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All Hope Is Gone (album)
Encyclopedia
All Hope Is Gone is the fourth studio album by American heavy metal
band Slipknot
. Released on August 20, 2008 by Roadrunner Records
, the album was published in two versions: the standard album in a Compact Disc
case and a special edition packaged in a six-fold digipak
containing three bonus tracks, a 40 page booklet, and a bonus DVD
with a documentary of the album's recording. Preparation for the album began in 2007, while recording started in February 2008 in the band's home state of Iowa
. All Hope Is Gone is Slipknot's first studio album since 2004's Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses)
. Before the album's launch, Slipknot released a series of promotional images and audio samples from the album through various websites. All Hope Is Gone is considered the band's most eclectic-sounding album, incorporating elements from their previous three. All Hope Is Gone includes their "brutal" edge, such as the track "All Hope Is Gone
", reminiscent of songs such as "(sic)" from their debut self-titled album
; slow burning, "trippy" elements such as "Gehenna", reminiscent of "Skin Ticket" from their second album Iowa
; and acoustics ("Snuff
") and guitar solos, which were first introduced on Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses).
Lyrically, All Hope Is Gone centers on themes such as anger
, disaffection
, obsession
, and the music industry. The album name also features a more prominent focus on politics than their previous albums. Slipknot promoted All Hope Is Gone on a world tour
and at the Mayhem Festival
. Generally well received by critics, the album reached the top position on nine record chart
s worldwide, including the Billboard 200
—the first Slipknot album to do so. It has been certified Platinum by the RIAA on the 10th of August, 2010 for shipments in excess of 1,000,000 albums in the United States. It is the final studio album released by the band to include bassist and founding member, Paul Gray, who was found dead in an Iowa hotel on May 24, 2010, almost two years after the release of All Hope Is Gone.
explained, "I've told them to demo whatever they can so we've got as much material to choose from as possible." In February 2008, Slipknot entered the Sound Farm Studio
in Jamaica, Iowa
with producer Dave Fortman
. All Hope Is Gone is the band's first album written and recorded in their home state of Iowa
. Bassist Paul Gray
explained that the band decided to record in Iowa because there were too many distractions in Los Angeles
, where production of their previous albums had taken place. The band also stated that being close to home was good for their mindset; vocalist Corey Taylor
drove home every night to see his son. Unlike Slipknot's previous releases, the album's writing process involved all nine band members, who wrote over 30 songs. Jordison commented, "I have to say that the band is at its peak; everyone—I mean everyone—is now completely involved in the writing process, and it's a beautiful thing." Taylor felt the writing process had some problems, but also noted that the creation of every Slipknot album has had conflict and that the band has come to embrace it after realizing that the conflict helps to bring out their creativity. Taylor and guitarist Jim Root
paired up with Sid Wilson
, performing on keyboards, and percussionist Shawn Crahan to work on "oblique, arty pieces". Taylor also experimented with tracking
in an old well, stating, "There was this natural reverb to it that was just intense." According to Crahan none of the experimental tracks made it onto the album. However, one of them, "Til We Die", appears as a bonus track on the album's special edition along with "Child Of Burning Time" and the similarly experimental Bloodstone Mix of "Vermillion Pt. 2". The track "Sulfur
" was the first combined effort of Jordison and Root, who wrote the song in one evening.
Feeling discontent over the record's production process, Root said, "it felt a little bit rushed. And it felt like we were trying to do things just to appease a schedule, which I didn't really like." Root was particularly disappointed with the record's producer, Dave Fortman, and said, "Dave Fortman really helped me appreciate Rick Rubin as a producer. [Fortman] wasn't able to get nine people together on the same page and, to me, that's the most important thing in making a Slipknot record." Conversely, Jordison said, "It's finally the record that I've wanted Slipknot to sound like." He went on to compliment Fortman's ear for tone, and considered All Hope Is Gone to be the band's best album. All Hope Is Gone was mixed
by Colin Richardson
in the United Kingdom.
Rumors that Slipknot would be recording and touring All Hope Is Gone without their trademark masks circulated after band members appeared unmasked during performances with various side-projects. However, Shawn Crahan dismissed these rumors in an interview on The Sauce
. Bassist Paul Gray elaborated that the band would return with a new overall image; "It'll still be Slipknot," he stated, "but we're gonna upgrade, step things up a little." Beginning April 1, 2008, Slipknot's website displayed ten teasers
to promote All Hope Is Gone. The first nine displayed the band in their purgatory masks, however, the final teaser featured a darkened photograph of the band with their new masks. Slipknot premiered their new masks on July 1, 2008 on Spinner.com
; eight million people visited the website to view the masks on the first day.
On June 15, 2008, a 30-second sample and cover art from the album's title track, "All Hope Is Gone
", were made available on Amazon.com
. The song began airplay the same day and on June 20, 2008, Roadrunner Records offered the track as a free download on their website. "All Hope Is Gone" was later released as a digital single
. The second single from the album, "Psychosocial
", began airplay on June 26, 2008 and was released as a digital single on July 7, 2008. Following the album's launch, "Dead Memories
" was released as a digital single on December 1, 2008, along with an accompanying music video. The music video for "Sulfur", the album's fourth single, premiered on April 18, 2009, and the single was released on June 15, 2009. From August 17 through 19, 2008, Kerrang!
magazine held six listening events across the United Kingdom which included a preview of the documentary supplied with the album's special edition, and free merchandise. On April 17, 2009, Roadrunner Records announced that the album would be released on vinyl
on April 19, 2009, coinciding with Record Store Day
.
