A Matured Sound
(WARNING) - The review for this album may include language or themes some may find distressing or disturbing.
Artist: Slipknot
Album: We Are Not Your Kind
Year: 2019
Band Lineup for Album: Sid Wilson - DJ/Samples, Jay Weinberg - Drums, Alessandro Venturella - Bass, Michael Pfaff - Percussion, Jim Root - Guitar, Craig Jones - Samples, Shawn Crahan - Percussion, Mick Thomson - Guitar, Corey Taylor - Vocals
Finally we arrive at the newest album (until 2022's The End, So Far). Since the release of .5, the band had fired percussionist Chris Fehn and replaced him with Michael Pfaff, affectionately name Tortilla Man because of his mask until we knew who he was.
This album was hailed by critics as the band's best and most mature album to date, and I honestly don't know if I agree 100%. It certainly has a sound that's more matured, but I wouldn't necessarily say that's better. It falls more into the category of Iowa to me, a flawed but good follow up to a far superior album. There's not much else in terms of history with this album, so let's go ahead and jump into the tracklist.
We start with Insert Coin, a bland and ultimately forgettable opening track that is completely skippable. Nothing else to say really. However, it does lead into another fantastic song in Slipknot's career, Unsainted. A powerful song led by Corey and Jay that goes over Corey's divorce and the battles he went through with staying sober, as well as some anti-religious lyrics. It was the first single off the album is is simply the best track as well, standing on its own against the other heavy hitting track. Next up, Birth of the Cruel is a heavy addition to the catalogue. Again, Jay absolutely kills it on the drums and Corey's tortured vocals bring a deeper level to the track. Incredible riffs round out what is a great, but not necessarily memorable, track. Following that is Death Because of Death, which is a pointless and skippable interlude. It's fine but unnecessary.
After the interlude is the second best song on the album, Nero Forte. It has a dark radiance to it that's addicting to listen to. Corey is singing about the depression that he battled during this time, describing the darkness that he felt he was slipping into. It also contains the best breakdown since Psychosocial in a moment of pure adrenaline that pulses through you and makes you want to jump headfirst into a moshpit. Next up is Critical Darling, which seems like Corey venting a lot of his anger toward religion, which I totally understand and identify with. However, the song is a little too boring and fails to live up to its interesting theme. In hindsight it's a good not great song, but just doesn't quite hit a memorable note. Up next, A Liar's Funeral. The song has an anger behind it, but the music can't quite match. Also, it's a little awkward since it feels like it may be targeted lyrically at former percussionist Chris Fehn, who sued the band claiming he wasn't paid due royalties. Because of that, I don't really enjoy it, because it does feel a little too malicious. And like that, we're deep in filler territory. Another piece of forgettable filler, Red Flag, is the track that follows. It's yet another subpar filler song, but while the last two had some redeeming elements, this one is just bland and worth a skip.
What's Next is yet another interlude, but it plays like elevator music, which is odd. Spiders follows after the interlude, and let's just say I wasn't expecting it. It's really a showcase for Sid and Craig's samples, and it's one of the most experimental songs to date. However, it's actually Slipknot's worst song. There isn't any of it that reminds me of the band, and the song really feels out of place. I'd like to remove it from my memory, so I won't discuss it further. After that is Orphan. It's a bloated, overlong stream of consciousness from Corey that's got fun musical moments, but yet again falls into the filler category. Another experimental track, My Pain, follows that. It's another subpar filler song, but it works better than Spiders. It's cool lyrically, and it does provide more interesting instrumentation than Spiders, but just doesn't have any staying or memorable power to it.
Continuing the trend of forgettable filler is Not Long for this World. It does try to be something better, specifically through Corey's incredible lyrics about battling with his suicidal thoughts. It's just that the music doesn't necessarily feel like a good match here, and misses the mark of what makes a Slipknot song truly great. Breaking the cycle, the album ends with Solway Firth. The album closes with another incredible song that hearkens back to classic Slipknot with it's heaviness and brutality. Lyrically, it deals with the fallout of false portrayal, linking to the famous photograph with the same name. It shows the anger and pain of feeling like a scapegoat and being misunderstood, of which the band clearly understands and fires on all cylinders to back up Corey. It's also nice to have another song like Nero Forte where Corey isn't using a lot of clean vocals. Not included on the album, but released before it, is their single All Out Life. It's from the same era, and is performed live during the touring cycle for the album, so I'm including it here. Originally I didn't really like the song, but upon relistening to it I think it breaks the mold of bad bonus songs to be one of the band's best offerings. It's a rallying cry for fans, and a reminder that just because something is old doesn't mean it's bad, and that just because something is new doesn't mean it's good. It's a worthy idea, and the band really plays their hearts out while Corey pelts us with incredible screams.
There are hints of the old Slipknot here mixed in with some of the new, and as a whole the album succeeds. While there are lower points in some of the filler songs, the good songs are so good that it more than makes up for it. I don't think it's anywhere near their strongest album, but it certainly isn't All Hope is Gone. It's still heavy, lyrically deep, and full of fun.
Best Songs: Unsainted, Birth of the Cruel, Nero Forte, Solway Firth, All Out Life
OVERALL SCORE: 77/100
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