Thing is, it doesn't transition at all. Though I appreciate the band experimenting sonically, the whiplash is severe and feels slapped together even if both tracks deliver individually.
“The Dying Song (Time to Sing)” is the purest form of comfort food and has grown on me since my first listen. Yes, we can all hear the Stone Sour comparisons, but there is enough of that Slipknot flavor that keeps itself from straying too far. “Yen”, the best of the three singles, is a reminder that they’re still capable songwriters. Corey steals the show with heart-rending, bipolar-imbued vocals cutting the sugar-coated BS and depicting love in its rawest form, but the entire band finds unity throughout swelling up to a punchy and emotional finale that we’ve yet to hear from them.
Masquerading as an acid-induced intro from what I’d assume came from the mind of Shawn “Clown” Graham, “Hivemind” delivers with guttural guitar sections complimented by blistering blast beats and echoing keg hits that we’ve come to expect that culminate to an infectious hardcore beatdown. “Warranty”, though similar, is amplified by apoplectic vocals and some of the most throat scorching lows of Corey’s career and even dabbles in a few choir moments akin to “Unsainted”. Though I abhor the name of “H377” for evoking a wealth of regretful memories of my teenage emo years where I’d think a title like this would be badass, the track itself is a headbanger. With frenetic vocals that harken to their debut album, Corey delivers on all fronts. Drums delightfully pound your eardrums, and the guitar solo is tight and concise. Though deja vu really kicks into high gear with these tracks, they’re still decent in their own rights.
Not all familiarity is weighted equally on
The End, So Far though. “Heirloom” and “De Sade” meddle with different eras of the band with less success. “Heirloom”, the weakest track on the record, retreads old ground and lacks any compelling guitar work. Though “De Sade” has an indelible intro inspired by the days of
Iowa, it swerves into a more melodic approach more comparable to the lesser parts of
.5: The Gray Chapter. The ending is the only engaging part, but it takes too long to get there. Trimming some of the fat would’ve done wonders here. They also both present the weakest vocal delivery on the record with forgettable choruses.
Dreamy and haunting atmosphere permeate through the beginning of “Medicine for the Dead”, slowing down the pace of the record with a stirring opening sequence that sounds like it could oddly fit in an episode of The Twilight Zone. The slow, experimental builds throughout seem much more conjoined than the interludes heard in
We Are Not Your Kind, showing innovation and progression. “Acidic” surprises listeners with unexpectedly smooth, blues-tinged crooning and a welcoming use of vocoders. Verses sway along with weightless guitar licks and impressive solos. Infectious from beginning to end with the best singing and guitar work (taking pages of classic rock yet again) from the band in years, it’s easily the standout track and has skyrocketed to one of my favorites of their entire discography.
The record ends on a high note with “Finale” experimenting with similar prog influences like “Adderall”. Infusing Corey’s cleans with orchestral strings, piano, and weird as all hell choir sections make it yet another highlight. It definitely gets heavier than the opener, but both show longtime fans something unique, and I hope the band explores these sounds on future records. With a spacey outro, it fades out with melodic guitar backed by a haunting choir capping off a familiar, yet also wildly different Slipknot record. Though the bookend tracks are sonically different, we haven’t seen this level of innovation since
Vol 3: The Subliminal Verses even if it doesn’t reach those highs and should’ve been implemented more throughout.
Simply put,
The End, So Far muddles the waters with habitual tendencies but truly shines when the group experiments with new soundscapes. The best parts here are when the band don’t try to imitate the drug-ridden days of desolation and unbridled anger and instead focus on making Slipknot a force that can be melded to different genres and a wider array of emotions. Of course, there are plenty of punishingly heavy tunes to whet the appetite of the general audience, but more importantly, Slipknot sounds like they’re nearly ready to finally release themselves from the trappings that have plagued them for the better part of fourteen years. With what sounds like the final ties to Roadrunner Records severed after this release, the road is as vast as they imagine it. Though weaker attempts like “Heirloom” and “De Sade” detract from the second half of its 58-minute runtime, remarkable works such as “Adderall”, “Yen”, “Medicine For The Dead”, “Acidic”, and “Finale” establish that
The End, So Far is a surprisingly mature release from Slipknot that begs the question if they actually need to maintain their angsty personas anymore.