The album's cover art and track listing were released on July 8, 2008. Slipknot began its All Hope Is Gone World Tour
the following day—the tour was their first since 2005. The band initially toured with the Mayhem Festival
across the United States, through August 16, 2008. Afterward, Slipknot was scheduled to appear at the Reading and Leeds Festivals
in England, the Two Days a Week Festival in Austria, and the Area4 Festival in Germany. However, the European tour dates were canceled due to Jordison breaking his ankle. Slipknot performed at the Rock on the Range
Festival on May 16 and 17, 2009 then headlined the Download Festival
in England during the summer, the first time they had headlined the festival.
album, which Joey Jordison affirmed saying, "It's going to be heavier than Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses)
, but just as weird and as experimental." Corey Taylor reiterated this, describing All Hope Is Gone as a "very dark" combination of the band's two previous studio albums, Iowa
and Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses). In All Hope Is Gone, Slipknot expands on their use of traditional song structures, acoustics, and solos that they introduced on their previous album Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses). The song "Snuff
" is led by acoustic guitars and has been dubbed as Slipknot's "attempt at a power ballad", though it remains "dark and ominous". In an interview with Artistdirect
, Shawn Crahan stated, "Everyone can feel the pain that's in there. It's not forced upon you. You have it in there innately." Slipknot also retained a metal edge reminiscent of their earlier work. Stephen Erlewine of Allmusic wrote "Gematria (The Killing Name)" goes from "a cluster of cacophony" to "an onslaught of densely dark intricate riffs". Crahan compared it to the song "(sic)" from their debut album, explaining, "The technique and the style are very reminiscent of the old, brutal shit that we've done." Jim Kaz of IGN
stated that the "swaggering, cock-rock groove and an anthemic chorus" of "Psychosocial" gives Slipknot the potential to reach out to new fans "without sacrificing a lick of intensity". Crahan stated he "loves" his parts of "Psychosocial", in which the band incorporates snare drum
s, reminiscent of "Before I Forget". He also cited "This Cold Black" as one of his favorite songs, saying that it has a "driving tempo and a lot of attitude". The track "Gehenna" incorporates elements of Slipknot's slower, more cerebral edge reminiscent of "Prosthetics" and "Purity" from their debut album, and "Skin Ticket" from Iowa. Crahan called it a "trippy song", explaining, "It's just somewhere we go."
Corey Taylor explained that the phrase "All Hope Is Gone" is aimed at the fans' expectations of the band, further elaborating, "Just when you thought you had us figured out, give up all hope because you're never, ever going to." Throughout the album, Taylor incorporates a focus on politics in his lyrics, compared to Slipknot's previous albums. The opening track, ".execute.", features Taylor's response to former United States Vice President Spiro Agnew
’s speech targeted at Vietnam War protesters
. and the second track "Gematria (The Killing Name)" follows in the same vein. During an interview with Kerrang!, Taylor discussed the song's lyrical content, explaining, "There are a lot of people who are disguising politics as religion and dictating taste and turning it into policy. And that hurts me." Reviewing for IGN, Jim Kaz said that lyrically, "Gematria (The Killing Name)" gives the listener a "heaping dose of Corey Taylor's caustic bravado". On the track "Wherein Lies Continue", Taylor offers a "dressing down of the world as we know it", explaining, "It kinda goes up against any civilization that takes themselves way too seriously and where the 'leaders' are so pretentious that they think they are deemed to speak for the people." He also proclaimed, "It wouldn't be a Slipknot album if I didn't rag on the recording industry." On "Butcher's Hook", Taylor specifically targets "all those little emo boys", commenting, "People give us shit for wearing outfits, but all of those guys look exactly the same."
album chart, outselling LAX from The Game
by 1,134 units. Initially, Billboard published an article stating that The Game had secured the top spot with a margin of 13 units, in what was described as the "closest race for number one since SoundScan began tracking Data in 1991". After a recount 12 hours later, the article was rewritten and Slipknot was awarded the number one spot, having sold 239,516 units. All Hope Is Gone debuted at number two in the United Kingdom, topped only by The Verve
's album Forth. In Canada, the album sold over 20,000 copies in its first week and debuted at #1 on the Canadian Albums Chart
. The album also debuted at number one on eight other charts worldwide. "Psychosocial", the album's second single, brought Slipknot their first MTV Video Music Awards
nomination for Best Rock Video
, as well as their seventh Grammy
nomination for Best Metal Performance
at the 51st Grammy Awards
. In December 2008, Total Guitar
ranked All Hope Is Gone as one of the "50 Best Guitar Albums of the Year". In 2009, it was rated 16th in UK magazine Kerrang!
's "The 50 Best Albums of the 21st Century" reader poll.
All Hope Is Gone has been certified Platinum in the United States of America and Canada
by the RIAA and CRIA
respectively. It has been certified Gold in the United Kingdom
, Australia
, New Zealand
and Germany
hence being a commercial success.
onto the Internet. Stephen Erlewine wrote in his review for Allmusic that the early "cluster of cacophony" of "Gematria" is "so effective [...] that when things do get a little softer a little later on, the album threatens to collapse like a soufflé". Criticizing the album, Erlewine wrote, "One more power ballad like Snuff
would be enough to derail the album." He gave the album a rating of four out of five stars. Regarding the album's creation process, Darren Sadler of Rock Sound
wrote, "Slipknot
raised their collective middle fingers, and created an album that stands out head and shoulders above everything else that will be released this year." He compared the album's sound to those of other bands such as Stone Sour
, Morbid Angel
, and Meshuggah
, and he gave the album a score of 9 out of 10. Ryan Ogle of Blabbermouth.net
gave All Hope Is Gone 7.5 out of 10 stars. Ogle stated that the fans' views of the "diversity" of the album would be Slipknot's "saving grace, or their misfortune", concluding, "While it may not be as jaw-dropping or revolutionary as some might have hoped, it's by no means a bad release." Reviewing for Blender
, writer Darren Ratner observed a different theme in the lyrics when compared to previous Slipknot albums, noting that the band is able to "make ugliness sound just a little bit pretty". Marc Weingarten of Entertainment Weekly
gave the album a B+ rating, calling All Hope Is Gone "a metal assault-and-battery on the hypocrisies of the modern world". Jim Kaz of IGN stated that the band's attempt to move from nu-metal to "more classic metal elements" was "the best career move they could've made". Kaz gave All Hope Is Gone a score of 8.1 out of 10, writing, "[It] effectively [builds] upon the band's collective strengths." Q Magazine noted that the band no longer resembled "a threat to Western civilisation" but claimed that the album delivered one shock; "how listenable they've become", including "Snuff" in the top 50 downloads for August 2008.
