(ROADRUNNER RECORDS; 2019)
Slipknot are back with their sixth studio album. Entitled WE ARE NOT YOUR KIND, the record is their first since 2014’s .5: THE GRAY CHAPTER. It is an absolute masterpiece of rage, brutality and destruction; I urge everyone to listen to it as soon as you possibly can. In an age of singles, it sits amazingly well in its entirety as a collection of musical mayhem. That’s how you’re going to want to digest it first: As an album. There are plenty of individual tracks to listen to and enjoy on their own merits.
The album opens with a hallucinogenic little intro titled “Insert Coin,” a bunch of trippy noises with a bit of vocals from Corey Taylor. This moves into “Unsainted,” which is a killer track. It opens with the Angel City Chorale singing the song’s chorus. Then Corey comes in with the chorus as well, before the whole thing goes into the absolutely SLAMMING verse riff. Taylor has crazy fire in his vocals during the verse as he barks the lyrics in a supremely dark way. The song is an absolute gem and one of the best songs from the ‘Knot in years. The contrast between verse and chorus work really well. There is also a really heavy breakdown in the middle that moves into a short chaotic instrumental section. Since the cut was released a few months back, it has grown on me the more I’ve listened to it. The next song, “Birth of the Cruel,” is another dark anthem, the last single to be released before the album’s release. It starts with an ominous, drum-heavy melody before moving into some clean vocals; the clean gives way to a really heavy groove and angry, screaming vocals. The chorus is amazing; I love the lyrics, “Death of the fool/Birth of the cruel.” What a wicked line! All in all, another solid track, capturing an amazing anger and darkness. There’s a ridiculously heavy groove that hits at about 2:50, coming off the back end of the chorus. Sid Wilson’s scratching is the highlight of this one as it adds a whole new element to the song. “Death Because of Death” is a slight interlude with strange sounds, tribal percussion and the repeated phrase “Death because of/Death because of you.” It leads into an absolute BANGER of a track in “Nero Forte.” This one is everything you could want in a Slipknot track. The drums stand out immediately, with the fills absolutely crushing you. It then moves into a nasty groove that has Taylor coming in with vocals like I haven’t heard from him in years. The song has some of everything that makes Slipknot original and awesome: Taylor’s rapid fire vocals make a triumphant return and the melodic vocals in the chorus are haunting. The break at about 3:10 is brutal. This all points to the fact that “Nero Forte” is one of Slipknot’s best songs… EVER! “Critical Darling” is more of the same, an absolute masterpiece of a metal song and everything you could want from Slipknot. While not as rapid fire as “Nero Forte,” the melodic vocal work in this one is worth the trade off. “A Liar’s Funeral” downshifts to a cleaner, slower, brutality filled dive into Taylor and company’s rage and aggression. Corey goes from singing beautifully over an acoustic guitar accompaniment to a slow, chugging groove with Taylor roaring “LIAR” over the distorted guitar. A great break to the fast paced assault up to this point, but not any less pissed off or aggressive. In fact, this could be the most aggressive song on the album. Again, an absolute masterclass in metal. Words can’t even describe how heavy “Red Flag” is! It sounds like it belongs on SLIPKNOT or IOWA. This is the heaviest song I have heard in 2019. It is absolute chaos… beautiful, heavy, brutal chaos. This is who Slipknot were when I was growing up. It reminds me of the Slipknot that trod the earth from 1999-2005. At about 2:15, the music stops, building into a breakdown where Jay Weinberg shows the world why he is one of the best drummers alive. From here to the end of the song, the drum work is absolutely inhuman. On an album with stellar songwriting and playing, “Red Flag” stands as another song that is among the group’s best ever.
“What’s Next” and “Spiders” are eerie and strange. The melody choice and use of piano leave one with a feeling of unease that flows throughout the couplet (“What’s Next” is an intro piece to the “full” song, “Spiders”). Uneasiness aside, Taylor uses really awesome harmony choices with his vocals in the chorus, making it another solid track. It manages to capture the same raw intensity that the rest of the album does, while recalibrating and giving you a nice reprieve before moving on to the closing numbers of the album. Shawn Crahan and Weinberg offer up a decent bit of percussion on “Spiders” that really adds to the eerie vibe. “Orphan” is my favorite track on WE ARE NOT YOUR KIND. The drum work is the most insane I have ever heard; I’ve listened to the cut numerous times and I am fairly certain that it is impossible for one person to play. The song is among the most raging and heavy thing I have ever heard from Slipknot. The groove, the vocals, the guitars, the percussion, and ESPECIALLY the drums work together on a level Slipknot has never realized before. Taylor’s trademark melodic vocals mixed with powerful, aggressive screams have never sounded better than they do here. You can hear Slipknot’s twenty-plus years of musical experience combined with an energy they haven’t had for the last fifteen years throughout this record, but it seems to all peak right here. “Orphan” is, to put it mildly, a perfect song. The perfection and immediacy is followed by a strange musical journey called “My Pain.” An ethereal intro with some disconcerting whispers moves into a section featuring an electronic drum kit and droning piano chords. The melody keeps things strange, kind of like an acid trip. Corey’s vocals are particularly haunting on this track. The lyrics are extremely dark and sad. It definitely feels like it’s building to something, but… what? There’s really not much more to say. “Not Long For This World” is amazing! It starts with Taylor singing over muted percussion before it pops off into the big riff at about 1:20, one of my favorite riffs on the whole record. It’s got pop, groove, and seems to live in total darkness; I love the way this song is written. It doesn’t feel rushed when the riff and chorus are introduced. At 3:20 in, this song becomes one of the heaviest parts of the album. Taylor’s vocals are fierce, hate filled. As the groove moves back into the original flow of the song with heavier guitars, it works quite well. The cut definitely elicits an emotional response from the listener. Sid Wilson shines here, as he is all over the track displaying his skill on the turntables. “Solway Firth” closes the album out with a bang. It starts with a spoken word piece from Taylor and then explodes; the percussion and turntables make the beginning really stand out and the track features some of the best lyrics on the entire record. The pace is incredible, slamming forward with a reckless abandon toward the listener, not caring whether you survive it or not. On an album of unrelenting brutality, “Solway Firth” may just be the darkest, the most brutal song on WANYK. There is ZERO reprieve, just fast-paced metal destruction. Some of Jim Root and Mick Thomson’s best guitar work of the entire album happens here. At about 4:28, a breakdown pushes the limits far past what has already taken place. This is close to the angriest song Slipknot has ever made. After too long a wait, Slipknot has released a perfect album; a masterpiece of mayhem. I cannot stress highly enough that you give this record a listen!
