I was truly very surprised with how little time passed between Slipknot’s last album, We Are Not Your Kind and their new effort The End, So Far. Really though, the internet told me it has been almost four years, but boy has the pandemic made time speed past me, apparently.
The real surprise for me I suppose, is how they managed to make new music when they were so busy touring since their former album came out. I suppose 2020 made everyone stop in their tracks, but I’m still impressed with how quickly this came together. Now, as you know, I’m not a huge Slipknot fan, but thanks to my sister, I’ve both heard and seen them live a healthy number of times. This is why I decided to check out their newest album. Also, I’m also kind of impressed by the changes in musicality their albums take you through. I know most, myself included, would just expect an assault on the ears from front to back, but lead singer Corey Taylor has impeccable vocals.
That’s also the case on this record. The two singles released for the record, “Yen” and “The Chapeltown Rag” are prefect examples of how versatile this band really is. It came as no surprise that my sister preferred the latter single, which featured much heavier instrumentals and more screaming vocals, where the former single was my preference, containing more melodic pieces. In fact, a good chunk of the songs off this record reminded me a lot of Queens of the Stone Age front-man, Josh Homme. This might be the first time ever where I heard similar qualities, and I was definitely impressed by it!
In listening through this album on Youtube, naturally a handful of songs in the playlist were accompanied by their music videos, which I always appreciate watching. “The Dying Song,” a banger, heavily featured the band, and I loved one of the member’s disco ball mask! The bass in that song is also fantastic and sounded a lot like the classic Slipknot fans are familiar with. A couple other videos from the album took place more in a live setting, which is also where this band thrives. The fanbase for these guys is vast and unwavering in their love, and the band knows it, plays to it, and consistently thanks them for it. Even though I wouldn’t have cared to have seen these guys three times so close together, I really respect the amount of gratitude they have for the fans. That’s the best.
Anyways, diehard fans of the band are definitely not going to be disappointed, but I can’t see this album as an entry point for new, fair-weather fans. I admire them for sticking with what they know, and I’m sure I’ll be hearing these songs live next year at some point.