Album Review

Slipknot – 5: The Gray Chapter

• 20th Oct 2014

Slipknot are one of those bands that only emerge once in a decade. They had something to say, they were visceral, they scared your parents – they scared you – they didn’t care whether anyone was even listening, they just wanted to drive their runaway train through as big a pack of people as possible – they were Carmageddon in human form. For a while, the journey continued impeded, but ultimately the show was always going to come off the rails. Amidst a whirlwind of controversy over the dismissal of certain key members and the sad passing of former bassist Paul Gray, how does the new record stand up, and has the personnel change been for the better?

The Gray Chapter starts promisingly enough with the suitably unnerving ambience of ‘XIX’ – an epic, darkly oppressive and twisted opening shot that paves the way for an album of harrowing metal as the blitzkrieg of ‘Sarcastrophe’ rises from the ashes of the opener. Alas, that’s where the story takes a turn for the worse, around the three minute mark in fact, a pattern which continually ruins a collection of what could have been brutal, precision shots of bonecrushing modern riffs. The fact that just three of these fifteen tracks are shorter than four minutes long should have raised some suspicions from the onset, and it quickly becomes apparent that The Gray Chapter could lose nearly 30 minutes in playtime and become a much more enjoyable listen. That’s not to suggest shorter is always better, but musicians with careers this long should know when they need to start cluttering up the cutting room floor in favour of lean, all-killer material.

Speculation would point the finger at a lack of direction potentially caused by the departure of pivotal member and breakneck drummer Joey Jordison – certainly the record suffers from a distinct lack of pace throughout; even the racier numbers feel like a poor imitation of Jordison’s unique style and occasionally open out into misplaced and mismatched patches of dull rhythm. Of course, it would be naive to expect a veteran band of Slipknot’s creativity, caliber and pedigree to write their self-titled record for the rest of their lives, but where has the bile gone? The fury? The indignation and emotional intelligence that has made previous ‘Knot releases some of the most compelling in recent history is completely lacking from The Gray Chapter.

It’s not all bad. There’s a hair-raising guitar solo on ‘Nomadic’ and unique moments of experimentation with ambience and electronica can work, as evidenced by the spine-tingling ‘Goodbye’ – even Taylor’s crooning, which wears dreadfully thin across the course of the album, shines on this track and it’s a breath of fresh air to hear the band attempting to outgrow their sound. Sadly, for the rest of the album, one of metal’s most vital and impressive forces falls somewhat flat, a victim to their own brutality, incapable of matching the bar they’ve set for themselves on previous releases.

Maybe we should cut them a break, they’re still settling into their new skin with a whole new line up and the pressure of doing justice to their own legacy, but in all honesty, we expected more from one of the world’s greatest bands.

– Jamie Otsa

Venue: 5: The Gray Chapter
Support Band: Roadrunner Records