Album proves all hope is not gone for Slipknot metal

                Slipknot has always been a band that exists to remind humanity that there are some things in this world that deserve to be feared. The group's latest effort, cheerfully entitled "All Hope Is Gone," however, shows the band venturing in both softer and harder directions. Somehow, in a way that only Slipknot could manage, it ends up working perfectly.
    The down-tuned minor-key riffing of guitarists Mick Thomson and Jim Root is at its best, and unlike the group's previous album, "The Subliminal Verses" (2004), the shredders don't feel the need to prove their soloing mettle, getting by with a few well-placed arpeggios and sweep picks.
    As usual, Slipknot starts the album with one of the hardest numbers on the record, "Gematria (The Killing Name)," in order to immediately scare off those who won't be able to handle the intensity of the next hour.
    The song differs little from the band's previous efforts, but about four minutes into the tune, a harmonized dual-guitar solo cuts through the mix, suggesting that Slipknot has more up their sleeve than just their standard formula.
    The first single and fourth track on the album, "Psychosocial," does its part to keep up Slipknot's excessively dark outlook on … well, just about everything. Even though the lyrics contain pretentious phrases such as "pseudo-sacrosanct perversion," singer Corey Taylor's harsh growl of a voice makes you believe that he actually does know what he's talking about. The most surprising aspect of the song is that it has a melodic and catchy chorus but doesn't trip up where other hard-rock bands have failed in making the jump to melody.
    Following "Psychosocial" is almost assuredly the next single from the record, "Dead Memories," another upbeat little ditty about being tortured by your past. Perhaps even catchier than "Psychosocial," the track is powered by drummer Joey Jordison's surprisingly sensitive double-bass drumming, reminding the listener that, not only is this guy incredible at drums, but that the band as a whole is, in fact, massively talented on all fronts.
    The two extremes of the album are seen on the cuts "Vendetta" and "Snuff," tracks that would usually be seen as polar opposites of the rock sound. While "Vendetta" begins with Jordison's mini-solo, it quickly blasts into a rapid-fire double bass drum riff that, if done by any drummer other than Jordison, would fall apart in seconds.
    While some might say that the beginning of this track is simply a vulgar display of speed without any real skill, the swinging triplet beat that pushes the verses creates a tension between the riffs and choruses, making each seem even more potent on its own. And if it seems impossible that a Slipknot song could have ‘swing,' this album proves the assumption wrong — it swings.
    The second to last track, "Snuff," is a ballad. Take a second and read that again. A ballad? Slipknot? Could this really be true? What's even worse — or better, depending on your point of view — is that it's a good ballad. The melodic push-pull of the verses and choruses rivals that of a Staind made-for-top-40 single, but the ‘je ne sais quoi' of the Slipknot touch makes it just short of cheesy.
    The main thrust of all this can be summed up in one sentence: Slipknot is a metal band that shows some feeling, while most other metal bands these days play with snapped-to-the-grid accuracy and prize technicality over mood, texture, weight and aura. Slipknot creates music that is simply more potent, and perhaps more human, than that of any other metal group.
    Not what you'd expect from a bunch of mask-wearing Iowans.