Slipknot’s full hype return

Slipknot are back and Roadrunner Records along with the band themselves are in full on hype mode in the lead up to the release of their new album All Hope Is Gone. I’ve been a big Slipknot fan since they broke through back in 1999, but I’m not feeling excited about this record. Maybe it’s because my tastes have veered away from heavy metal over the years, or maybe it’s because we heard too much of this kind of talk from Corey Taylor and co: “It’s going to rip your face off, I don’t think the world will be ready for this album” …what else is new?

Also, we seem to be getting some mixed messages from the band. They’ve been putting out “eerie” teaser pictures for weeks showing the band in a rural American setting wearing oversized, stone-look masks. They seemed to be telling us to expect something new, something that’ll confuse and mesmerize, but now they’ve revealed the title track for the record that sounds like…well…good old Slipknot.

Having said all that, and as I write this while listening to the new track, a strong political message is emerging loud and clear and awakening that excitement I’ve been talking about. Slipknot may still have something to offer; they may still have a lot to offer, but all the marketing crap is seriously getting in the way.

Reznor slips us another album

Leading up to the release of With Teeth in 2005 (a whole six years after the release of The Fragile), Trent Reznor made indications that he intended to release material more frequently. In the last thirteen months he’s made good on that promise, having released 3 Nine Inch Nails records (plus one remix album), and produced and orchestrated the release of Saul Williams’s Niggy Tardust….

He has chosen to make the latest release, The Slip, available for free in a range of digital formats, perhaps, believing he did a little bit too well out if the release of Ghosts I-IV in March. After the worrying indie rock drum intro of first song, The Slip turns out to be a solid album with a clear and strong emotional arch, and a worthy addition to the NIN catalogue (which also answers any questions you might have about what Ghosts… was all about). However, the rate at which Reznor is releasing albums, along with his minimalistic approach to album promotion, may leave a few nagging doubts in the minds of fans:

Can music created at this rate be ready for public consumption? Fans might suspect that they are being spoon-fed lesser material to maintain an income stream from their loyalty. Indeed, despite the positive review I’ve given The Slip in this post, some tracks like “single” Discipline seem overly radio friendly and have a bite-size feel to them, particularly so close to the musical, emotional, and political challenge of Year Zero.

There may also be concerns that without the typical promotional activities leading up to a release, appreciation of the material will suffer from a lack of anticipation. Additionally without any feel for the context of the creation of the music it may be more difficult to engage with it.

Like I said, these are just nagging doubts; the last year has been an exciting time for Nine Inch Nails fans, and I look forward to Reznor’s next move.

Niggy Tardust

Trent Reznor’s war against the major labels continues today as protege Saul Williams releases his new album direct to the public. Similar to Radiohead’s latest album, if you don’t want to pay for “Niggy Tardust“, you can still get it legally. However, if you’re willing to part with a mere 5 US dollars you can get it at a massive 320Kbps.

Earlier today I laid my money down via my PayPal account and can report that the record is a “Ghetto Gothic” masterpiece. Reznor’s involvement is perfectly obvious throughout. He contributes music, vocals, and production to the record that ends up having an industrial hip hop feel very similar to Year Zero.

It’s great to see the Reznor / Williams partnership blossom in this way. I remember the spectacle of Williams and his DJ winning over a Nine Inch Nails audience in Manchester with his powerful aural / poetic assult. He amusingly introduced one song by saying “This is a song about when at the end of the day, you take off your black shirt, and your still black”.

“Niggy Tardust” is an excellent record available extremely cheaply. I hope the gamble pays off and we start seeing a lot more records released this way.

Eat Me, Drink Me

I’ve gone ahead and downloaded the leaked version of Eat Me, Drink Me to give it a try before I get my copy; so, here’s my review…

Leaving behind the production sheen characteristic of Manson’s previous releases, this is a lo-fi, straight up rock album, complete with some compelling extended classic rock guitar solos from Tim Skold. I was glad to find that subtle shades of the dark aesthetics of The Golden Age of Grotesque remain in the form of some pleasing keyboard breaks. Manson’s talked a lot about how he wanted to sing skillfully on this record, and he’s delivered a strong and engaging vocal performance.

With his new lyrical style, concentrating on personal themes of love, sex, and celebrity, Manson has lost most of the air of rebellion that he exemplified so powerfully earlier in his career. The fact that he has done this voluntarily now is probably a good thing, as his credibility in that role had already slipped considerably, and this new focus has served to make him more personable than ever.

With Eat Me, Drink Me, Manson has produced another great album, once again unique from each of his previous records.

“Heart Shaped Glasses” Video

The video for Heart-Shaped Glasses (When the Heart Guides the Hand) has finally been revealed, and the good news is that it holds together well and makes the song seem less wet. The car scene in the extended into sequence is, in my opinion, the best thing about the video; firstly because it adds reckless driving to the list of things-you-shouldn’t-do-that-Manson’s-done-in-a-video, and secondly because the dialogue between Manson and Wood seems natural amongst the pleasing noir aesthetics.

Though the initial sex scene is pretty explicit the video doesn’t quite deliver the “near pornographic” content promised. However, the indications are that there is a more explicit version to look forward to.

I’ll finish this post by pointing out the coincidence of Manson releasing a video including a scene in which its raining blood soon before embarking on a tour with thrash metal legends Slayer. As Manson generally has an eye for these kind of thing, perhaps the correlation between his blood drinking concept on Eat Me, Drink Me and Slayer’s famous famous track Raining Blood contributed to his decision to do the co-headlining tour.

Update: I’ve just discovered that Bleeding Through will be joining Manson and Slayer on tour; I think there’s a very clear blood theme developing.

Party like it’s Year Zero

What better way to start my new blog than with Year Zero?!

Nine Inch Nails latest effort Year Zero has dropped through my letterbox and I love it, immediately and without effort. This is indicative not just of the fact that I’m a huge NIN fan, but of just how accessible Mr. Reznor’s output is of late. You may remember a few years ago when Reznor said that he deliberately made With Teeth’s first single, The Hand That Feeds as accessible as possible so that its political message would reach the widest possible audience. Given the highly political nature of Year Zero, it’s reasonable to assume the accessibility of the album has similar motivations behind it.

The result of this is a slick, mid paced, industrial listening experience with dancability to match any cheezy disco tripe.