Slipknot – "The End, So Far"

Same thing goes for the almost grungy ending "Finale" (no pun intended, obviously) which complements its opening counterpart perfectly. Its dejected melody and string arrangement contrast the peaceful acceptance in Taylor's phrasings and lyrics, undoubtedly referring to the band itself and their endurance: "I know it's the same, but I gotta stay / 'Cause I like it here". And with the female choir throwbacking to the opener, these two superior songs frame the rest of the album perfectly.

And as for the rest, well... It's Slipknot, alright. In fact, apart from these aforementioned tracks, I have no idea which elements the press have been referring to in all their buzz about creative evolution. Because "The End, So Far" pretty much sounds like the 'Knot as we know them.

... Which is a good thing, mind you. Because Slipknot are better at what they do than +90% of their peers. And just as importantly, they have +2.5 decades of scene merit that lets them get away with shit that's long gotten so stale it'll be considered retro in a handful of years.

Die-hard fans will like this album, and the rest of us will appreciate it for its professional execution, both compositionally, technically, and production-wise.

"The Chapeltown Rag" is a perfect example of this. It's tight, aggressive, and has several mind-blowing drum fills and rhythmic details. Escalating with a blasting snare drum and dissonant tremolo-picking, this is pretty much as extreme as the band's ever been. And then, there's that melodic chorus. And it all ends with a breakdown. Yeah, really original and cutting-edge! But you know what, it's perfectly okay. Because the 'Knot's able to pull shit like this and not sound like a trite copy of a copy of themselves *ahem-ahemFiveFingerDeathPunch*.

The more thrashy "Hive Mind" kinda echoes this structure. But if anything, "The End, So Far" might be a bit of an all-round slower Slipknot album than its predecessors, which is prevalent in "Yen", "Medicine for the Dead", and the dramatically intense "Acidic". The latter showcases another standout feature of the album: Some downright neck-breaking guitar solos which, while perhaps not on par with Yngwie Malmsteen or Dragonforce, are still more virtuosic than anything played by anyone else in groove metal, ever.

One other feature that's kinda annoying, though, is the relentlessly long intros and outros on more than half of the songs, collectively amounting to more than 6 minutes of feedback, static, random noises, and other weird shit that might have its merit under the tried-and-tested condition of less being more. And sure: In this, the golden age of ADHD and digitally decimated attention span, it's honorable to try and make people concentrate. But if I wanted to listen to minimalistic ambient stuff, I'd seek it out separately. Unless we're talking Sunn 0))), keep it outta my metal, thank you very much.

Anyway, on the whole, we're all good here. Die-hard fans will like this album, and the rest of us will appreciate it for its professional execution, both compositionally, technically, and production-wise.

"The End, So Far" pretty much sounds like the 'Knot as we know them. Which is a good thing, mind you. Because Slipknot are better at what they do than +90% of their peers.

In fact, I've been thinking about what exactly makes me take to Slipknot rather than all the Killswitch Engages and 36 Crazyfists...es(?) that came in their wake. And for one, when the 'Knot came out, they were an extreme band in terms of both their musical traits and their entire conduct – professionally as well as personally. In comparison, their copycats seem like corporately stylized jocks calculating on generic breakdowns and poppy choruses sans memorability.

... Which, on the contrary, was exactly what Slipknot always had: That sense of the good song that's about more than just their originality. What always made the 'Knot one of a kind is good old, all-round musicality. And while they'll probably never surpass 2004's near-masterpiece "Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses", less has done it every time since then, as is the case this time around.

Just like Slipknot is one of those bands that'll never put on a bad show, they'll probably never release a bad album, either.