ALBUM REVIEW: We Are Not Your Kind – Slipknot

Well, here we go again. In the normal course of events, a band that has been going for two decades, headlined major festivals around the world for half of that time and established themselves as one of the greatest metal acts of all time shouldn’t have to prove themselves to anyone, yet SLIPKNOT are once again in a position where their sixth studio album feels like a make-or-break event. Maybe it’s because they’ve had a lineup change again with the departure of percussionist Chris Fehn. Perhaps it’s due to the wave of younger bands who have crashed the party since 2014’s .5: The Gray Chapter with stellar releases, or could it be that the nagging voice which says they’re running out of steam is still eating away at them? Whatever the reason, We Are Not Your Kind, out on August 9th via Roadrunner Records, appears to have more than a few odds stacked against it again.

Cleverly, the two songs released from the album so far, Unsainted and the crushing Solway Firth, bookend the release, meaning everyone is fully aware of how it opens (well, kind of) and when it finishes. It’s the middle that is where the intrigue lies, but there’s no denying it’s set up well. Insert Coin is an almost inter-dimensional intro made possible by samplist Craig Jones, the use of Corey Taylor’s disturbing hook “I’m counting all the killers” a sign of things to come. Unsainted’s huge, arena-sized chorus has already been sung to the high heavens this year and will continue to be for months to come, but on a musical level it’s uplifting to hear all members get their chance in the spotlight.

Birth of the Cruel is less about melody and more about the chaotic nature of SLIPKNOT that has grounded them over the years. There’s more in the way of extra percussion from Shawn Crahan and, if he took part in the recording, Fehn, but the real point is the underpinning from DJ Sid Wilson that adds a new dimension not really showcased before. In fact, We Are Not Your Kind is arguably the most balanced album to date in terms of individual contributions, for both Wilson and Jones have significant input in the likes of the dark Not Long For This World and the mid-record interludes of Death Because of Death and the haunting, trinket-box strains of What’s Next, which evokes memories of Frail Limb Nursery from the original debut.

What’s Next isn’t the only step onto memory lane; there are a lot of near throwbacks across the album which, for all its nefariousness and gloom, instils a certain degree of warmth and cosiness to the listener. Nero Forte, with its huge opening riff and stellar stick-work from Jay Weinberg, a man who has really come into his own on We Are Not Your Kind, has a precise drumming ending to hark back to The Blister Exists. The skincrawling, stripped back Spiders is in line with Prosthetics and Gently from the self-titled album and Iowa respectively, the moody My Pain is a distant cousin to Danger – Keep Away and Red Flag is a smart attempt to marry The Negative One and Sulfer. This is all before we get to Solway Firth, which has already gained plaudits for its menacing demeanour and it hasn’t lost any of its magic in its position as the album closer; it’s just as destructive and a perfect final punch to the face. There is one major misstep however, and that’s Liar’s Funeral: it’s no secret that SLIPKNOT are not the crazed, frenetic juggernaut they once were, but this song exposes them badly; it’s lumbering, ploddy and could have done being left off the album altogether.

If, as mentioned at the beginning, the odds are stacked again against SLIPKNOT, they’ve once more overcome them. We Are Not Your Kind might not be the unhinged maelstrom that so many fans have pined for, but the chaos that has fuelled this band for twenty years is still very much alive and kicking; it’s just channelled into the music different and controlled in a way that prevents the band from imploding. This is comfortably the best SLIPKNOT record for fifteen years and another feather in their already superb, mask-wearing legacy.

Rating: 8/10

We Are Not Your Kind is set for release on August 9th via Roadrunner Records. 

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