Music Review for Slipknot: All Hope Is Gone

Music Review for Slipknot: All Hope Is Gone
Written By: Peter Willette

This album is obviously for anyone who is into fast hard hitting music. I would not recommend this to the light hearted. However since the start of Slipknot they have mellowed out. You can really hear the skill level difference from their previous albums. In their older records the music is much simpler and more driving. However the chords and riffs that are played by the guitarists are much more complex and intricate. Not only do the musicians show a gaining of skills but Corey the singer does as well. He does not only scream in this album. He has a very talented acoustic piece titled “snuff”.

The lyrical content is another thing to note on this album. Even though this is a metal album the lyrics do make sense and tend to talk about current events. “All Hope is Gone” focuses on the decay of the very nation that we live in and what a better way to express it than by screaming about it; whereas “execute” seems to describe what is happening in the war that we are in. There is then a contrast of worldly affairs with the writers own self flaws in “Vendetta”. I believe for a metal album the lyrical content is fair to good. I was a bit concerned about this album, due to the fact it seems as metal bands age the intensity weakens. Slipknot has definitely kept that. However I was slightly disappointed with the actual lyrical meaning.

As an overall general blanket statement this album is pretty good. For someone who listens to a lot of metal and has a pretty refined taste as to what is good and what is not, to say this is good is saying something. I like something that has just the right balance of anger and edge, but not over done to the point of stupidity, like most death metal bands. In general this album makes it in to the top slipknot albums produced. Possibly even the best album that slipknot has produced.