6.02.2010

Slipknot - Vol.3 (The Subliminal Verses) - 2004 - "...Welcome to annihilation."

Slipknot - Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses)
For their third album, nu metal's masked minstrels of mayhem dial back on the aggro overdrive and strive to add more dimension and variety to their usual cacophonous onslaught of speed and fury.

First and foremost, Slipknot is a band of extremes. At the time of recording Vol. 3, this band featured nine members (founding member and bassist Paul Gray died on May 24, 2010). They wear creepy masks that resemble something out of a Wes Craven nightmare. They also play songs that would make a pedophile blush at speeds that seem to clock in at about 1,000bpm. For Vol. 3, Slipknot bunkered down in a haunted Los Angeles mansion (where Blood Sugar Sex Magik was recorded) and summoned mega producer Rick Rubin (Beastie Boys, Johnny Cash, Danzig, System of a Down, etc.) to ensure the quality of their most adventurous effort yet.  

As it turns out, these brutal ogres from Iowa have hearts of gold after all. Don't get me wrong -- these guys are still brutal on Vol. 3. Old skool fans will definitely find the decay, pain, hurt, and the demonic stuff here (...'Fingers on your skin, let me savage in...' etc.). However, you will also find melody, harmonies ('Circle' and 'Vermillion, Pt. 2' especially), acoustic guitars and a few medium paced tempos. There's even catchy choruses for songs that sound like something getting sodomized by a cement mixer. And it works -- there is a nice enough flow among the hard-hard-soft-hard-hard-soft song sequence. Vol. 3 is pretty enough for the less-than-brutal souls, but it also aims to not alienate the arm-carving types. My own personal confession after listening to this album? I actually got more enjoyment watching these guys slow it down...it's pretty fucking good and spooky at times (check out the album closer 'Danger - Keep Away'). 

Constructive comment time -- the lyrical approach on Vol. 3 is utterly ridiculous. Too much of the album's lyrics utilized some sort of clarity/conflict/contradictory solution technique. I'll demonstrate:

'...I am all, but what am I...?'

'...My future seems like one big past...'

'...The lies that I owned, now own me...'

'...Now as far as I know, I don't know anything...'

Just for giggles, one of the above lines is made up by me (I'll never tell which one), the other three are honest to god quotes from Vol. 3. After realizing this technique four or so songs in, it became a personal joke to see if singer Corey Taylor would keep it up. Boy, did he ever. This realization yielded a heavy point loss on this album for me. This swill reads like Hot Topic spiral notebook high school poetry. I also just about shit my wagon when I heard a gutteral, 'JUST LOVE ME!' towards the end of the album. Maybe I missed the point, but when I scratched the surface too deeply, Vol. 3 felt less like a brave new step and more like inane melodrama.

I'm not ashamed to admit that despite its hilarious flaws, I enjoyed this album. Granted, I'm a headbanging drama nerd from the '90's, so I may be a part of Vol. 3's key demographic. Some may approach this album with trepidation ('Danger'), others may be repelled by its presentation or effect ('Keep Away'). But remember, this album has a tender side ('...just love me?'). Maybe what Slipknot needs most of all is a few hugs and a kitty.

In memory of Paul Gray
April 8, 1972 - May 24, 2010  

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