Rating: NN
After taking four years to release their latest “opus,” the one thing that’s clear is that the Des Moines nine-piece’s sound is the victim of the band’s own hype.
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Judging from recent interviews where members jerk off about how spectacularly great their band is, you’d think they may have done something unique on All Hope Is Gone, but it’s comparatively weak and surprisingly unimaginative.
Instead of pushing boundaries, Slipknot sound like a parody of their former selves, relying on ho-hum war cries against oppressive America and religion (oooh, how original!) whose hyperbolic vocals resemble a professional wrestler’s pre-match monologue. The percussion- and riff-heavy songs fail to excite, and the production is too polished and timid, and they all but waste the talents of drummer Joey Jordison, giving him little room to boost the music’s intensity.
