Much less profanity, more melody, more traditional song structures, and a generally less heavy atmosphere (relatively speaking) were all traits that describe Slipknot’s 2004 album Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) accurately enough. An album that contains some of the band’s most iconic songs, “Before I Forget” landed the band a Grammy award, and “Duality” is still one of nu-metal’s most iconic music videos.
Released on May 25th, 2004, the album has a lot more depth to it than metal fans might think, though. Acoustic pieces like “Circle” are sandwiched between more experimental songs like “Opium Of The People” and “Welcome”. There’s a song dedicated to the band’s fanbase, “Pulse Of The Maggots”, that continues to build its intensity until it goes completely off the rails. There’s the drumming and percussion masterclass of “The Blister Exists”, which is one of Slipknot’s greatest achievements. Remember, this is the same band who wrote nihilistic anthems like “Surfacing” just four years earlier, but melody had always been part of the Slipknot mantra. It just hadn’t happened on this level quite yet.
Produced by Rick Rubin, the album cemented Slipknot as one of the biggest metal bands of their era. Considering nu-metal was commercially on the way down at this point (being replaced by metalcore), Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) stands as a high achievement for Slipknot, and is a notable example of streamlining a band’s sound without sounding diluted.
