Audio CD review:
Slipknot - Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses [Australia Tour Edition]

Slipknot - Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses [Australia Tour Edition]

Band: Slipknot Title: Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses [Australia Tour Edition] Rating: Release Date: 2005-03-01 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Prelude 3.0 2: Blister Exists 3: Three Nil 4: Duality 5: Opium of the People 6: Circle 7: Welcome 8: Vermilion 9: Pulse of the Maggots 10: Before I Forget 11: Vermilion, Pt. 2 12: Nameless 13: Virus of Life 14: Danger-Keep Away 15: Don't Get Close 16: Scream 17: Vermilion [Single Mix] 18: Danger-Keep Away [Full Length Version] 19: Disaster Piece 20: New Abortion 21: People = Sh*t

Exploration of Mainstream Music: Subject A: Slipknot: Album # 3: Sublminal Verses: Thoughts: More melody? . . through my whole analysis of Slipknot this was the album I was most curious about. . . most of the fans stated that this was the album that Slipknot "sold out" on and I'm aware of many bands that have sold out. . . they abandon their old ideas and move on to something more mainstream to please the crowd. . . in my opinion Slipknot needed a change. . . their work was ok but seemed to become repetitive and sloppy after over playing the downtuned guitar riffs and very quick power chords. . . young naieve people would love it. . . but a change was needed. . . . . . and so we have their 3rd album. . . and of course to music it brings nothing new. . . but to Slipknot's formula it definetely adds more of a variation. . . Prelude 8/10: Is this possibly another short intro track? It seems that way at first with random sounds. . . but of course it turns into a nice eerie ACCOUSTIC guitar riff. . . Corey's singing sounds very dark and muffled which is a nice change. . . the whole song starts slow and depressing and I like the mood they create with it. . . no random "I'm going in full blast it would be ever so polite if you listen" the whole track progresses. . . even the guitars. . . I'm proud to say that it seems like Slipknot's music is maturing. . . The Blister Exists 7/10: Returning to their old style of "I'm going in full blast it would be ever so polite if you listen" yet again. . . a 2 note guitar riff with Corey shouting annoyingly. . . his lyrical themes are more bareable this time round which is very very good to hear. . . but besides that it seems like they're just doing what they've already done. . . going head first into a riff completely saved by the astounding drumming. . . on the plus side they do add some nice guitar fills. . . there's also some nice military like drumming in the middle. . . Three Nil 7/10: Another one. . . yet again repetitive at the very beginning with really annoying low riffs (not downtuned this time though). . . they have two guitarists and yet most of the time they both play the exact same thing in this song. . . it's somewhat irritating to see Mick and Jim wasted that way. . . they seem to have more control in tempo this time though. . . random bleepy noises (Mr. Gasmask) are present. . . Corey talks annoyingly. . . he didn't mean to leave the stain right here. . . Duality ?/10: I can't give this a rating due to when I was 14 seeing the video and being instantly disgusted that I changed the channel as soon as I saw Corey's mask assuming he took it from a corpse for some pathetic reason. . . now the song is average. . . Corey talks a lot and the guitars go from quick alternate picking to kind of powerchord to whiney high pitched note. . . it goes on like this and carries on the trend in the break. . . nothing particularly interesting but it's a single from a mainstream band. . . what do you expect? Opium of the people 8/10: Starts with some high pitched guitars which are pretty impressive change. . . but yet again I can see the comparison from Converge's "Saddest Day" main guitar riff. . . the melody in the chorus is surprisingly well constructed with the guitars going down a scale. . . overall this song is very well thought out and I'm surprised. . . their musicianship has vastly improved. . . I don't even care about the overuse of the downtuned low riff as they have shoved more variety in SEE SLIPKNOT!! Variety is good. . . Circle 8/10: Starts off with random noise and turns into some nice accoustic music that is rather bass dominant. . . WELL DONE BASS!!! Corey's voice comes in quite nicely if a tad mainstream and simple. . . but oh well. . . you can't have it perfect. . . uses some string instruments such as violins which is also a nice change. . . I like that they're adding more variety now because most of the time when bands do that they seem to fall smack on their face (poor poor Muse). . . they also add another drum track over it. . . very very nice. . . Welcome 7/10: Heavy heavy heavy random low riffs. . . good drums. . . annoying talky shouty vocals. . . yada yada yada. . . nothing new. . . for those slipknot fans that