Rolling Stone
reviewer Chris Steffen praised the percussive edge on All Hope Is Gone noting, "The band’s multiple percussionists generate a din that’s more suffocating than ever [on the track] 'Gematria'." He proposed "Snuff" as the "most melodic" song on the album, comparing it to "Circle" from Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses). Steffen also wrote that " 'Psychosocial
' is capped off with a time-signature shattering guitar/drum breakdown that will leave the best air-instrumentalists stumped". The album was praised by Total Guitar
s writer Nick Cracknell, who declared the effort "Slipknot's heaviest and most aggressive work to date". He compared "Dead Memories" to the works of Alice in Chains
, while praising "Gehenna" for being the band's "most experimental work in their history". Cracknell went on to state "Wherein Lies Continue" contains a "huge chugging verse riff" which evolves into an "incredible soaring chorus". Dan Martin of The Guardian
compared "Dead Memories" to Metallica
's song "Enter Sandman
" and called "Gematria (The Killing Name)" a work of "astonishingly dense thrash", giving the album four out of five stars. Criticizing the album, John Doran of The Quietus called "This Cold Black" the album's heaviest track, remarking, "Imagine dropping a 3ft wide, solid steel manhole cover on your bollocks and then having a Panzer full of cybermen drive backwards and forwards over it." He compared the overall sound of the album to "a mess of shards", referring to "Snuff" as "absolute garbage".
Slipknot
Production
Production (continued)
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band Slipknot
Slipknot (band)
Slipknot is an American heavy metal band from Des Moines, Iowa. Formed in 1995, the group was founded by percussionist Shawn Crahan and bassist Paul Gray...
. Released on August 20, 2008 by Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records is an American record label that concentrates primarily on heavy metal bands. It is currently a subsidiary of Warner Music Group.-History:...
, the album was published in two versions: the standard album in a Compact Disc
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
case and a special edition packaged in a six-fold digipak
Digipak
Digipak is a patented style of CD, DVD or BD packaging, and is a registered trademark of AGI World Ltd., an Atlas Holdings company.-Features:...
containing three bonus tracks, a 40 page booklet, and a bonus DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
with a documentary of the album's recording. Preparation for the album began in 2007, while recording started in February 2008 in the band's home state of Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
. All Hope Is Gone is Slipknot's first studio album since 2004's Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses)
Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses)
Vol. 3: is the third studio album by American heavy metal band Slipknot. The album was released on May 25, 2004, through Roadrunner Records, and a special edition, containing a bonus disc, was released on April 12, 2005. It is the band’s only album produced by Rick Rubin and also the only one not...
. Before the album's launch, Slipknot released a series of promotional images and audio samples from the album through various websites. All Hope Is Gone is considered the band's most eclectic-sounding album, incorporating elements from their previous three. All Hope Is Gone includes their "brutal" edge, such as the track "All Hope Is Gone
All Hope Is Gone (song)
"All Hope Is Gone" is a song by Slipknot. The first single and title track from Slipknot's fourth studio album, All Hope Is Gone. It was released for one day only during June 20, 2008 as an MP3 in its entirety on the band's website for free download, and was followed by its release as a digital...
", reminiscent of songs such as "(sic)" from their debut self-titled album
Slipknot (album)
Slipknot is the debut album by American heavy metal band Slipknot. It was released on June 29, 1999 through Roadrunner Records, after a demo containing a few of the songs had been released in 1998, and was reissued in December 1999 with a slightly altered track listing and mastering, as a result of...
; slow burning, "trippy" elements such as "Gehenna", reminiscent of "Skin Ticket" from their second album Iowa
Iowa (album)
Iowa is the second album by American heavy metal band Slipknot. Released by Roadrunner Records on August 28, 2001, it was produced by Ross Robinson and Slipknot. The title derives from the band's home state, Iowa, which members have stated is one of their biggest sources of inspiration...
; and acoustics ("Snuff
Snuff (song)
"Snuff" is a power ballad by American heavy metal band Slipknot, Released as the fifth single from their fourth album All Hope Is Gone on September 28, 2009, the song charted at number two on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, their highest charted single to date, surpassing "Dead...
") and guitar solos, which were first introduced on Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses).
Lyrically, All Hope Is Gone centers on themes such as anger
Anger
Anger is an automatic response to ill treatment. It is the way a person indicates he or she will not tolerate certain types of behaviour. It is a feedback mechanism in which an unpleasant stimulus is met with an unpleasant response....
, disaffection
Rebellion
Rebellion, uprising or insurrection, is a refusal of obedience or order. It may, therefore, be seen as encompassing a range of behaviors aimed at destroying or replacing an established authority such as a government or a head of state...
, obsession
Fixation (psychology)
Fixation: 'concept originated by Sigmund Freud to denote the persistence of anachronistic sexual traits'. Subsequently '"Fixation" acquired a broader connotation...
, and the music industry. The album name also features a more prominent focus on politics than their previous albums. Slipknot promoted All Hope Is Gone on a world tour
All Hope Is Gone World Tour
The All Hope Is Gone World Tour was a concert tour by Slipknot that took place in 2008 and 2009 in support of the group's fourth studio album All Hope Is Gone. The tour consisted of nine legs and took place in the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe...
and at the Mayhem Festival
Mayhem festival
The Mayhem Festival is a touring metal festival that takes place during the summer. The inaugural iteration took place in 2008; the festival has since become an annual event across the United States and Quebec, Canada. The tour has been sponsored by the Rockstar Energy Company since the time of its...
. Generally well received by critics, the album reached the top position on nine record chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
s worldwide, including the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
—the first Slipknot album to do so. It has been certified Platinum by the RIAA on the 10th of August, 2010 for shipments in excess of 1,000,000 albums in the United States. It is the final studio album released by the band to include bassist and founding member, Paul Gray, who was found dead in an Iowa hotel on May 24, 2010, almost two years after the release of All Hope Is Gone.
