.5: The Gray Chapter
Grief and loss aren\'t something typically associated with horror-core specialists Slipknot, but when founding bassist Paul Gray died in 2010, it crippled the band. Dedicated to their friend, *The Gray Chapter* is Slipknot\'s first album in six years, and it\'s both a eulogy and a means of moving on. \"I don\'t want to get up, but I have to,\" sings Corey Taylor on the opener, \"XIX.\" What follows is a blitzkrieg of a tribute. \"Skeptic\" is a cement mixer of pummeling blast beats and scorching riffs, while \"Sarcastrophe\" is an exhausting expression of sustained ferocity. Music this vicious is hard to call poignant, but the emotion that powers this tumult is palpable.
While even a cursory listen to Slipknot's back catalog makes it clear the band are no strangers to working out their inner turmoil and pain through their music, never has that idea been so abundantly clear as it is on their fifth outing, .5: The Gray Chapter.
It's been four years since co-founding bassist and principal SLIPKNOT songwriter Paul Gray passed away. A lot of grief and reported pent-up energy has propagated the band's return, which emerges amidst the controversial replacement of drummer Joey Jordison. Departure or dismissal, that's as much a m...
Despite the death and departure of two key members, Slipknot’s first album in six years is as warped and explosive as anything they’ve done, writes <strong>Dom Lawson</strong>
Slipknot - .5: The Gray Chapter review: An identity crisis: conflicting maturity with juvenile nu-metal roots
Iowan metallers let the masks slip on long-awaited fifth album. Review by Lisa-Marie Ferla