like mindless and pointless songs. . . WAIT!!! Is that? A GUITAR SOLO OF INTERSTING DEGREE!!!? They actually had a guitar solo. . . oh they're so getting a 7 out of 10 for that. . . Vermillion 9/10: To all the harcore old slipknot fans that hate this song. . . why? I like the atmosphere it creates and the guitar progression is very good. . . the lyrics are metaphorical. . . the drums aren't half sloppy either. . . do you hate it because it sounds more emo? Are you an emophobe? Oh you poor poor people are missing out on alot. . . the solo here is also average but works well. . . listen to it and ignore all those fans that say "That's not slipknot. . . where am I? WHO AM I!!? I'm a maggot blah blah blah". . . because they're wrong. . . you should decide whether this song is good or bad. . . Pulse of the Maggots 9/10: Starts with a weird siren and Corey saying some "Life and society hates you somehow don't make me explain it" stuff until it turns into a song of some sort. . . the guitars go from a synchopated rhythm to a very zig zaggy riff. . . you'd think this is all to it but no. . . guess what? Yes. . . another solo. . . this time though it's much more interesting. . . it's nothing not done before (if you're new to music think of raining blood solo because you've heard nothing else have you not?) but yes. . . it's a nice combo. . . and that's why it gets. . . a 9. . . just wish corey was more intelligent in his anti political ramblings because I know he's clever. . . Before I forget 8/10: Yes the one off guitar hero. . . no the bridge isn't that hard to play in real life it was drastically exagerated. . . . the song consists of the same downtuned riff combined with fast power chords in the verse. . . a few whiney notes. . . the drumming is very impressive in this track and so is the bridge to this song for the melodic instruments as the descending minor scale was a nice modulation to make. . . and when Corey tries to sing and the bass comes in it's a very strong harmony. . . but of course they end with the riff in section A. . . I wish they'd end with harmony more often. . . they're very good when they do. . . Vermillion pt 2 10/10: Yeah that's right. . . a 10 for the accoustic song. . . you know why? Because it's different and more subtle to everything else they've done. . . oh I bet the gasmask man was so bored during this song. . . it's a nice resolve to the first Vermillion and. . . it's just fantastically rich as a melody. . . I don't like stone sour because they're really shallow. . . far too shallow to even give a try. . . but I like this song. . . maybe I just have too many emo tendencies. . . but yeah the lyrics are still kind of cheesy in this song. . . Nameless 10/10: Another song that I really felt clicked with me. . . a somewhat technical part with Corey talking in a kind of annoyed voice. . . but they somehow transend into this beautiful melodic section which gives this song another layer. . . like someone with split personalities going in and out of his darkness into a melancholic happiness. . . the two pulses of the separate sections gradually combine together to fit the puzzle together. . . however. . . I only like this song because I'm open minded with combining melody with heaviness. . . if you like your heaviness separate you may hate this. . . Virus of life 8/10: Starts off with some nice awkward percussion. . . the bass enters with Corey whispering. . . it then starts to build up some power chords. . . Corey tries to sound like he's ill but I see through it (Sopor Aeternus does it so much better). . . he says wait no randomly. . . yada yada yada. . . it's a nice creepy song but because I've heard people do it better it's just not interesting enough for me. . . at least they try though. . . that's why they get an 8. . . Danger-Keep Away 8/10: And so the album ends here. . . some nice calm guitar sounds with corey slowly breathing his voice. . . a random woman singing is added. . . and corey now sings in a nice calm sing song way. . . the guitars are added for a nice accoustic affect. . . unfortunately I'm reminded of Stone Sour in this track. . . to whom I dislike quite alot. . . but as far as an ending goes it's the second best so far. . . below Scissors and above IOWA (that mess of 15 minutes). . . Overall: Drumming: Heard less of but what I did hear was amazing. . . Bass: Is starting to disapear. . . needs more bass dominant tracks. . . Guitars: Vast improvement. . . better melodic harmonies and interesting dissonant solos with technical intelligence. . . if they improve in the next album it should be amazing. . . Vocals: Much better real singing. . . the shouting is starting to lose its bite though. . . the lyrics have improved since IOWA. . . keep it up Corey. . . . . . overall this is their most melodic and therefore their least acessible to the anti-accessible. . . if you thought you'd like Slipknot for their heaviness and want no mushiness or variety to it. . . then I think IOWA or their Debut will