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Rating: I am writing this review while declaring right away my very limited knowledge of Slipknot; some time ago I had heard some of their older tracks such as "people=shit", "wait and bleed", or "Spit it out", and I admit that I never liked them, I didn't find them pleasant to listen to, and for this reason, I never delved deeper into their music, not considering them noteworthy.
I approached this "all hope is gone" after reading very positive opinions and comments about this album, and so I decided to listen to it. All this introduction is to simply say that my review is not influenced by any particular fondness for Slipknot, I am not one of those fans who owns all their albums and knows all their songs by heart, so I can be very objective in my judgment.
This album, in my opinion, can be counted among the best of 2008, because it is an album of honest heavy metal, direct, pleasant to listen to, hard enough and tremendously heavy! I found all the defining elements of metal in it, growl singing, melodic choruses, distorted and fast riffs, hammering double bass, tempo changes, speedy tom fills, solos and even a semi-acoustic piece; you couldn't ask for more from a metal album! "All hope is gone" is a real wonder for the ears, it's great to sing at the top of your lungs, the tracks are perfect for headbanging and live they promise to be a real sound massacre. But the beautiful thing is that the "aggression" and technique are cleverly mixed with melody, and this album makes us understand that experience has made the 9 masked men take giant steps, who are now able to create pieces that don't tire, don't bore, are to be listened to and shouted from beginning to end and are definitively METAL!
Listen to the opening riff of "gematria", the super-fast drum passages get the party started and it's a continuous stop 'n' go mixed with splendid tempo changes, and you will start to understand what I mean... the next "sulfur" is more linear even if the double bass in the bridge is a real punch in the stomach that however leaves room for a nice chorus that's almost impossible not to sing along while listening to the CD. "Phsycosocial" is, in my opinion, one of the gems of this album, the quintessential metal song, which will make those who haven't grown their hair at least a meter long to headbang furiously during the listening feel regret; the chorus is once again sung with clean voice interspersed with growl and solos that give it that extra edge that permeates all the songs of this "All hope is gone". The next "dead memories" is also very beautiful, more rocking and melodic, while with "Gehenna" it seems like hearing Korn duetting with Soundgarden! It continues with "vendetta", a track with a killer double kick and yet another highly cadenced chorus; "butcher's hook" instead opens up more to the choruses while remaining brutal and direct. The title track is pure violence, where very fast riffs and tight black metal rhythms open up only for a few moments and then return to churning out blazing solos and riffs of an unprecedented aggressiveness, while growl choirs scream "all hope is gone", wonderful!
A few words also for the more introspective "snuff" where Slipknot give us a beautiful semi-acoustic track, light-years away from the tracks of their early albums, and which shows how far these guys have come, who over time have learned to control the anger they initially poured out without restraint in their tracks, and to channel it with more technique, more experience, and more taste, finally giving us a piece like this, a piece that we would not expect at all from Slipknot.
Ultimately an absolutely must-have album, full of everything that pleases a heavy metal listener: distorted, precise, powerful, and gritty sounds, beautiful and well-played tracks, tempo changes, fast rhythms, bone-crushing riffs, and clean and guttural voices that mix together. Never having been a fan of this group, I can't say if some moments of this album might seem too "easy" to long-time fans, but I can certainly affirm that this "all hope is gone" is an excellent metal album: forget Metallica (which I have already reviewed) and dive into this sonic assault, you will not be disappointed!
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 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."
By gurzogurzo
So many riffs in this new masterpiece from Slipknot, just as there are many riffs that get smashed on Mick Thomson’s guitar.
With stones thrown with a baseball bat like Gematria, it’s clear that Slipknot are truly strong.
