All Hope is gone

More masked mayhem from the murderous Des Moines mob
Despite various corners trying to argue otherwise, Slipknot were, are and will always be a heavy metal band. In fact scratch that, they’re a heavy-as-Satan’s-gonads metal band, and that, my friends, is what has ensured their longevity. All Hope Is Gone is the rather cheerily titled fourth album from the Des Moines bruisers and their hardcore following will be pleased to hear that they still sound as subtle as a bitch-slap from Mr T. While their peers pander to the mainstream, the masked musicians continue to honour their scene by staying true to their roots while broadening their sound. It’s a balancing act alright, but then Corey Taylor’s boys were always up for the odd death-defying trick.
All Hope Is Gone is an album of extremes. On one hand (‘Vendetta,’ ‘All Hope Is Gone’) they mix brutal, vintage Slayer-esque guitar solos with some truly savage drumming and on the other, they display a keen ear for melody that at times recalls the late, great Layne Staley (‘Gehenna,’ ‘Dead Memories’) and give us a genuinely stirring acoustic ballad (‘Snuff’) too. Far from being the one-trick novelty band that they were written off as when they emerged in 1999 with their self-titled debut, nearly seven million albums later , it looks like Slipknot have made the album of their career. Guess the joke’s on us, eh?
Key Track: ‘Dead Memories’