Slipknot - Slipknot

Today is a special day. One of my favorite people in the world (and also one of my loyal readers) is celebrating a birthday today, so it seemed fitting that today's post celebrates one of her favorite people in the world. Corey Taylor. It is also fitting that the album I will be looking at in this review just celebrated its 21st birthday a couple days ago. So cheers and happy birthday to what is regarded as one of the best debut albums in the past 30 years, Slipknot.

The infamous debut record hit the shelves in 1999 and immediately introduced the world to Taylor and Company's special brand of "What the ever-loving fuck am I looking at?" Metal. With each member donned in matching jumpsuits and nightmare-inducing masks, this band told you exactly who they were before you even heard a single note. In listening to it as I write this, I can whole-heartedly say that the album holds up with today's standards of metal. The instrumentation, deep-cutting lyrics, and harsh vocal techniques gave Slipknot a longevity that many metal bands from the late 90s simply lacked.

Being the big metal fan that I am, I am embarrassed to say that this is the first time in my life that I actually sat and listened to this whole album. Going into it, the only song I recognized by it's title was the hit single "Wait and Bleed," while only a couple others sounded familiar as they resonated through my music room speakers. And 66 minutes later I can easily see why Corey Taylor is such a worldwide fan favorite. He has the unique ability to transition from the harsh screaming that scares the meek and mild-mannered, to the mellow and somber singing that shows you Taylor's true voice, to the fast-paced "rap metal" verses that created the subgenre of nu-metal. Very few metal vocalists can do this, and even fewer can do it so easily and actually write kick-ass lyrics on top of that.

But enough gushing.

From my standpoint, in terms of who I am and what I listen to now, Slipknot was not, and is not, at the top of my list. That is to say I am not taking anything away from these guys, and if you think I am trying to say something negative about them maybe you need to reread the first 3 paragraphs of this post again. What I am saying here is that Slipknot is just not the sound I look for when I am looking to get my metal fill. the excessive screaming just doesn't do it for me. While Corey does it exceptionally well, it's just not the sound I usually seek when I am looking to bang my head. (Some of my loyal readers may recall an old post about Once Human and their screaming vocalist. Well, you got me there. Maybe put Slipknot on my list of bands I'll turn to when I need to scream until my throat bleeds.)

At the end of the day, will I ever listen to this album again, or potentially see what else Slipknot has to offer? Yes. Probably. I am in no rush, but I also don't hate the idea of listening to them again. In terms of debut albums, I will give my two cents and say this definitely deserves the recognition as one of the best of the last 30 years. Many debut records to come tried to imitate this one, but very few lasted as long (and stayed relevant) as Slipknot did. However, before I conclude I have to point out that this album has one of the most annoying intro songs I've ever heard. Seriously. STFU.

Happy birthday, Kim. Synic loves you.

Slipknot - Slipknot

6 - 29 - 1999

1. 742617000027

2. (sic)

3. Eyeless

4. Wait and Bleed

5. Surfacing

6. Spit It Out

7. Tattered & Torn

8. Frail Limb Nursery

9. Purity

10. Liberate

11. Prosthetics

12. No Life

13. Diluted

14. Only One

15. Scissors

Favorite Track: Spit It Out

Least Favorite Track: Tattered & Torn

Rating: 8.4