Following a three-year hiatus to allow its members to focus on side projects, the nine-piece masked marauders from Des Moines, Iowa, have returned with All Hope Is Gone.
Whereas all hope might very well be gone from a sociopolitical stance, the same cannot be said for the biggest band to explode onto the metal scene during the past decade. All Hope Is Gone is a return to form for the band, while they continue to show their maturity as artists by further evolving their sound.
The new album captures the anger and ferocity of 2001's Iowa, and the experimentation of 2004's Vol. 3 (The Subliminal Verses), to arrive at Slipknot's heaviest and most diverse effort. "Snuff" shows that the group is not afraid to break out the acoustic guitars once again, while "Gehenna" will surely become the new soundtrack for the depressed.
Lyrically, Corey Taylor is tired of singing about what's wrong in his life and now focuses on what is wrong in the world. The state of the nation is clearly on Taylor's mind during the album's adrenaline-pumping opener, "Gematria (The Killing Name)." "America is a killing name; it doesn't feel or discriminate," and, "What if God doesn't care?" are ominously screamed during the song's chorus.
Whether he's talking about the U.S. military or making a statement about the band, when Taylor grunts, "We will burn your cities down," he's really letting you know that Slipknot is coming to rip off your face.
