HEAVY MUSIC HISTORY: Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses – Slipknot

By the time Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses was released, SLIPKNOT were regarded as one of metal’s hottest properties. To the public, they were riding off Iowa‘s high and the incendiary live reputation since exploding onto the scene in the late 1990s. While many were quick to argue their complacency as they diverged into a more mainstream sound, behind the scenes they faced issues that almost resulted in their end. Before they could bring their third studio album into existence, their achievements might have been stunted. However, it eventually saw the light of day, and it soon became clear that no one could stomp out the fiery licks of their success.

Although SLIPKNOT hadn’t quite become a household name yet, they were well on their way to achieving greatness as their previous two records attested. In the metal world, they were becoming a force impossible to tame. By the time it came to crafting their third studio album, there were major question marks surrounding the future of the band. Various members were preoccupied with side projects with drummer Joey Jordison focusing on MURDERDOLLS, and vocalist Corey Taylor occupied with the revival of STONE SOUR.

In order to record the album, they moved to Rick Rubin’s ten-bedroom, allegedly haunted mansion. It was the band’s first time with the producer, and most certainly the last. Between personal hardships members of the band faced and Rubin’s apparent absence in the studio, vocalist Corey Taylor wasn’t convinced of the album’s quality. In an interview with Revolver, Corey states Greg Fidelman produced a majority of the album in Rubin’s surprising absence. It’s not exactly what you would expect from a producer with big names like RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, BUSH and AUDIOSLAVE on their resume. Combined with the uncertainty of the band’s future, chaos sparked. The recording process quickly became anarchic. There were members of the band that attempted to set discipline amongst themselves. A feat that must have been hard to overcome among drug and alcohol addictions. The same producer Taylor resented was the same one Mick Thomson later revealed brought them together.

However, all differences were miraculously resolved. While Iowa was an album built on hate, Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses was a journey of seething resentment. Consequently, it became a story of light at the end of a tunnel long enshrouded in darkness. Each member paid their dues. In the words of percussionist Clown in a Loudwire interview nineteen years after its release, the studio album is regarded highly as they found “salvation and rejoicing in working again” and bassist Paul Gray stated that the album “was the rebirth of SLIPKNOT, it was like us coming back together.” When the band feared things between them were broken, this album triumphed over trepidation. SLIPKNOT was SLIPKNOT again. Arguably, it was unrest that made Vol 3: The Subliminal Verses as much of a reconciliation as it is a revival. It became an album that even the band themselves grew fond of. 

Upon its release in May 2004, Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses was met with positive reception from critics with Todd Burns of Stylus citing that people who accuse the band of having “softened” are “mistaking softness for maturation” and went on to call the album “the best pop inflected metal album since SYSTEM OF A DOWN‘s Toxicity“. Similarly, Q hailed the record as a “triumph” and in 2009, five years after its release, Metal Hammer called it one of the albums of the decade. Commercially, the record also hit a new high for SLIPKNOT, landing at number 2 on the US Billboard 200 and by February the following year, it was certified Platinum in the US.

Although Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses marks the first signs of SLIPKNOT beginning to explore a more mainstream approach, which is still a point of contention for hardcore fans, the record holds significant influence, almost akin to the same heights set by 1999’s self-titled and 2001’s Iowa. For a new generation of emerging metal fans, Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses marked their entry point into the world of metal as lead singles Duality and Before I Forget (the latter would land the band their first Grammy Award in 2006) would dominate the screens of Kerrang! and Scuzz and become mainstays of the band’s live setlists to this day. 

And in Pulse Of The Maggots, SLIPKNOT found their anthem, one that called to their legion of fans who had played a vital role in establishing the band as a genuine force. According to Taylor, “Pulse Of The Maggots was the anthem we’d been missing. It was originally called Triggers Yearn and I was going in a whole different direction with it. Then Joey said he’d got a name for the song… but no lyrics. From then on, the song became more about the fans than it was about us. Without the fans, we’d be a bunch of jerks from Iowa, picking fights with each other in our basements.” To this day, the track calls to generation upon generation of SLIPKNOT fans and it is their anthem as much as it is the nine masked men’s.

Slipknot and Iowa erupted SLIPKNOT to the scene but in Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses, this album helped cement the band as one of the 21st Century’s biggest names and set them on their way to become arguably one of the biggest bands metal has ever seen. To this day, it remains a symbol of perseverance and how they triumphed from numerous adversities to continue their conquest of metal. And 20 years on, Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses remains an essential piece of the SLIPKNOT puzzle.

Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses was originally released on May 25th 2004 via Roadrunner Records. 

Like SLIPKNOT on Facebook.