Metal Mastery
(WARNING) - The review for this album may include language or themes some may find distressing or disturbing.
Artist: Slipknot
Album: Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses
Year: 2004
Band Lineup for Album: Sid Wilson - DJ/Samples, Joey Jordison - Drums, Paul Gray - Bass, Chris Fehn - Percussion, Jim Root - Guitar, Craig Jones - Samples, Shawn Crahan - Percussion, Mick Thomson - Guitar, Corey Taylor - Vocals
This was the newest album that was out at the time I discovered the band, and it's the album I remember the most fondly. As we'll dive into through the course of this review, I think this is the band's best work out of the original lineup.
Released in 2004 following speculation that the band would break up, Vol. 3 was the band's return to the spotlight after members were involved in other projects. It was one of the hardest recording processes for the band, as they were working with famed producer Rick Rubin (who apparently the band hated working with), and that a couple of the members were trying to kick their addictions. Most notably, singer Corey Taylor kicked his addictions during the recording of the album. But, it was their time apart that ultimately saved the band, as it broke them out of the box they were in. While the band doesn't look upon the recording process too fondly, this album was truly their best work at the time, and still holds up all these years later. It's also the first album with more music videos beyond the two main singles.
Let's go ahead and dive in track by track!
The album starts with Prelude 3.0, an intro track that's better than the previous two, but was also never used live. It contains actual singing from Corey instead of only samples, and functions more like and actual song than a prelude. Following that is the explosive, percussive The Blister Exists. One of the fan favorites when performed live, the song has an almost militaristic marching quality to it, especially when you look at the marching snare drum parts included. One of the best parts of this whole album is the more arena-type music and feel, and this is one of the biggest sounding ones. Next up is Three Nil, which is one of the only missteps on the album as it feels like a standard filler-type song. It's forgettable, even though it's less reliant on Corey's clean vocals than a lot of the other tracks. Next on the track list is Slipknot's biggest song of all time, and the one they're most well known for, Duality. It's the quintessential Slipknot song, and is their most played song ever, rivaled only by Psychosocial on the next album. The whole band is firing on all cylinders, and really plays into the main theme of the song, that being duality. The vocals, the music, everything, and even the mask we put on in public when things are wrong. This song, for me, is a true indication of the future of the band musically and stylistically.
Following Duality is Opium of the People. Originally, it was a song that I would skip. Now I do enjoy it, even though it's not exceptional when it comes to the music. Where this song excels is in its fantastic lyrics, highlighting the fact the religion is the opium that people are addicted to. It provides nothing, similar to drugs. A fantastic allegory that is unfortunately wasted on lackluster orchestration. Next up, Circle is a bit of an interesting song. It's the first use of acoustic guitars in a Slipknot song. Corey's voice and lyrics here again take center stage, and it is a good song, but it's not really that memorable. The more memorable songs come later on the album, as well as on the next one. It's fine, just not incredible. After Circle is Welcome. I'll be brief, it's filler. It's got an awesome riff at the beginning, and the message about feelings being molded by others is great, but it just doesn't quite add up. As far as filler goes, it's one of the better ones. This brings us to one of Slipknot's best accomplishments, Vermilion. A beautifully dark opus about one's obsession with a celebrity or otherwise fake figure, particularly a woman here. It's more radio friendly, being most clean vocals, but still retains some of its darkness and heaviness. When partnered with three later songs on the album, it becomes a dark and momentous achievement, both lyrically and musically.
Next up is Pulse of the Maggots, the hard hitting anthem of Slipknot's fans, affectionately known as Maggots. It's very clearly written for the fans, as this was the band returning from the possibility of a break up. It's their promise to fans that they'll stay around, and a rallying cry for the fans all over the world. Following that is my favorite Slipknot song of all time, not the best song, my favorite. In fact, I'd put it in my top 10 songs of all time. Of course I'm referring to the band's Grammy-winning track, Before I Forget. It's the first song I heard from them, and it's the one I can always recommend to people interested in heavier music at all. Similar to Duality, it's more radio-friendly without losing the edge. It's the band firing on all cylinders to give us one of their best pieces of work to date, and I always recommend it. After that is Vermilion, Pt. 2. Pretty much all acoustic and clean vocals, I like to think of this as the midpoint in the stalker from Vermilion's journey. The last ditch attempt to talk himself out of what he's about to do, act on his impulses. Whether that works will be decided later. It's an awesome acoustic piece led by Corey's incredible singing, but it really works best when partnered with the other songs in its saga. Next up is The Nameless. This one is pretty easy, as it's a filler song. It's one of the best filler songs the band has done though, since the structure and musicality of the song stand out, and the lyrics bring an interesting message of mixed feelings about your partner as well as jealousy.
The third of four songs in the Vermilion saga, at least that's how I interpret it, is The Virus of Life. It's a return to the creepy style from the first album, and really highlight's Corey's range, as well as the band's. What was initially a skippable song for me is now one of my favorites, and a must listen. It's a disturbing look at the stalker from Vermilion as he finally acts on the urges he has, making the life of the person he's stalking a living nightmare. It's an unhinged musical piece that's made better by the following song, Danger - Keep Away. The ending track of the album, this song sees the stalker having finally done what he didn't want to, taking the life of the one he thought he loved. It's a disturbing piece of reflection, of someone who clearly didn't want that as the outcome. It's one of Corey's best performances, and it's another creepy piece of work, and a super effective closer for the album. There are two bonus songs that were included at various points, and I'll keep it brief here, they're both bonus songs for a reason. Don't Get Close is a fun song but does nothing for me, as is Scream. While Don't Get Close is fun and has decent lyrics, Scream just feels like another bland song about anger. It just doesn't really work for me.
Aside from the lackluster bonus songs, Vol 3. is absolutely stunning from start to finish. From certified rock hits like Duality and Before I Forget, to the Vermilion storyline, it's an essential piece of rock and metal listening that is a bucket list album for sure. Even the filler songs that are lacking provide more musically or lyrically than the previous albums' ones. It's one of my favorite albums of all time for a reason, and hopefully I've illustrated why.
Best Songs: Duality, Before I Forget, Vermilion, Vermilion Pt. 2, The Virus of Life, and Danger - Keep Away
OVERALL SCORE: 93/100
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