Slipknot
Vol.3: The Subliminal Verses

THE REVIEW

When Slipknot's self-titled debut was released, a new entity was emerging on the U.S. metal scene, destined to immediately gain followers in the most extreme and uncompromising nu metal sphere: a group made up of as many as nine members, including three percussionists, from the anonymous town of Iowa, became the spokesperson for a psychotic and heavy sound that further intensified the sound that American nu metallers had already brought to the market for some time.
In an attempt to replicate their previous success, the group created their second album, "Iowa," which was also extremely fierce but lost a lot in terms of energy or, more simply, musical quality. It accompanied a success already achieved on the charts and with the public, so much so that many considered it an ignoble album while others a masterpiece (which in reality was nothing more than mediocrity turned nu metal, good in some parts and bad in others).
An album that was nonetheless debated and made Slipknot another of the most loved/hated bands in the metal scene, but drove away many who had shown interest in the band (myself included). For this reason, I wasn't very eager to listen to their new album. It was clear that the path the main band had embarked on had, so to speak, been blessed away by the (too many) side projects that interested some members of the band: singer Corey had returned to his old friends Stone Sour, drummer Joey had given life to the horror/glam/punk project Murderdolls, and percussionist Shawn seemed to have gotten lost in the pop influences of the quite useless To My Surprise...

What could be expected from such a torn band that had even reached the point of being hated by those previously interested in them? I cannot describe my surprise in having rediscovered them through this album. Forget "Iowa," the group's personality this time is even more emphasized than in the past, and it seems above all that they have finally hit the right path. The riffs of "The Blister Exist" clearly bring back memories of past glories, the spectacular energy of their debut, but this time not as naive as then and much more reasoned. The rhythm section is spectacular and extremely enjoyable, with the three percussionists hitting like madmen and dominating tracks like "Three Nil," making it a piece on the edge of grind.
Likewise, I cannot hide the surprise in listening to tracks like the semi-acoustic "Circle," the melodic "Duality," characterized by a double-faced personality, and especially "Vermilion," with its psychotic beginning progressing into melodic solutions, gifting Slipknot an intimate sensitivity that I honestly never expected to find in their album.

An album recommended even (or especially) to those who no longer believed in them. A band that surely won't dictate the future of metal but in whom, now more than ever, I feel confident placing some hopes. A band we feared we might lose that we have found more in form than ever (and the performances supporting Slayer and in France where, pelted with bottles, they responded with determination, prove it). Welcome back.