Recording
Preparation for All Hope Is Gone began in 2007. Drummer Joey JordisonJoey Jordison
Joey Jordison , is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, best known for his work as the drummer for the nu metal band Slipknot. He grew up in Waukee, Iowa with his parents and two sisters, and was given his first drum kit at the age of 8...
explained, "I've told them to demo whatever they can so we've got as much material to choose from as possible." In February 2008, Slipknot entered the Sound Farm Studio
Sound Farm Studio & Recording Environment
Sound Farm Studio & Recording Environment is a full-service recording studio and production facility with an attached residence located in Jamaica, Iowa. Matthew Sepanic, owner, producer and engineer recently co-produced and engineered The Envy Corps debut album, Dwell which is due to be released...
in Jamaica, Iowa
Jamaica, Iowa
Jamaica is a city in Guthrie County, Iowa, United States. The population was 237 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Des Moines–West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Jamaica is located at ....
with producer Dave Fortman
Dave Fortman
Dave Fortman is the guitarist for the band Ugly Kid Joe. He currently is an American music producer. He has worked with bands such as Superjoint Ritual, Watership Down, Eyehategod, Mudvayne, Otep, Slipknot on their new fourth studio album titled All Hope Is Gone, and Simple Plan, as well as on both...
. All Hope Is Gone is the band's first album written and recorded in their home state of Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
. Bassist Paul Gray
Paul Gray (Slipknot)
Paul Dedrick Gray also known as The Pig or by his number #2 was an American musician, best known as the bassist, primary songwriter and one of the founding members of the Grammy Award-winning metal band Slipknot....
explained that the band decided to record in Iowa because there were too many distractions in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, where production of their previous albums had taken place. The band also stated that being close to home was good for their mindset; vocalist Corey Taylor
Corey Taylor
Corey Todd Taylor sometimes known by the number 8, is an American musician best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of Slipknot and Stone Sour. Taylor was raised by his single mother. He developed a fond feeling toward classic rock after his grandmother introduced him to it...
drove home every night to see his son. Unlike Slipknot's previous releases, the album's writing process involved all nine band members, who wrote over 30 songs. Jordison commented, "I have to say that the band is at its peak; everyone—I mean everyone—is now completely involved in the writing process, and it's a beautiful thing." Taylor felt the writing process had some problems, but also noted that the creation of every Slipknot album has had conflict and that the band has come to embrace it after realizing that the conflict helps to bring out their creativity. Taylor and guitarist Jim Root
Jim Root
James Donald "Jim" Root , also known by his number #4, is an American musician known for being the rhythm/lead guitarist of the heavy metal band, Slipknot, and the lead guitarist for rock band, Stone Sour...
paired up with Sid Wilson
Sid Wilson
Sidney George Wilson also known as Ratboy or DJ Sid, #0 , is an American disc jockey known as the turntablist of the Grammy Award winning band Slipknot. He is the youngest member of the band.-Biography:...
, performing on keyboards, and percussionist Shawn Crahan to work on "oblique, arty pieces". Taylor also experimented with tracking
Multitrack recording
Multitrack recording is a method of sound recording that allows for the separate recording of multiple sound sources to create a cohesive whole...
in an old well, stating, "There was this natural reverb to it that was just intense." According to Crahan none of the experimental tracks made it onto the album. However, one of them, "Til We Die", appears as a bonus track on the album's special edition along with "Child Of Burning Time" and the similarly experimental Bloodstone Mix of "Vermillion Pt. 2". The track "Sulfur
Sulfur (song)
"Sulfur" is a song by American heavy metal band Slipknot, and is the fourth single from the band's fourth album All Hope Is Gone. The single was released on June 15, 2009, a music video for the single was released on April 18, 2009...
" was the first combined effort of Jordison and Root, who wrote the song in one evening.
Feeling discontent over the record's production process, Root said, "it felt a little bit rushed. And it felt like we were trying to do things just to appease a schedule, which I didn't really like." Root was particularly disappointed with the record's producer, Dave Fortman, and said, "Dave Fortman really helped me appreciate Rick Rubin as a producer. [Fortman] wasn't able to get nine people together on the same page and, to me, that's the most important thing in making a Slipknot record." Conversely, Jordison said, "It's finally the record that I've wanted Slipknot to sound like." He went on to compliment Fortman's ear for tone, and considered All Hope Is Gone to be the band's best album. All Hope Is Gone was mixed
Audio mixing (recorded music)
In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
by Colin Richardson
Colin Richardson
Colin Richardson is a British record producer, mixer and recording engineer. He has worked on over 100 albums, and is most frequently associated with heavy metal and its subgenres such as:*Anathema*As I Lay Dying*Behemoth*Bullet for My Valentine...
in the United Kingdom.
Promotion
The Sauce (TV series)
The Sauce is a daily live interactive show that aired on the music network Fuse. It was hosted by Steve Smith and Jared Cotter and aired weekdays at 6PM EST/3PM PST and premiered on April 2, 2007 and ended on May 22, 2008....
. Bassist Paul Gray elaborated that the band would return with a new overall image; "It'll still be Slipknot," he stated, "but we're gonna upgrade, step things up a little." Beginning April 1, 2008, Slipknot's website displayed ten teasers
Teaser trailer
A teaser campaign is an advertising campaign which typically consists of a series of small, cryptic, challenging advertisements that anticipate a larger, full-blown campaign for a product launch or otherwise important event. These advertisements are called "teasers" or "teaser ads"...
to promote All Hope Is Gone. The first nine displayed the band in their purgatory masks, however, the final teaser featured a darkened photograph of the band with their new masks. Slipknot premiered their new masks on July 1, 2008 on Spinner.com
Spinner.com
Spinner is an AOL Music property, which bills itself as "the ultimate music blog for free MP3s, free CD listening, [and] discovering new artists."...
; eight million people visited the website to view the masks on the first day.
On June 15, 2008, a 30-second sample and cover art from the album's title track, "All Hope Is Gone
All Hope Is Gone (song)
"All Hope Is Gone" is a song by Slipknot. The first single and title track from Slipknot's fourth studio album, All Hope Is Gone. It was released for one day only during June 20, 2008 as an MP3 in its entirety on the band's website for free download, and was followed by its release as a digital...
