Artist: Slipknot
Label: Roadrunner Records
Release Date: 8/28/01
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Title: Iowa Artist: Slipknot Label: Roadrunner Records Release Date: 8/28/01 |
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Abyss's Review:
I knew this moment would come. It could only stay hidden for so long. It’s hard, so hard, to keep living a secret life. Sure, I thought it would never come up. I played along and listened to all of your degrading jokes, as if I hadn’t a care in the world. There were moments I thought I could just blurt it out and I’d be accepted for who I am, rather than for a preference I had. I mean, we’ve come so far, and I like to think that we’ve grown to trust each other a little bit. Well, I have something to tell you. I hope it won’t change our relationship because I’m still the same person. And above all I don’t want things to get weird between us, because we still have the same things in common that we did before. Well, I guess I’ve been stalling long enough, so here it goes…. I… god, I didn’t realize how hard this was going to be. I’ve got to be strong…. I… don’t… hate… nu-metal. And some of it I actually… kinda… like.
"I’ve got to be strong…. I… don’t… hate… nu-metal. And some of it I actually… kinda… like." Just like glam in the 80s I find that, while the genre as a whole pretty much sucks, I find that there are a few acts that hold my attention and give me a certain pleasure. And while I hated bands like Poison and Warrant, I did like Ratt and Motley Crue. And so it goes again. I think that there are good nu-metal bands out there, if one tries to get past all of the hype. And while Limp Bizkit, P.O.D., and Linkin Park are some of the worst bands ever assembled, I think Korn, Deftones, and System of a Down have a little something more to offer. Is it my favorite music in the world? Hells no, but I think it’s just ignorant to brush it off as a genre. I’d rather listen to good nu-metal than bad death.
This brings us to Slipknot, arguably the heaviest nu-metal band out there. Make no mistake, these guys are nu-metal, but they seem to be inspired more by Slayer than by NWA. As a critic, it’s easy to put this band down due to the surprising success that they had on their first album, and as a metalhead it’s easy to put it down because it’s relatively accessible. So what’s my take on this new album with the stupid name? I’m not quite sure.
"This brings us to Slipknot, arguably the heaviest nu-metal band out there." Parts of this album I think are very good. For nu-metal to be good, it must utilize the characteristic that makes it unique, and that’s its heavy groove. The best album in the genre, Korn’s debut, is the best example of this. Slipknot actually take away from their groove by being so determined to keep the album heavy. Many riffs drift into accessible death metal before returning to the urban sounding rhythms that define nu-metal. And while I always admire a band’s heft and metalness, I remained unconvinced that Slipknot's marriage of Urbancore is as successful as it sounds like it should be on paper.
While some songs are well thought out and quite enjoyable, there are many that are just plain stupid. The repeatedly chanted chorus “If you’re 555 I’m 666” is a little too hokey for me, and it’s not alone on the album. But I’d have to label this album as successful because, more often than not, the songs are pretty good, and are what I am looking for in a nu-metal album.
"Whatever this album is, it is definitely the most fun you can have with a group of men dressed in coveralls." Are Slipknot the best band of the nu millenium? No. Are they even the best nu-metal band? I don’t think so. Are they a waste of time? Definitely not. Will I ever listen to this album again after this review? I think so, every once in awhile. Whatever this album is, it is definitely the most fun you can have with a group of men dressed in coveralls. So if you don’t care what your “metal” friends think of this band, you might want to give them a try, the rest of you have probably already made up your mind. Two-word review: Pretty good.
Death's Review:
"You are wrong, fucked and overrated. I think I’m gonna be sick and it’s your fault."
"Slipknot’s new record is finally out and it’s fucking brutal, just like they promised." Holy shit! Slipknot’s new record is finally out and it’s fucking brutal, just like they promised. Sick, downtuned, intricate, headbanging riffs abound-the kind that make you want to start picking up your furniture and throwing it through the window. The kind that make you want to hit people. Slipknot is an artificially condensed sugar-rush of aggression: so fucking dead-on in its sweetness that its nutritional value becomes irrelevant.
Not since Pantera debuted at number one with Far Beyond Driven has a band this extreme had such a mainstream impact. “515” opens things up with nothing more than annoying spastic screaming, but the next track “People=Shit,” kicks major ass. The first thing you hear, right out of the box, is a fucking blastbeat. With an extended blackened-death scream a la Cronos of Venom over the top of it. Yes, this track, like the majority of Iowa, features nu-metal effects thrown in (here a nu-metally, scratchy thing over the riff as it heads to the chorus), and there is a bit too much of the Jonathan Davis/nu-metal “say the same line 4 times over, each time spazzing out a little more than the last, moving from a breathy whisper to a insane scream when the heavy guitars come in” kinda thing going on. Further, claims of originality are hard to defend against a comparison of the bulk of this track with the latest records by labelmates Soulfly, Fear Factory and Machine Head. But my god people, when the ending riff kicks in at the 3:00 mark and the chant of “People equals shit!” gets going, don’t you just want to kill everyone? I know I do.
The next track, “Disasterpiece,” kicks off with something that sounds like a combo of new Machine Head and old Sepultura. Of course the vocals are extreme for most of the track, and there are some fast, S.O.D.-style beats. Drummer Jordison is fucking sick, of that simple fact there is no denial. But like most of the tracks on Iowa, this one is made by a riff. Not just any riff, however, but the absolutely, irresistiblely CRUSHING Morbid Angel-style, pick harmonic riff that comes in at the 2:35 mark. It is so fucking cool. Of course, most of the true death metallers will get turned off by the fact that the song segues into something sounding like it belongs on The Burning Red all over again between passages. But my god, the second time it comes in, followed by the BRUTAL riff which kicks in at the 4:49 mark, solidifies the sickness of this track.
"When the ending riff kicks in and the chant of 'People equals shit!' gets going, don’t you just want to kill everyone? I know I do."
“My Plague” is next and, at first, kinda sucks. It is definitely more Fear Factory than Morbid Angel, at least on the layered, clean-vocal chorus. But I appreciate the almost-progressive nature of the intro to the riff that comes in at 1:48, and I love the twisted thrashy intricacy backed by killer Jordison double-bass and “big- fill” drumming found in the rest of the riff. In fact, that riff, by itself, has to be one of the coolest I’ve heard in 2001. And, although parts of this track are a bit weak, you gotta love the fact that when you’re talking about Iowa, one of the hottest records in America in September 2001, you’re talking about the riffs. Like the one that comes in at 2:17 of the killer “Everything Ends.” Where else am I supposed to get such a rush of empowerment from music? Is the new Slayer gonna make me want to smash shit like this? I doubt it.
"That riff, by itself, has to be one of the coolest I’ve heard in 2001." I dig “The Heretic Anthem” too. Double-bass kicks things off. If I just played you this track straight three years ago, you would have loved it and would have never believed me if I told you this would ever be this popular. Who cares anyway, ‘cause this shit just totally crushes. It makes me want to dive into the pit again and start swinging limbs wildly-I guess I haven’t gotten older, I just haven’t heard any good riffs lately! Anyway, this song, like most of these, just plain crushes.
I could take you through the rest of the album track-by- track, but at this point continuing onward is a bit redundant-the pattern is clear. Killer drums. Sick riffs. Death metal influences. Pure aggression and hatred. The occasional blast beat. Nu-metal trimmings. Influences from Korn, Machine Head, Fear Factory and Soulfly. Yes, there is the Neurosis meets Nine Inch Nails meets boring nu-metal of mellow tracks like “Gently,” but even these moments ultimately do not deviate too far from the course. For better or for worse, this is Iowa. And it looks like America is eating it up.
"It’s junk food. I know it has no substance, but it tastes so fucking good." Bottom line for me? It’s junk food. I know it has no substance, but it tastes so fucking good. And it really is a hell of a lot of fun. Every time something like this comes along, a few purist, elitist fucks sit on the sideline with their noses in the air and miss out on all the fun. I’m saying fuck it and joining the party. See you in the pit, maggots.
Hel's Review:
Prior to Slipknot's meteoric rise to nu-metal fame, before anyone had "heard" of them, I had formed a strong opinion about the band. I thought they sucked. And this opinion was purely based upon the music, since I had not seen, and didn't even know about, "the look" at that point in time. When I did see them live, the buzz had not quite begun, although it seemed to be only weeks after that when their popularity would explode. I was not impressed at that point in time. I remain unimpressed at this time.
The Slipknot party line, if I understand this correctly, is that the costumes are not a gimmick, but some sort of political statement against gimmickry in the music business. Friends, it matters not what sort of spin you try to put on this one - in fact, toss the costumes and masks aside entirely for a moment - there are 9 people in a band playing music that is fundamentally driven by electric guitars? That's a fucking gimmick right there. Now consider that this ostentatious collection of musicians are all dressed identically, with the exception of the uniquely ugly masks each of them wears. Drape it in whatever type of propaganda you will - if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, it's a fucking duck, right? I find all of this chicanery as ridiculous as the music.
"I remain unimpressed at this time." Sure, they play their instruments well, whatever - this is irrelevant to me in this case. These guys could be Mozart, Beethoven, Wagner, Bach, Chopin, Sibelius, Haydn, Handel, and Tchaikovsky - as long as the music has that nu-metal bouncy, boppy, beat underneath, I'm not liking it, it's just that simple. And it does, don't kid yourself. (Of course the weird, trippy song at the end is the exception, but I'm talking album Gestalt here - the overall picture.) It also has that characteristic vocal pacing that is so similar to rap, but is nu-metal's own annoying derivation. I don't like the whiny, sing-song-y-ness of the clean vocals either. And while the predominate vocal style is "death", it lacks the kind of depth and power behind the growl that makes it so effective - frankly, I'm not scared or intimidated or moved or anything by this guy. A tip: you're not supposed to be able to understand any of the words to a true death vocal line.
My final bone of contention is the lyrics. Overall they strike me as juvenile, vaguely articulate, expressions of hatred and anger - not that there's anything wrong with that. But, generally the only lyrics this close to obviously inane that I can endure are either completely unintelligible or intended to be tongue in cheek, and in either case, I can still appreciate the music, if not the literal lyrical interpretation. Not so here. Here, I just feel vaguely insulted. Like when they call their fans "maggots": although I understand the intent, my instinctual reaction is a scathing retort which summates "I am not a maggot" in conjunction with my ire at the insult.
"But that fuck-you attitude is the essential core of the spirit of metal, and they clearly have embraced it." I do applaud their attempt at trying to make themselves more extreme in the wake of their success and their fiercely independent stance. But in reality, they retained the key elements that made their nu-metal fans like them, and those are the very elements I have found distasteful from day one. But that fuck-you attitude is the essential core of the spirit of metal, and they clearly have embraced it. So kudos for that, I'm a big fan of music that is so heavy it is nearly unlistenable, and if you ever make it out this far, Slipknot, I'll be here - cranking Kataklysm. ;)
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