Some people say to forget the past, but how is that possible when there are so many great things there? Everything from sports to movies and memories of all the good times in your life, but most importantly to me; music. I am taking you back 10 years ago to recognize and review the legends known as Slipknot and their third album, Vol. 3 (The Subliminal Verses)
Let me start off by saying if you have not heard of Slipknot, please do some homework. They are much more than what they seem. They are a family, a brotherhood, but more importantly I would describe them as a culture and everyone is welcomed with open arms. I’ve been listening to this band since their first release and I was very young at the time as well. I have a great love for all their studio albums they released but I would like to focus on this album because I feel it is overlooked by a lot of people. Yes, their self titled is an obvious masterpiece and always will be. It was the game changer for music and influenced many bands we listen to today. Iowa was another album that furthered the band’s career even more. Fast, technical, and heavy would be 3 choice of words to say about Iowa, oh and more angry. Let me jump ahead to All Hope Is Gone before I get right to the point. That album for me was very different, somewhat a softer side of the band but still managed to maintain their heaviness. Personally the more I listened to it the more I liked it even more. It’s definitely an album that will grow on you and those are the best cause I feel as if you won’t overplay it cause you like it so much.
So let’s go back to 2004. I believe I was in 4th or 5th grade and I haven’t heard anything from the knot in awhile. I get on the bus and sit next to a friend of mine who is a few grades higher than I am but lives in the same neighborhood as me. He then told me that a new Slipknot song has been released and I was blown away when he told me. As soon as I got the chance, I went straight to the FYE to buy the record and that was one of the best purchases I’ve ever made in my life. I popped it in to my CD player and pressed play. The first song off of Vol 3 titled Prelude 3.0 didn’t really register with me at first and same with Circle, later on I came to the conclusion they’ve all grown as musicians on top of Corey finally having success with Stone Sour.It kinda set the tone that they would start to do a soft song or two on any future releases. The song definitely grew on me after listening to it on my dark days. Blister had the kind of marching drum rhythm in the middle and was just very fast and intense much like Iowa. Three Nil came in with that hard hitting blast beat which I never really heard before so my mind was blown along with the grooves in the song. Next we have Duality, being the first song I heard from the nine I was super impressed with the catchiness of the song but the fact that it is still an aggressive track and a song I will always listen to. Opium Of The People, I’ll be honest that I wasn’t super wild about the song at first but later on it really caught on with me. The opening guitar riff always gets me, hell the whole song gets me! I really got a somewhat punk vibe from the song also the chorus is too catchy for words. Personally it is my favorite track off the album. Moving onto Welcome, I mean that whole song is just angry and so in your face much like their self titled album. I almost felt like Corey Taylor was in my face yelling at me! Also the guitar solo in the middle of the song was (sic) courtesy of the great Mick Thompson. Vermilion, a song that spoke to me greatly. The opening of the song had me hooked instantly. Every time I listened to this song I feel like I could hear the pain in Corey’s voice but it was still soothing and beautiful at the same time. The meaning behind the song was something that always stuck with me, the feeling of love lost and suicide. Both are touchy subjects for me but hearing that and Vermilion Pt. 2 made it easier to cope with those feelings. Pulse Of The Maggots, well that song is pretty self explanatory about how they and their fans are an unstoppable force to be reckoned with, very heavy and hard hitting. Before I Forget, another catchy song that made this band more successful. Everything about the song is immensely great and when I was having a bad day listening to that made me more positive. I also feel it was a message telling the listener to never forget what got them to their moments of greatness. The Nameless, a very intense track but also had parts where it would get soft then pick back up to being heavy then the song ends out catchy with the chorus, groovy chugging, and Corey screaming “YOU’RE MINE!”. Winding down we have The Virus Of Life, probably the one of the creepiest songs Slipknot has. I’ll be honest this song scared the shit out of me. The overall vibe of this song is just haunting like you’re being watched much like songs Prosthetics and Scissors from the band’s self titled. The guitar, Corey’s voice, the samples, drums, etc just wow. I am definitely hoping for more creepy songs like that by the band in the future. Danger – Keep Away I will say is my least favorite song album but it’s more of a ballad to end out the album and of course Mr. Taylor slayed the singing. One more song I’d like to talk about that isn’t on the album is a song title Scream. Sadly it did not make the cut, but was brought to light on their special edition CD. The song is very technical and upbeat and the lyrics are brilliant! I also personally love the dj scratches done by #0 Sid aka DJ Starscream.
All in all this album is my personal favorite. What really sold me on this album and made me love it so much more than all the other ones was the fact that their music matured a great deal. There are more guitar solos, more use of acoustic guitars and singing. Other things that also sold me was that there were different instruments such as cellos and violins played and also that this was the band’s first album to not have any explicit content in the songs. The experimentation used in this album really set them apart from any other material they’ve done. They blended a lot of different influences instead of making it super heavy and angry like the last two records. While they have made great impacts on many bands and musicians, Vol. 3 was so strong instrumentally and lyrically. At the point in time when the band was making this album, numerous things were going not so great. They were unproductive, Corey was heavily drinking during the process, and most of the time producer for the album Rick Rubin was not always around. Not to mention the fact that they recorded this album in a haunted mansion and they were under a large amount of pressure to make this record worth something and well let me tell you they fucking did! Many people tried to write them off and they weren’t going down without a fight. This album influenced me so much as a musician I couldn’t be more proud to say that this is my favorite knot record and I will gladly state my case to any maggot or person in general.
Now fast forward to present day where I am sitting here still listening to this album and waiting for the band’s brand new record titled .5: The Gray Chapter which will drop next month on October 21st. The first two singles released definitely remind me of Vol. 3 so only optimistic thoughts and feelings towards their new release. This band has guided me on the path to better myself and also gotten me through many dark times in my life. Thanks to anyone who took the time to read this article and read my opinion. More to come from me soon!