", were made available on Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
. The song began airplay the same day and on June 20, 2008, Roadrunner Records offered the track as a free download on their website. "All Hope Is Gone" was later released as a digital single
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
. The second single from the album, "Psychosocial
Psychosocial (song)
"Psychosocial" is a song by American heavy metal band Slipknot. It is released as the second single and fourth track from their fourth studio album, All Hope Is Gone. The song entered airplay on June 26, 2008 and was originally planned for release as a digital single on July 1 but was delayed and...
", began airplay on June 26, 2008 and was released as a digital single on July 7, 2008. Following the album's launch, "Dead Memories
Dead Memories
"Dead Memories" is a song by American heavy metal band Slipknot. The song was released as the third single from their fourth album All Hope Is Gone. The track was released on December 1, 2008. The music video for the single was directed by P. R. Brown and Shawn Crahan. The video premiered on MTV2...
" was released as a digital single on December 1, 2008, along with an accompanying music video. The music video for "Sulfur", the album's fourth single, premiered on April 18, 2009, and the single was released on June 15, 2009. From August 17 through 19, 2008, Kerrang!
Kerrang!
Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on June 6, 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper...
magazine held six listening events across the United Kingdom which included a preview of the documentary supplied with the album's special edition, and free merchandise. On April 17, 2009, Roadrunner Records announced that the album would be released on vinyl
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
on April 19, 2009, coinciding with Record Store Day
Record Store Day
Record Store Day is an internationally celebrated day observed the third Saturday of April each year. Its purpose, as conceived by independent record store employee Chris Brown, is to celebrate the art of music...
.
The album's cover art and track listing were released on July 8, 2008. Slipknot began its All Hope Is Gone World Tour
All Hope Is Gone World Tour
The All Hope Is Gone World Tour was a concert tour by Slipknot that took place in 2008 and 2009 in support of the group's fourth studio album All Hope Is Gone. The tour consisted of nine legs and took place in the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe...
the following day—the tour was their first since 2005. The band initially toured with the Mayhem Festival
Mayhem festival
The Mayhem Festival is a touring metal festival that takes place during the summer. The inaugural iteration took place in 2008; the festival has since become an annual event across the United States and Quebec, Canada. The tour has been sponsored by the Rockstar Energy Company since the time of its...
across the United States, through August 16, 2008. Afterward, Slipknot was scheduled to appear at the Reading and Leeds Festivals
Reading and Leeds Festivals
The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend, sharing the same bill. The Reading Festival is held at Little John's Farm...
in England, the Two Days a Week Festival in Austria, and the Area4 Festival in Germany. However, the European tour dates were canceled due to Jordison breaking his ankle. Slipknot performed at the Rock on the Range
Rock on the Range
Rock on the Range is an annual rock festival featuring mostly mainstream rock bands, with a classic band usually headlining the show. The festival is held at two venues; Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio and Canad Inns Stadium in Winnipeg, Manitoba...
Festival on May 16 and 17, 2009 then headlined the Download Festival
Download Festival
The Download Festival is a three day rock music festival held annually at Donington Park, England . It usually takes place in June...
in England during the summer, the first time they had headlined the festival.
Style and themes
Prior to the album's release, Slipknot's members displayed interest in making All Hope Is Gone their heaviestHeavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
album, which Joey Jordison affirmed saying, "It's going to be heavier than Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses)
Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses)
Vol. 3: is the third studio album by American heavy metal band Slipknot. The album was released on May 25, 2004, through Roadrunner Records, and a special edition, containing a bonus disc, was released on April 12, 2005. It is the band’s only album produced by Rick Rubin and also the only one not...
, but just as weird and as experimental." Corey Taylor reiterated this, describing All Hope Is Gone as a "very dark" combination of the band's two previous studio albums, Iowa
Iowa (album)
Iowa is the second album by American heavy metal band Slipknot. Released by Roadrunner Records on August 28, 2001, it was produced by Ross Robinson and Slipknot. The title derives from the band's home state, Iowa, which members have stated is one of their biggest sources of inspiration...
and Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses). In All Hope Is Gone, Slipknot expands on their use of traditional song structures, acoustics, and solos that they introduced on their previous album Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses). The song "Snuff
Snuff (song)
"Snuff" is a power ballad by American heavy metal band Slipknot, Released as the fifth single from their fourth album All Hope Is Gone on September 28, 2009, the song charted at number two on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, their highest charted single to date, surpassing "Dead...
" is led by acoustic guitars and has been dubbed as Slipknot's "attempt at a power ballad", though it remains "dark and ominous". In an interview with Artistdirect
ARTISTdirect
Founded in 1994, Artistdirect, Inc. is an online digital media entertainment company. It owns several websites including Artistdirect.com, UBL.com and the Artistdirect Network...
, Shawn Crahan stated, "Everyone can feel the pain that's in there. It's not forced upon you. You have it in there innately." Slipknot also retained a metal edge reminiscent of their earlier work. Stephen Erlewine of Allmusic wrote "Gematria (The Killing Name)" goes from "a cluster of cacophony" to "an onslaught of densely dark intricate riffs". Crahan compared it to the song "(sic)" from their debut album, explaining, "The technique and the style are very reminiscent of the old, brutal shit that we've done." Jim Kaz of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
stated that the "swaggering, cock-rock groove and an anthemic chorus" of "Psychosocial" gives Slipknot the potential to reach out to new fans "without sacrificing a lick of intensity". Crahan stated he "loves" his parts of "Psychosocial", in which the band incorporates snare drum
Snare drum
The snare drum or side drum is a melodic percussion instrument with strands of snares made of curled metal wire, metal cable, plastic cable, or gut cords stretched across the drumhead, typically the bottom. Pipe and tabor and some military snare drums often have a second set of snares on the bottom...
s, reminiscent of "Before I Forget". He also cited "This Cold Black" as one of his favorite songs, saying that it has a "driving tempo and a lot of attitude". The track "Gehenna" incorporates elements of Slipknot's slower, more cerebral edge reminiscent of "Prosthetics" and "Purity" from their debut album, and "Skin Ticket" from Iowa. Crahan called it a "trippy song", explaining, "It's just somewhere we go."
Corey Taylor explained that the phrase "All Hope Is Gone" is aimed at the fans' expectations of the band, further elaborating, "Just when you thought you had us figured out, give up all hope because you're never, ever going to." Throughout the album, Taylor incorporates a focus on politics in his lyrics, compared to Slipknot's previous albums. The opening track, ".execute.", features Taylor's response to former United States Vice President Spiro Agnew
Spiro Agnew
Spiro Theodore Agnew was the 39th Vice President of the United States , serving under President Richard Nixon, and the 55th Governor of Maryland...
’s speech targeted at Vietnam War protesters
Opposition to the Vietnam War
The movement against US involvment in the in Vietnam War began in the United States with demonstrations in 1964 and grew in strength in later years. The US became polarized between those who advocated continued involvement in Vietnam, and those who wanted peace. Peace movements consisted largely of...
. and the second track "Gematria (The Killing Name)" follows in the same vein. During an interview with Kerrang!, Taylor discussed the song's lyrical content, explaining, "There are a lot of people who are disguising politics as religion and dictating taste and turning it into policy. And that hurts me." Reviewing for IGN, Jim Kaz said that lyrically, "Gematria (The Killing Name)" gives the listener a "heaping dose of Corey Taylor's caustic bravado". On the track "Wherein Lies Continue", Taylor offers a "dressing down of the world as we know it", explaining, "It kinda goes up against any civilization that takes themselves way too seriously and where the 'leaders' are so pretentious that they think they are deemed to speak for the people." He also proclaimed, "It wouldn't be a Slipknot album if I didn't rag on the recording industry." On "Butcher's Hook", Taylor specifically targets "all those little emo boys", commenting, "People give us shit for wearing outfits, but all of those guys look exactly the same."
Commercial performance
All Hope Is Gone was Slipknot's first album to debut at number one on the Billboard 200Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
album chart, outselling LAX from The Game
The Game (rapper)
Jayceon Terrell Taylor , better known by his stage name Game, formerly The Game, is an American rapper and actor. As a member of G-Unit, he rose to fame in 2005 with the success of his debut album, The Documentary, which earned him two Grammy Award nominations...
by 1,134 units. Initially, Billboard published an article stating that The Game had secured the top spot with a margin of 13 units, in what was described as the "closest race for number one since SoundScan began tracking Data in 1991". After a recount 12 hours later, the article was rewritten and Slipknot was awarded the number one spot, having sold 239,516 units. All Hope Is Gone debuted at number two in the United Kingdom, topped only by The Verve
The Verve
The Verve were an English rock band formed in 1989 in Wigan by lead vocalist Richard Ashcroft, guitarist Nick McCabe, bassist Simon Jones, and drummer Peter Salisbury. Guitarist and keyboardist Simon Tong later became a member. Beginning with a psychedelic sound indebted to shoegazing and space...
's album Forth. In Canada, the album sold over 20,000 copies in its first week and debuted at #1 on the Canadian Albums Chart
Canadian Albums Chart
The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS...
. The album also debuted at number one on eight other charts worldwide. "Psychosocial", the album's second single, brought Slipknot their first MTV Video Music Awards
MTV Video Music Awards
An MTV Video Music Award , is an award presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in music videos...
nomination for Best Rock Video
MTV Video Music Award for Best Rock Video
The MTV Video Music Award for Best Rock Video was first given out in , and it was one of the four original genre categories added to the VMAs that year. That year, though, the award was called the Best Heavy Metal Video. From 1990 to 1995, the award was called the Best Metal/Hard Rock Video, and...
, as well as their seventh Grammy
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
nomination for Best Metal Performance
Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance was an award presented at the Grammy Awards to recording artists for works containing quality performances in the heavy metal music genre...
at the 51st Grammy Awards
51st Grammy Awards
The 51st Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA on February 8, 2009. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss were the biggest winners of the night, jointly winning five awards including Album of the Year and Record of the Year...
. In December 2008, Total Guitar
Total Guitar
Total Guitar is a monthly magazine based in the United Kingdom. The magazine is the best selling guitar magazine in Europe.The magazine is owned by Future Publishing, who publish many other magazines ranging from drums and video games to mountain bikes and knitting magazines.Total Guitar regularly...
ranked All Hope Is Gone as one of the "50 Best Guitar Albums of the Year". In 2009, it was rated 16th in UK magazine Kerrang!
Kerrang!
Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on June 6, 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper...
's "The 50 Best Albums of the 21st Century" reader poll.
All Hope Is Gone has been certified Platinum in the United States of America and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
by the RIAA and CRIA
Cria
A cria is the name for a baby camelid such as a llama, alpaca, vicuña, or guanaco. It comes from the Spanish word cría, meaning "baby". Its false cognate in English, crya , was coined by British sailors who explored Chile in the 18th century and were quick to describe the camelids onomatopoeically...
respectively. It has been certified Gold in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
hence being a commercial success.
Critical response
All Hope Is Gone was generally well-received by critics. Several music critics anticipated the album immediately after the release of Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses). In its review of Vol. 3, Allmusic stated, "There's a sense that whatever Slipknot do next might be their ultimate broadcast to the faithful." Copies of All Hope Is Gone intended for reviewers were pressed under the false name "Rusty Cage" to reduce the risk of the album leakingInternet leak
An Internet leak occurs when a party's confidential information is released to the public on the Internet. Various types of information and data can be, and have been, "leaked" to the Internet, the most common being personal information, computer software and source code, and artistic works such...
onto the Internet. Stephen Erlewine wrote in his review for Allmusic that the early "cluster of cacophony" of "Gematria" is "so effective [...] that when things do get a little softer a little later on, the album threatens to collapse like a soufflé". Criticizing the album, Erlewine wrote, "One more power ballad like Snuff
Snuff
Snuff is a product made from ground or pulverised tobacco leaves. It is an example of smokeless tobacco. It originated in the Americas and was in common use in Europe by the 17th century...
would be enough to derail the album." He gave the album a rating of four out of five stars. Regarding the album's creation process, Darren Sadler of Rock Sound
Rock Sound
Rock Sound is a British magazine which champions rock music. The magazine aims at being more "underground" and less commercial, whilst also giving coverage to more well known acts.-History:...
wrote, "Slipknot
Slipknot (band)
Slipknot is an American heavy metal band from Des Moines, Iowa. Formed in 1995, the group was founded by percussionist Shawn Crahan and bassist Paul Gray...
raised their collective middle fingers, and created an album that stands out head and shoulders above everything else that will be released this year." He compared the album's sound to those of other bands such as Stone Sour
Stone Sour
Stone Sour is an American rock band from Des Moines, Iowa. Since 2006, the group has been composed of Corey Taylor , Jim Root , Josh Rand, , Shawn Economaki and Roy Mayorga . Original drummer Joel Ekman left the group in 2006...
, Morbid Angel
Morbid Angel
Morbid Angel is an American death metal band based in Tampa, Florida. UK music magazine Terrorizer ranked one Morbid Angel album in its “Top 40 greatest death metal albums”, with their 1989 debut Altars of Madness appearing at number 1...
, and Meshuggah
Meshuggah
Meshuggah is an extreme metal band from Umeå, Sweden, formed in 1987. Meshuggah's line-up has primarily consisted of founding members vocalist Jens Kidman and lead guitarist Fredrik Thordendal, drummer Tomas Haake, who joined in 1990, and rhythm guitarist Mårten Hagström, who joined in 1992...
, and he gave the album a score of 9 out of 10. Ryan Ogle of Blabbermouth.net
Blabbermouth.net
Blabbermouth.net is a website dedicated to heavy metal and hard rock news, as well as album and music DVD reviews. Blabbermouth.net was founded and is run by Borivoj Krgin. The first version of the website was officially launched in March 2001...
gave All Hope Is Gone 7.5 out of 10 stars. Ogle stated that the fans' views of the "diversity" of the album would be Slipknot's "saving grace, or their misfortune", concluding, "While it may not be as jaw-dropping or revolutionary as some might have hoped, it's by no means a bad release." Reviewing for Blender
Blender (magazine)
Blender was an American music magazine that billed itself as "the ultimate guide to music and more". It was also known for sometimes steamy pictorials of celebrities....
, writer Darren Ratner observed a different theme in the lyrics when compared to previous Slipknot albums, noting that the band is able to "make ugliness sound just a little bit pretty". Marc Weingarten of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
gave the album a B+ rating, calling All Hope Is Gone "a metal assault-and-battery on the hypocrisies of the modern world". Jim Kaz of IGN stated that the band's attempt to move from nu-metal to "more classic metal elements" was "the best career move they could've made". Kaz gave All Hope Is Gone a score of 8.1 out of 10, writing, "[It] effectively [builds] upon the band's collective strengths." Q Magazine noted that the band no longer resembled "a threat to Western civilisation" but claimed that the album delivered one shock; "how listenable they've become", including "Snuff" in the top 50 downloads for August 2008.
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
reviewer Chris Steffen praised the percussive edge on All Hope Is Gone noting, "The band’s multiple percussionists generate a din that’s more suffocating than ever [on the track] 'Gematria'." He proposed "Snuff" as the "most melodic" song on the album, comparing it to "Circle" from Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses). Steffen also wrote that " 'Psychosocial
Psychosocial (song)
"Psychosocial" is a song by American heavy metal band Slipknot. It is released as the second single and fourth track from their fourth studio album, All Hope Is Gone. The song entered airplay on June 26, 2008 and was originally planned for release as a digital single on July 1 but was delayed and...
' is capped off with a time-signature shattering guitar/drum breakdown that will leave the best air-instrumentalists stumped". The album was praised by Total Guitar
Total Guitar
Total Guitar is a monthly magazine based in the United Kingdom. The magazine is the best selling guitar magazine in Europe.The magazine is owned by Future Publishing, who publish many other magazines ranging from drums and video games to mountain bikes and knitting magazines.Total Guitar regularly...
s writer Nick Cracknell, who declared the effort "Slipknot's heaviest and most aggressive work to date". He compared "Dead Memories" to the works of Alice in Chains
Alice in Chains
Alice in Chains is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1987 by guitarist and songwriter Jerry Cantrell and original lead vocalist Layne Staley. The initial lineup was rounded out by drummer Sean Kinney, and bassist Mike Starr...
, while praising "Gehenna" for being the band's "most experimental work in their history". Cracknell went on to state "Wherein Lies Continue" contains a "huge chugging verse riff" which evolves into an "incredible soaring chorus". Dan Martin of The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
compared "Dead Memories" to Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
's song "Enter Sandman
Enter Sandman
"Enter Sandman" is a 1991 song by the American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released as the first single from their eponymous fifth album, Metallica. The music was written by Kirk Hammett, James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich...
" and called "Gematria (The Killing Name)" a work of "astonishingly dense thrash", giving the album four out of five stars. Criticizing the album, John Doran of The Quietus called "This Cold Black" the album's heaviest track, remarking, "Imagine dropping a 3ft wide, solid steel manhole cover on your bollocks and then having a Panzer full of cybermen drive backwards and forwards over it." He compared the overall sound of the album to "a mess of shards", referring to "Snuff" as "absolute garbage".
Track listing
Chart positions
| Chart (2008) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
1 |
| Austrian Albums Chart Austria Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the... |
2 |
| Belgian Albums Chart Belgium Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many... |
2 |
| Canadian Albums Chart Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS... |
1 |
| Dutch Albums Chart | 6 |
| European Top 100 Albums European Top 100 Albums The European Top 100 Albums chart is the European adaptation of the Billboard 200 albums chart. It was created in March 1984.The European Top 100 Albums, commonly referred to as Eurochart Top 100 Albums shows the sales of an act in 19 European countries based on IFPI data.The European Top 100... |
1 |
| Finnish Albums Chart Finland Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside... |
1 |
| French Albums Chart France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France... |
3 |
| German Albums Chart Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate... |
2 |
| Irish Albums Chart Irish Albums Chart The Irish Albums Chart is the Irish music industry standard albums popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on its behalf by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured electronically... |
3 |
| Italian Albums Chart Italy Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and... |
3 |
| Japan Albums Chart Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south... |
2 |
| Mexican Albums Chart Mexico The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of... |
5 |
| Netherlands Albums Chart Netherlands The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders... |
5 |
| New Zealand Albums Chart New Zealand New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga... |
1 |
| Norwegian Albums Chart Norway Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million... |
2 |
| Portuguese Albums Chart Portugal Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the... |
4 |
| Spain Albums Chart Spain Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula... |
9 |
| Swedish Albums Chart Sweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund.... |
1 |
| Swiss Albums Chart Switzerland Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition.... |
1 |
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
2 |
| US Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
1 |
Certifications
| Chart (2008) | Certification (If Any) |
|---|---|
| Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area... (ARIA Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956... ) |
Gold (35,000+) |
| Canada Canada Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... (CRIA Cria A cria is the name for a baby camelid such as a llama, alpaca, vicuña, or guanaco. It comes from the Spanish word cría, meaning "baby". Its false cognate in English, crya , was coined by British sailors who explored Chile in the 18th century and were quick to describe the camelids onomatopoeically... ) |
Platinum (40,000+) |
| Germany Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate... (BVMI) |
Gold (100,000+) |
| Japan Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south... (RIAJ) |
Gold (100,000+) |
| New Zealand New Zealand New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga... (RIANZ) |
Gold (7,500+) |
| United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... (BPI British Phonographic Industry The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies... ) |
Gold (100,000+) |
| United States (RIAA) | Platinum (1,000,000+) |
Personnel
Aside from their real names, members of the band are referred to by numbers zero through eight.Slipknot
- (#8) Corey TaylorCorey TaylorCorey Todd Taylor sometimes known by the number 8, is an American musician best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of Slipknot and Stone Sour. Taylor was raised by his single mother. He developed a fond feeling toward classic rock after his grandmother introduced him to it...
– vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - (#7) Mick Thomson – guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s - (#6) Shawn Crahan – custom percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
, backing vocals - (#5) Craig Jones – keyboardKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, samplesSampler (musical instrument)A sampler is an electronic musical instrument similar in some respects to a synthesizer but, instead of generating sounds, it uses recordings of sounds that are loaded or recorded into it by the user and then played back by means of a keyboard, sequencer or other triggering device to perform or...
, mediaSampling (music)In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically... - (#4) Jim RootJim RootJames Donald "Jim" Root , also known by his number #4, is an American musician known for being the rhythm/lead guitarist of the heavy metal band, Slipknot, and the lead guitarist for rock band, Stone Sour...
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s - (#3) Chris FehnChris FehnChristopher Michael "Chris" Fehn , or known by his number #3, is an American musician known as one of the two custom percussionists of the Grammy Award winning nu metal band Slipknot and is the current bassist for the band Will Haven.-Personal life and career:Fehn was born and raised in Des Moines,...
– custom percussion, backing vocals - (#2) Paul Gray – bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- (#1) Joey JordisonJoey JordisonJoey Jordison , is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, best known for his work as the drummer for the nu metal band Slipknot. He grew up in Waukee, Iowa with his parents and two sisters, and was given his first drum kit at the age of 8...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, percussions - (#0) Sid WilsonSid WilsonSidney George Wilson also known as Ratboy or DJ Sid, #0 , is an American disc jockey known as the turntablist of the Grammy Award winning band Slipknot. He is the youngest member of the band.-Biography:...
– turntablesTurntablismTurntablism is the art of manipulating sounds and creating music using phonograph turntables and a DJ mixer.The word 'turntablist' was coined in 1995 by DJ Babu to describe the difference between a DJ who just plays records, and one who performs by touching and moving the records, stylus and mixer...
Production
- Dave FortmanDave FortmanDave Fortman is the guitarist for the band Ugly Kid Joe. He currently is an American music producer. He has worked with bands such as Superjoint Ritual, Watership Down, Eyehategod, Mudvayne, Otep, Slipknot on their new fourth studio album titled All Hope Is Gone, and Simple Plan, as well as on both...
– producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music... - Jeremy Parker – engineeringAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
- Colin RichardsonColin RichardsonColin Richardson is a British record producer, mixer and recording engineer. He has worked on over 100 albums, and is most frequently associated with heavy metal and its subgenres such as:*Anathema*As I Lay Dying*Behemoth*Bullet for My Valentine...
– mixerAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may... - Matt Hyde – mix engineering
- Oli Wright – assistant engineering
- Ted JensenTed JensenTed Jensen is an American recording engineer. Jensen is the chief mastering engineer at Sterling Sound. He started his career as a mastering engineer in 1976 and is currently the most active Mastering Engineer in the industry...
– masteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced... - Monte ConnerMonte ConnerMonte Conner is a producer and A&R person for Roadrunner Records. He has worked with numerous bands including, Slipknot, Trivium and King Diamond.- Discography :#Trivium - The Crusade#Stone Sour - Come WhatMay#Jerry Cantrell - Degradation Trip...
– A&RA&RArtists and repertoire is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists. It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label.- Finding talent :... - Cory Brennan – management
- Jaison John – management assistant
- Shawn Crahan – art direction, DVD director
Production (continued)
- Rick Roskin – US booking agent
- John Jackson – international booking agent
- Rob Shore – business management
- P. R. BrownP. R. BrownPaul R. Brown is a graphic designer, photographer, and music video director.In 1996 he founded Bau-da Design Lab, which currently operates out of Los Angeles and New York. P.R. Brown is well-known for his album designs for musicians such as Mötley Crüe, Korn, Godsmack, and early in his career he...
– photographyPhotographyPhotography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
, design - Chris Vrenna – additional production
- Clint Walsh – additional production
- Matt Sepanic – producer
- Bionic Mastering – DVD authoring