Theatrical nonsense with a message. Think you'll like it ? You might just like it ! Then again... (Iowa - Slipknot)

Member Name: Todd L

Product:	Iowa - Slipknot
Date:	20/11/01 (223 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: What the fans want, it's so poular it's absurd, and it's not pop music.

Disadvantages: Unless you're willing to play along, it's difficult to get into., Not a landmark release

For years, common perception of the American State of Iowa meant little more than a lot of big fields of wheat. All too long thought of as the epitome of small-town America (until recently, one of its main claims to fame was playing home to none other than Smallville, quiet little hometown of Christopher Reeves' Superman), it was left until 1995 for nine rebellious young men, filled with aggression that "shit happens", to formulate, at the back of a garage in Des Moines, an alternative heavy-metal band with image strong enough to reverse all those years of "farm boy" prejudice.

Mortals with faces hidden behind bizarre masks and assigned numerical stage aliases running from 0 to 8 when performing, DJ Sid Wilson, Joey Jordison (drummer), Paul Grey (bass), percussionists Shawn Crahan and Chris Fehn, guitarist James Root, sampler/programmer Craig Jones and guitarist Mic Thompson were to create one of the most controversial and innovative culture sensations in music history when they came together to bring us Slipknot who, when not engaged in dubious activities of varying unrepeatable sorts, take the time to produce the odd CD. Of music !

Struggling as so many new acts do, in 1996 the group self-released an album titled 'Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat.' (a heavy-metal number whose simple title is wonderfully expressive of the kind of content held within) and attracted the attention of several labels, including Roadrunner, which signed the band the following year. By the time it got around to releasing self titled work 'Slipknot' ('99), the group had amassed a huge following. A jarring, aggressive blend of Fear Factory-esque metal and Marilyn Manson-esque attitude, primeval emotion, shrieking guitar trips and a whole lot of cussing characterise what Slipknot do, making Limp Bizkit and anyone less look like raving pansies in the process. Hard-as-nails, pummelling and auspicious, this was likely to be quite different
to anything you had heard before.

A traditionally moderate two year wait brings us to the release of Slipknot's 3rd album (that they are relatively speaking not of prolific output belies how much everybody seems to know about these guys now). "More of the same", we are told, and it was released to typically split reaction. With love and hate for Slipknot probably defined by whether you understand them or not (and, if so, if you like what you see), "you either love it or you hate it" opinions are a little too widespread on music review sites. So, did I love 'Iowa' (for that is what the latest release is called), or think it smelt of poo ? Hmm... To pad it this out with pretentious waffle is no annoy, so I'll get straight to the point.

The strength of the sounds at work here are often impressive, although depending on your constitution and appetite for more of the same kind of things, it may be a simple mater of time before this relentless assault on the aural receptors becomes tiresome. Indeed, so volatile and extrovert is 'Iowa', that you might even have cause to wonder how sincere a gesture Slipknot are making with the album. After all, bar a few excursions, the CD never really goes anywhere, preferring to linger gratuitously in visceral heavy-metal subspace, leaving (maybe unintentionally) the less angst-ridden minds among us unsure whether to take them seriously or not. Is there a message here that I can't even pretend to understand ? Or is 'Iowa' a farcical novelty record with nothing more than face value going for it ? The elaborate ham acting that overshadows all 15 tracks is contradicted by its sour-faced performers, leaving behind mixed messages.

Hopelessly overwrought vocalist 'Number 8' (aka the slightly less amorphous-sounding Corey Taylor) defies what you might have believed possible by dallying, for most of the 60-minute album, on the very edge of what
appears to be the developing stages of either being violently sick, or suffering from a servere heart attack. To get yourself heard over a raucous sound as overbearing as Slipknot's signature takes some doing, but Taylor's coercive moaning actually goes so far as to threaten to predominate the entire crew, so enthusiastic and seemingly well practised is the man at letting his voice rip along the lines of those Scream Release stress therapy sessions. This is fair enough, and certainly consistently reaffirms the statements Slipknot so colourfully portray to their audience - as if we might forget.

Taylor lacks both the range and harmony of tone to bring us crooning ballads, and essentially lacks a voice between the settings of 'SCREAM LOUD', 'SCREAM LOUDER' or 'TALK QUITE LOUDLY'. Of course, this rules out softly-softly lyrical pieces, but of course, that is not something followers of the nine lads from 'Iowa' will be expecting to find in an album. Were they to make their way onto Slipknots next release, it is likely the band would lose support and fold within the year.

And therein lies your appreciation of Slipknot. Looked at musically, fundamentally you'd be generous describing their songwriting talents as anything more than a piss-poor attempt at furious sensationalism; an ill-written vehicle for promoters to go wild on the (currently disturbingly popular) "Fuck Society" winds of anarchism.

A lot of people hate this kind of music. Chances are, you'll be one of them. However, to dismiss the enormity of its current impact on the musical world if foolish - in a number of incarnations (arguably most notably symbolised by Marilyn Manson's internationally discipled "Antichrist-In-A-CD" movement), it's providing a huge and lucrative market of resentful people with exactly what they want to hear.

Before you sample this kind of music (and I would recommend that
you do, if only so you can say you've been there and got the T-shirt), you must strip away all the pomp and absurdly non-conformist hype. While reputation is 80% of what makes a band like this one successful, it also means that it is difficult to listen to the sound of what is here, without being blinded by the theatrical image of what you've heard or read about the people behind it. To fall for this is to judge Slipknot on pretence alone; unfortunate, as 'Iowa' is not an album that rewards the assuming ear.

Behind the antisocial extremity and deliberately overtly in-your-face shock tactics, 'Iowa' is a punishing, intensely abstruse and threatening tale of social perversity and a rejection of, well, just about everything. Never delicate, or especially moving, the powerful and hard sonics have nevertheless carved their own niche into fans' hearts. That it is a big niche is perhaps surprising, in an era utterly dominated by what the pop charts are doing, since nothing Slipknot have produced is either memorable, or a particularly penetrable listen to all but the most ardently determined fans.

In fact, one might say it is the total opposite to pop music. Perhaps, ask any Slipknot junkie, and they might cite that as one of their chosen artist's most appealing facets. At the end of the day, it is not an album that brings across any sense of fun or enjoyment. Depending on your viewpoint, this will either present the ultimate evolution of a menacingly hostile group, or will act merely as a bland collection of weak attempts at rock, neither accessible to a quick glance nor rewarding to a deeper look.

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