fullautorpg (3) Filled with some of Slipknot's greatest songs up to this point in time, the album finds it... Oneiron (2.5) All hope is still gone... William17 (3) Despite some flaws, this album proves all hope isn't gone after all....

DropTune (2.5) Nothing to see here... Mall (2) We have made the present obsolete... Froot (3) Hey guys, did you hear about Paul? Boy, was that sad a day, really. I mean, man, that was ... Necrotica (1.5) Regression in the worst sense....

Simon K. STAFF (2.5) Not a return to form, but a hopeful future lies ahead... BassDemon333 (4) walk with me... Tunaboy45 (3.5) Nineteen years and two members later, Slipknot are still the same band they always were. F... TheFirstTimHurst (3.5) Reminiscent of the good old days but polished like new, Slipknot could almost call this a ...

Slipknot has never been the easiest band to like. Under Shawn Crahan’s totalitarian reign there’s been documented questionable decisions such as masked identities, a fanbase referred to as ‘Maggots’ and camel sht fragrance. Expectedly, this has all worked against any progression towards maturity. The band cannot be faulted for it- it’s clearly working in their favour- however,feels like a wider symptom of an identity crisis, conflicting maturity with juvenile nu-metal roots.Context looms high over the shoulder of. Implicit tensions resulting from Paul Gray’s passing, Joey Jordison’s ejection and Jim Root’s departure from Stone Sour have all dogged the album’s release. On a publicity level, it’s going to help rocket the album to the top of the charts, because the songwriting certainly isn’t as focused or attention-grabbing as said headlines. That’s apparent in both of the questionably chosen lead singles. Commercial Stone Sour-isms prevalent on “The Devil In I” are forgivable when aided with a mildly memorable hook, however, the regressive core-chug modified upon standard Slipknot generics that is “The Negative One” prove that songwriting has improved little over 6-years of incubation. The sense of immaturity prevails throughout, with blastbeats and breakdowns awkwardly muscling their way into “Sarcastrophe”, an unsatisfying hate anthem that will likely rally battle cries across high schools globally. It’s not just the musical backdrop that’s disappointing, either; Taylor is hardly Sartre with his existentialist prose, declaring rather crudely (among others), “I know why Judas wept, motherfcker!” (“Lech”). Caught somewhere between Stone Sour and-era Slipknot, it seems the band aren’t keen on any cohesion, juxtaposing spastic grind (“Nomadic”, “Custer”) with Foo Fighters-aping stadium anthems (“Goodbye”, “The One that Kills the Least”). Make no mistakes,is not a career-encompassing panorama in the ilk of. Rather, it's a difficult gluttony that’s hardly going to satisfy the appetite of every last Maggot on the market.You can’t deny the cold, hard facts; no matter how flawed, stifled and confusedis an album, it’s going to succeed massively. However unsure of whether it’s about getting back to roots or maturation,is one of the most frustrating and inarticulate Slipknot albums yet. Hopefully, 6-years won’t pass before these mistakes manifest themselves further.