#But the moment I put on spider verse my brother does a shit job of pretending he doesn't despise the concept

[dandunn]

Cis men generate the most rancid vibes when you suggest a movie to watch that isn't in their immediate sphere of interest

[thats-the-teen-spirit]

Slipknot - We Are Not Your Kind album review

My first impression when I heard about the new Slipknot album coming was that they’ll never outgrow themselves when it comes to writing songs. They’ll never go full experimental and throw a bunch of random shit to their songs to make it either poppier or even heavier. Turns out they can, but the pop aspect is still far from them.

We are not your kind is named after All Out Life, the first single they put out in 3 years. That song however didn’t make it to the album because the band (probably mostly Corey Taylor himself) thought that it didn’t fit the story and the mood of the whole album, but the chant towards the end of the song made it to be their new album’s title. It sounds like an edgy emo band’s new single at first but honestly that chant is gonna be the greatest thing to sing and scream live.

Insert Coin, the first track of the album is the usual Slipknot intro, it’s creepy, it’s dark, it makes no sense, just like on their previous albums. With intros like  742617000027, (515), or .execute they already made it clear that they’re going back to their roots with the random noises instead of a song as an introduction.

Unsainted, the first single from the album divided the band’s oldest fans when it came out. It has a choir in it which makes it a little Ghost-like, semi-satanic (the lyrics imply that as well) and creepy, especially when after the choir and the clean buildup the songs blasts like crazy. Ghost isn’t known for the aggression Slipknot has that’s for sure but after the first scream Corey lets us know that they’re not going to play poppier, they play the same shit, they just wanted something to spice it up. The chorus is clean, catchy, the riffs are the usual Slipknot quality, the drums are banging, the breakdown is heavy, everything you’d expect from them as they march towards the catharsis of the song when Corey screams: YOU’VE KILLED THE SAINT IN ME.

Birth Of The Cruel is the third single, came out right before the album dropped. It’s probably the most old-school-ish Slipknot song they wrote since the Vol 3. days. It has the thing that Corey did best on their first two albums which is that Nu metal buildup that goes from silently whispering, to talking or rapping and then screaming. Sounds like a mix of Scissors and I am hated in my opinion but I might have overlooked the lyrics a little bit. The headbanging breakdown is great, the sampler sounds from Sid give this song a Self-titled feel. A solid song they’ll play live for sure.

Death Because of Death, is an interlude that is simple, short and experimental. Corey said they tried this because if this fits in the right moments, ‘you’ve really got something’. I don’t think this song will be played often but if it hypes up the crowd it might as well just work.

Nero Forte is my favorite so far, but I don’t think “trve maggots” will appreciate this one. The intro sounds like a melodic death metal song with Slipknot drums, then it turns into the usual riffage from Mick and Jim with the scream-rapping from Corey, nothing special in the first minute, then the buildup, aaaaaaand, a really clean, high-pitched chorus. What. I was so surprised when I heard this first, I was genuinely smiling on the bus and people thought I was crazy. Then of course the chorus has the same Corey screaming/rapping as usual, the bridge is cathartic, what more do you want really. Unites both the new and the old direction and fans.

Critical Darling starts off as an old-school Slipknot song, same riffage, same buildup-scream and old school scream-rap verses. The prechorus has that walking feel to it, as if you’re slowly building up your speed as you try to run away from something. The chorus sounds like it came from an idea Corey had for Stone Sour but somehow it didn’t make it to Hydrograd. The clean interludes in the song has AHIG vibes (remind me of the bridge of Dead Memories). For some reason it closes off with random noises I never understand in Slipknot songs, I guess when they’ll play this song live they’ll have time for a beer when it plays.

A Liar’s Funeral might be the most experimental thing on the record. First I had the feeling of Snuff, with the depressing acoustic intro and Corey’s sad lyrics with pure clean vocals. Then it takes a weird turn as he sceams LIAR, the depressive acoustic guitars in the background turn almost creepy with the heavy guitars in front, sounds like Corey’s in pain but in a melancholic way. The bridge where he screams: BURN, BURN, BURN THE LIAR is gonna be screamed by the maggots who feel like they’ve been betrayed that’s for sure. The song then turns into a weird hybrid of a usual Slipknot heavy song with a cool solo and an emotional end. I had the ‘Killpop’ vibes with this song but with more random shit thrown together.

Red Flag is the most boring song for me on this album. Yes, it has the same riffs, yes, it has the screams, yes it has no clean chorus. Honestly it sounds like The Negative One part 2. It’s most likely a filler song they might play once or twice live but will never make huge success. If I’m wrong that’s because the fans of AHIG and .5 are hyping up this song too much because it sounds like from those records and they have the nostalgic feel to them.

What’s Next is an elevator song interlude. That’s it. Towards the end it gets louder and guitars come in as if something big and spooky is about to happen as you get out of the elevator.

Spiders starts off with a piano intro and Corey singing to a weird time signature. Corey’s vocals are mixed and mastered great on this one, I can’t even decide if it has those creepy vibes or it sounds like Stone Sour went progressive metal. Definitely a cool song to have on here, a little bit experimental, a little bit new, the same catchiness, the same feeling on the clean vocals, It’s like a creepy depressive little brother of the Vermillion songs. 

Orphan is another song they’ll play live for sure. Slow noisy intro, usual Slipknot riffs, great chorus. A little higher pitched than Unsainted, a little less than Nero forte. It really speaks to the outcasts of society. The emo kids are gonna lose their shit if they hear the lines: EVERONE HAS SOMETHING, SOMEONE HERE HAS EVERYTHING. The breakdown is solid with vocals that go from talking to screaming, great to hype up the crowd just before the end of the show for the last bits and the encore.

My Pain is another experimental piece. If i want to put it in words it’s like a mix of What’s Next and Spiders. Gives me Danger/Keep Away vibes as well, just to make sure we have every album united on this one. It’s the last calm before the storm before the end of the album and it fits really well.

I can only imagine the writing process of Not Long For This World. Nine masked guys sitting around a table and each one of them has an idea. In the end it gets thrown together and pretty much all of their past albums’ unique sounding elements are present. The samples of Self-Titled, the creepiness of Iowa, the silent vocals in the first verse from Vol 3, the chorus feels like it’s from AHIG, the riff from the prechorus is like from Killpop on .5. I’m sure some parts of this song is made to make you feel nostalgic for their past records and it does a great job.

Solway Firth with its weird, random title, the last song on the album was the second single after Unsainted. It’s such a normal Slipknot song that most of the fanbase loved it and it’s the perfect song to end the record with. The lyrics are about the same topic as many songs in their past: don’t lie to me, don’t try to understand me, I’m different, you can’t do anything about it. Perfect for outcast kids, for metalheads, for anyone who feels like this way. It’s also a message for the media probably since they write about Corey and the rest of the band so often.

Did Slipknot change over the past 24 years? Yes. Did they have musicians swapped around and have them (especially Corey and Clown) to blame? Yes. Do they give a single fuck about it? Absolutely not and this record proves it. They won’t change their style, they won’t get heavier or softer, they’re the same guys from Iowa (well, most of them) and they like to play music.

This album is their best since Vol 3. It unites everything that has ever been Slipknot. The aggression and the feelings are the same. I’m proud of them for making this record and writing it a little more experimental but not as much as it becomes something else they’re not