By Ahmad Zaki • UrbanWire
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Late last year, Slipknot fans worldwide were dismayed to hear rumours that the groundbreaking band would possibly break up. With their drummer Joey Jordison being wildly successful with the Murderdolls, lead vocalist Corey Taylor and guitarist Jim Root having a disappointing time with Stone Sour and percussionist Shawn ‘The Clown’ Crahan working on his side project To My Surprise, it looked unlikely that Slipknot would ever put on their masks and coveralls and return to the recording studio again.

But despite the adversity they faced from their management and the American public, their second album Iowa was released only days before 9/11 and its gloomy, destructive lyrics hit hard on all the wrong buttons, Slipknot returned to create the 3rd album no one thought they could make.

With this offering, the boys from Iowa have brandished new masks and new uniforms. Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) brings forth a new sound and mentality for Slipknot. More mature, older, and perhaps, wiser, Slipknot has maintained the aggression and rage of their first 2 albums and focussed it into a thought-provoking, and sometimes eerie, package of musical excellence.
Gone are the railings and wild fist-shaking at the world for being unable to accept them for who they are. Gone too are

the puerile bouts of depression and the misplaced sense of superiority. What have remained, however, are the crisp rhythm and shout-along choruses that are Slipknot’s trademarks. Jim Root and Mick Thompson wield their guitars with precision, their chugging riffs blending perfectly with Jordison’s machine-gun drumbeats. Taylor has dropped the incoherent growling of the past and actually sings on the album, although his vocals are predominated by screaming – typical of any heavy metal band.

And Slipknot are heavy this time around; heavy on the music, heavy on the emotion and heavy on the depth of meaning. Taylor’s anguished voice screams out for relief and freedom from the ostracism and oppression that he comes under by simply being a member of Slipknot.

Vol. 3 is an album of breaking out of the shackles of society, of rising from adversity and, ultimately, of growing. The first track, ‘Prelude 3.0’, is a tense, burning song that sets the mood for the rest of the album. In ‘Duality’, Taylor’s screams through clenched teeth, “I’m not gonna make it!”, and on ‘Pulse of the Maggots’, he proclaims, “We won’t die!”’. It is an album of contrasts, of conflicting emotions, of things that you never expected Slipknot to ever sing about. ‘Vermillion’ and ‘Vermillion Pt.2’ are songs of unrequited desire, while ‘The Nameless’ is a disturbing, rapid-fire song of a destructive, sadomasochistic relationship.

Technically and melodically, Slipknot have improved – and changed – greatly in this album. The angsty ‘Circle’ has Taylor singing along to a background of violins and cello, while the acoustic guitars and piano of ‘Vermillion Pt. 2’ makes it the gentlest Slipknot song to ever hit the airwaves (the refrain of “I won’t let this build up inside of me.” is almost heartbreaking).
But most of all, ‘Before I Forget’ would be the song that characterises the growth of Slipknot in these few years, from their near downfall after the release of Iowa to their almost godlike status after the release of Vol. 3, with its chorus, “I am a world before I am a man/ I was a creature before I could stand/ I will remember before I forget.”

All in all, Vol. 3 is an album worth buying, whether you’re new to Slipknot or a veteran fan.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars.