23. February 2025
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Media Review

Slipknot – The End, So Far

Florian Buechtingby Florian Buechting

Slipknot - The End, So Far

Slipknot - The End, So Far
4.3

Rating

 4.3/5

The metal guys with the mask… No, I am not talking about my beloved monsters Lordi, but about Slipknot. The US-Americans, who by the way come from the same town as Sarah Darling, released their seventh album on 30th September 2022. Here are my thoughts about The End, So Far. This “end” is by the way rather a change – it points out that it is their last major release with the current record company.

 

Slipknot – About The Artists

Slipknot has been formed in Des Moines in Iowa in 1995. The (today’s) band’s lineup consists of nine musicians, who are doing a nu metal sound. Slipknot has been quite successful from the very beginning. Already their self-titled debut album was a Top 10 success in Germany in 1999. Two years later, Iowa made it to the Top 5 in several markets, including the USA, Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany, New Zealand or the United Kingdom. All their future releases could keep up with that level of success. Slipknot’s last album has been the 2019 We Are Not Your Kind.

 

Slipknot – The End, So Far – Track by Track

The twelve song album lasts 58 minutes.

1. Adderall

The first 5:40 minutes may feel a bit of disturbing to people, who just know the hard side of the US-Americans: Adderall opens with a slow, almost dreamish style and thus makes you rather think of indie pop-rock than of die-hard rockers. Nonetheless, a really nice one, which is definitely a very interesting listen.

2. The Dying Song (Time To Sing)

Put your hands into the water
Let your mouth go sick and dry
Put your life into your death now
Let them sing until you die
Die, die, die, yeah

While these words come rather slow at the beginning of the song, the band is switching to full force mode right thereafter. Nice balance between “heaviness” and melodic parts – the band is moving between alternative rock-alike songs, shouting and almost rapping. Cool.

3. The Chapeltown Rag

The Chapeltown Rag is the second of three songs released as singles so far. Almost five minutes long, the song presents typical nu metal elements. It is also a perfect example for the versatility of the genre – the band is quickly moving between very differnt styles, but nonetheless, this track feels very compact. Cool.

4. Yen

Yen is another rather gentle and emotional recording. The guitarists do have the opportunity to strum their strings a bit harder, but the song overall comes with a fine and gentle touch and quite long instrumental parts.

5. Hivemind

While my written information clearly names this song Hivemind, the digital versions clearly state Hive Mind. So.. mind the gap… and enjoy. Hivemind is a track for guitar lovers – at least if you love riffs and powerful beats. 100 per cent Slipknot.

6. Warranty

Warranty is one of the fastest and most powerful tracks on The End, So Far. Unfortunately, it misses a bit of a special touch to me. Even though it is a comparably short track on this album (3:51 minutes), it feels a bit of boring towards the end.

7. Medicine For The Dead

Medicine For The Dead is the longest listen of the album. Slipknot fans (hopefully) enjoy the 6:16 minutes experience. The band uses the time to create a nice atmosphere (the non-vocal intro is about 1:45 minutes), followed by a very versatile vocal and instrumental performance. One of the most catching experiences of the album to me.

8. Acidic

A touch of post-rock and even a bit of a blues-alike vibe:. the rather slow Acidic reminds me of the opening track of this album. Just when the song tends to feel a bit of monotonous, it breaks into a very calm and quiet fade-out. A typical “love it or hate it” composition.

9. Heirloom

Heirloom begins with a lot of presence and stomping, almost angry sounds. However, the song does not really develop to a unique listen. Is that a cover? The sound feels too familiar, but actually it is just a too narrow-chested character in this theater of nu metal.

10. H377

Back to growling, howling guitars and thumbing drums: H377 clearly wants to attract the especially hard guys in the auditorium. While the backing vocals have a nice potential for some interaction with the audience, only the last part of the song is really pleasing me completely.

11. De Sade

De Sade starts a bit of lame – but then turns into one of the most interesting and variable compositions of this album. Nicely fast marching drums, alt-rock parts with clear melodies and very rocking sections – Slipknot illustrate a very wide range of sounds in here.

12. Finale

What would be a better option than naming the last song of your album Finale? Okay, you can’t do that too often – but Slipknot are doing it right now. I know it’s a shame but I gotta stay – because I like it here – the track surprises with piano sounds, strings. A somehow nice listen, which is neither a melodic rocker now the chucking-out ballad at the end of an evening.

 

Slipknot – The End, So Far – Spotify

Here is the album on Spotify:

 

Slipknot – The End, So Far – My View

The End, So Far comes with ups – and some downs. Overall, the magic of previous recordings might have faded a bit – but overall, the album is not a bad listen at all. I like that Slipknot work very open-minded in here, also trying out some new patterns. Most of the times, it works.

 

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