The game is over. The ongoing search for the subliminal message has long been an obsession (at least personally) when it comes to album titles, songs, and lyrics stamped with the Slipknot brand. If the 'clowns' indeed started with a not-so-indirect "Mate.Feel.Kill.Repeat." in 1996, the interpretive nuances began to come alive in "Iowa" (listen to "People=Shit"), to then become the driving force in the significant "Vol.3 Subliminal Verses".
The August 2008 release of "All Hope Is Gone" ('all hope is lost') should not be interpreted as the end, as the last breath before death, because while it is true that the band has changed along with the fans, it is also true that it has improved and taken on initiatives that were scarce in the previous works.
We could talk about guitar solos like in "Psychosocial", we could talk about alternative rock references ("Snuff", "Dead Memories") already present in the previous "Vol.3" with, however, mixed results.
The band's peculiarity remains the same, surprise. As a specific property to associate with this work, one cannot ignore an almost perfect production (also thanks to the lesson learned from the 'master' Rick Rubin, producer in "Subliminal Verses"), just as one cannot overlook a return to hard and pounding drum sounds, I would dare say 'Joey Jordison' style, making it iconic in an atypical and unique way of playing, not to be confused with profane noise, but with a rhythm that fully enhances the qualities, those of the 'clowns', rarely (if ever) questioned. The same leader Corey Taylor has perfected himself both in his hard and soft sides, as there are indeed no markedly 'emotional' episodes in the style of "Vermillion", and this time the 'Stone Sour' style fits perfectly, unlike in previous works, without being obvious, gentle, or forced.
Among the hardest tracks (even though it's amusing to talk about such a distinction when discussing Slipknot, at least for the general idea people have of the band), we find the lively "Gematria (The Killing Name)", "Where in Lies Continue" and the hard title track "All Hope Is Gone", which, if it weren't for an excellent solo by M. Thomson, in its raw style in sound and vocal base, could very well belong to "Iowa" rather than the present CD. Examples of a perfect mix between melody and power are the already mentioned "Psychosocial", the melancholic "Dead Memories", which in my opinion are among the best-executed pieces of the work, also noteworthy is the good "Vendetta", appreciated also for the background looped choruses during the refrain.
Obviously, in the end, personal opinions and tastes make the difference, but as much as one may be attached to one genre rather than another, it would have been hard to imagine a better comeback for the band, radically changed even in their skins, the masks that represent the unequivocal recognition of being Slipknot, masks that nod to the medieval setting, largely leaving behind the 'clown' style of past years. In short, 'hope is not lost', or at least this time there's no need for special interpretations. At this point, all that's left is to wait and see what the next mutation of the Slipknot universe will be, a universe in constant mutation, whether it's evolution or involution, it's simply a personal choice.
Tracklist and Lyrics
01 All Hope Is Gone (04:45)
The state of the nation - violation!
A broken promise is as good as a lie.
The hell is humongous, the devil's among us
and we will burn because we won't unite!
We won't witness anymore freedom.
Where is anybody? Do we need 'em?"
I would rather fight,
than let another die.
We're the problem,
but we're also the solution.
ALL HOPE IS GONE!!!
If you want you cannot take it from me.
If you think you can, you still don't know me.
Let me tell you, when I said it, I meant it
and I will always have the right to defend it.
Fifty seconds, a hundred murders.
The bill of rights is a bill of sale.
What will you do when the war is over?
What will you do when your systems fail!?
[chorus]
We have made the presence -obsolete.
What do you want?
What do you need?
We'll find a way,
When all hope is gone!
We've seen the fall of the elite.
Bury your life,
Take your disease.
We'll end the world,
when all hope is gone!
[chorus]
The wretched are the wounded,
The hungry starved to death.
At a place where no-one goes,
the air itself is a final breathe.
So discontinue,
the antisceptic cash charade.
As the cry of justice comes,
Our malignant fire fades.
I am the reason your future suffers.
I am the hatred you won't embrace.
I am the worm of a pure distinction.
I am the remedy, spit in my face!
All your lies and wars are out-dated.
All your subjects are dulling mind games.
I can rattle off a million other reasons why
but doesn't matter when the only thing we love will die.
[chorus 2x]
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Other reviews
By Zio_Ozzy
"The song immediately kicks off very strong with a very aggressive instrumental part."
"If the whole album is like 'All Hope Is Gone', we can expect one of the best albums from the 'knot."
By emanuele
"Slipknot is back much more intense than before, with that renewed anger that gave birth to 'Slipknot' and 'Iowa'."
Corey’s voice here sounds much dirtier and more gritty and, in a sense, also more interesting and unique.
By wish
"This work is exactly what the previous album 'Vol 3 The Subliminal Verses' and the Taylor and Root project 'Stone Sour' predicted for the band’s future: a remarkable melodic addition to the usual brutal and death-leaning style Slipknot had accustomed us to."
"If one is too attached to the old Slipknot, the title of the work will be extremely prophetic."
By velu
"All Hope Is Gone is a real wonder for the ears, it’s great to sing at the top of your lungs."
"This album makes us understand that experience has made the 9 masked men take giant steps... definitively METAL!"
By Tanzi
"This album is truly excellent, the band’s best, and I don’t regret rushing to my trusted shop on the day it was released."
"’Snuff’ is one of the jewels of the album, marking the band’s maturation with an unprecedented ballad in their history."