be more up your street. . . . . . one more album to go for subject A. . . apparently it has thrash influences. . . will it be an interesting change or fail miserably?. Wimpy They sold out and it is too soft and slow for my tastes. This album pales in comparison to Slipknot and Iowa. Their old stuff was good but this has too much singing and mainstream tendencies. Ill pass. This album made me not like them any more. They went from being a metal band to a softcore metal band that even nonmetal people started getting into. People tell me how great Slipknot is yet they don't know what their old stuff is like. Numetal bands sell out after only a few years. I wish bands these days had more integrity. -Dre. Same Story Whether it's Slipknot's fans or Mudvayne's or Avenged Sevenfold's. Every band's fans are the same. They have the fans that loved the band's first CD, and whatever the band releases after that is garbage. I read these reviews and its the same story as others. They shouldn't have changed from the first album. . . I read one review and it stated that the person didn't like Iowa, Vol. 3, or All Hope is Gone but called himself a TRUE Slipknot fan. THAT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE! You like 25% of their material idiot! You are the worst fan. . . I like 100% of it. The same is with Mudvayne go to any album other than LD 50 and read the reviews. They should have never soldout from the first album. . . . wow I wonder if its the same people writing this crap. The same with A7X if its not Waking the Fallen its crap. . . . I mean come on. Heavy, I Guess? 3 The Subliminal Verses. So this is where the force of nature has led: to Vol. Oh, yeah. It's still Slipknot, just a little more alt-rock leaning and less like a tornado of guitars and drums and growls. Which may seriously, seriously piss off some of their fans. The self-titled was brilliant, the sound of a completely new wave of music coming into its own. They sounded like the musical prodigys from hell, riffing and bashing through what will probably always be the album of their career. The tightly-wound experimental bleeps and horror soundtrack SFx will probably never make their way to the forefront again of their sound again, very sadly. Iowa was harsh and "bare-bones", basically just severely downtuned guitars and the same brutal tribal drumming. The musical equivalent of being hit in the face by brick after brick. Now, The Subliminal Verses arrives and it really doesn't fit the bill of either of the previous efforts. Quite frankly, it is the most accessible the band has ever been. "Before I Forget" and "Vermilion" belong right at home on modern radio. While this is not the band at its best, it makes for an easier listen and some of the cuts on this album are flatout the best thing they have ever done. This is a much more melodic version of Slipknot, with a whole lot of incredibly tight drumming and riffing that sounds like it came out of "The Devil's Rejects". The album also features **ACOUSTIC!!** parts, not to alarm anyone. Some songs such as Danger-Keep Away and the acoustic Vermilion will rightly send devoted fans into greater emotional turmoil than the nine members of Slipknot ever felt, and will likely cause many people to completely write them off. This is unfortunate though, because Slipknot genuinely sounds comfortable when stripped down and they haven't become wimps; it's purely a new direction for the band. Last time I checked, acoustic guitar does not discredit a band in any way, shape, or form, and Slipknot may genuinely be the last outfit in the metal world that indeed is as continually filled with angst as their music suggests. Bottom line, this music is terrific. No, it's not what ANYONE is expecting after "Iowa", but it is a logical stepping stone in their music, and it feels only like half a revolution. If this album is any indication, "All Hope Is Gone" should be a Godzilla-esque monster. Any Slipknot fan needs this album like a body needs a brain. If they decide that they hate it, it's an understandable decision, but it is a choice that needs to be made ONLY AFTER this album has been heard in its entirety. Normal person I have never written a review on here before so know that this is not an emply compliment. I don't know how many people will read this since it has been 5 years(after release) but I felt I had to tell anyone who will listen that this is one of the BEST CDs of all time. I was a casual Slipknot fan before this cd. I liked a few of their older songs but didn't really get it. On a whim I bought this right when it came out not knowing what to expect. I still listen to this cd often to this day and have seen them in concert and purchased the older cds and have grown to appreciate the sound on all albums. This one is a little "softer" than others but still kicks a$$. In a perfect world the new cd will be a mix of this one and Iowa. . You can see a complete list of all Slipknot discography, or go back to the Slipknot tabs