I’m not saying this is the greatest Slipknot album yet…but it kinda is. An album that should not be is now less than 24 hours from being released. Fueled by death and inner turmoil, .5: The Gray Chapter is a fury-filled fuck you to naysayers and a triumphant step forward for the nine.

It’s also a giant fuck you to fired founding member Joey Jordison who many believed was the driving force as far as songwriting was concerned. Just listen to “The Negative One”, Slipknot’s first tease from the album released back in August. Never mind the obvious jab in the song name (“One” was Jordison’s number) all you have to do is take one listen to any of the lyrics within: “I hope you live/To see the day/When your world comes up in flames/And as you die/You see my face/You’re the only one to blame”. And that’s just one refrain. Stylistically this “gift to the fans” showed off strong songwriting with a vicious track that captured the raw ferocity of Slipknot merged with modern technology. [Read more…]