Roadrunner 617938
Producer: Dave Fortman
Track listing: .Execute. / Gematria (The Killing Name) / Sulfur / Psychosocial / Dead Memories / Vendetta / Butchera’s Hook / Gehenna / This Cold Black / Wherein Lies Continue / Snuff / All Hope is Gone
September 13, 2008
1 week
The album chart has seen its share of chart-topping ghouls over the years, from Alice Cooper in the ’70s to Marilyn Manson in the ’90s and beyond, but none are perhaps more ghoulish than Slipknot.
Emerging from Des Moines, Iowa in 1995, Slipknot quickly made a name for itself with a nine-member strong line-up of mask-wearing, mayhem-makers producing brutal hard rock with live performances so intense the band members themselves were occasionally injured.
Slipknot made its recorded debut on Halloween 1996 with the self-released Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat, which made enough noise to attract Roadrunner Records. The band was paired with producer Ross Robinson, known for his work with Korn and Limp Bizkit, on its self-titled 1999 set. That album, and constant touring, including a stint on OzzFest, cemented Slipknot as one of the leading acts in the world of metal. As evidence, Slipknot may have stalled on number 51 on the album chart, but the album continued to sell steadily. By early 2000, the album was certified platinum for sales of 1 million copies.
By the time Slipknot released its third album, Iowa, in 2001, the group was a genuine chart contender. The album, including such songs as “People = Shit” and “New Abortion,” debuted number three, kept from the top spot by stiff competition from Mary J. Blige’s No More Drama and Aaliyah’s self-titled set, which climbed to Number One following her tragic death.
Rather than immediately capitalizing on its growing success, the members of Slipknot took time off to focus on a variety of side projects, including a revival of Stone Sour, singer Corey Taylor’s pre-Slipknot outfit.
When Slipknot regrouped for its next effort, super producer Rick Rubin had signed on to guide the band. The result, 2004’s Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses, was another blockbuster, debuting at number two behind Avril Lavigne’s Under My Skin.
For its next effort, which would sport the title All Hope Is Gone, the band opted to record in its home state of Iowa for the first time with the help of producer Dave Fortman, known for his work with Evanescence. “It’s going to rip your face off,” frontman Taylor told Billboard.com. “I don’t think the world will be ready for this album.”
It turns out that Taylor was wrong. Slipknots’ hardcore fans, known as “Maggots,” rushed out to buy the new album in droves, as it sold 239,516 copies in its first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan. It was enough to upset hardcore rapper the Game, who was expected to score the top spot with his LAX album, which sold 238,382 copies.
All Hope is Gone received generally favorable reviews, but Allmusic reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine pointed out that Slipknot let down its guard on occasion. “Nowhere is this latent tendency for macho schmaltz more evident than on ‘Snuff,’ a stab at a power ballad that sounds disarmingly close to Nickelback, a bewildering incongruity that feels even stranger given the album’s otherwise merciless attack,” Erlewine wrote.
Nonetheless, the maggots had to be thrilled that it was the ‘Knot that knocked clean-cut teen sensations the Jonas Brothers from the top spot after their two-week run, since Slipknot’s brutal aural assault is the polar opposite of the Jo Bros sweet and safe ear candy.
THE TOP FIVE
Week of September 13, 2008
1. All Hope Is Gone, Slipknot
2. LAX, The Game
3. Rock N Roll Jesus, Kid Rock
4. A Little Bit Longer, Jonas Brothers
5. Mamma Mia!, Soundtrack