‘We Are Not Your Kind’ is heavy metal band Slipknot’s sixth studio album released on August 9, 2019, recorded at EastWest Studios, Hollywood, California. It celebrates the flat footed stance of the band after the malevolent force of Paul Gray’s death, the band’s former bass player, nearly knocked them to extinction. This album shows Slipknot in their true, comfortable form, being able to manipulate poetry to empower screams, and to create art in its darkest form.
The main feedback towards the album has been positive, as it should be. Slipknot have shown they are yet to produce a bad album. ‘ We Are Not Your Kind ’ is arguably their best album to date. From the album structure, to the soaring hits, to the macabre white noises, the album pieces together like a labelled jigsaw puzzle. The contrasting verses and choruses allow breathing room in the songs for fans of Corey’s singing voice as well has his scream. For example, on ‘ Critical Darling ’, the chorus features Taylor’s sweet tenor melody which is ultimately contrasted by his wretched scream on the verse. This is what Slipknot are meant to sound like. It’s their contrast between scream and sing which emphasises the ferocity in Taylor’s voice and the viciousness in his lyrics, and leaves his catchy hooks playing in our brains all day.
The album reeks of pain, a classic Slipknot smell. They have a special way of expressing their nightmarish thoughts in a digestible manner, and this album is no exception. They succeed once again in avoiding cringe and cliché cries for help, like 90% of other metal bands fail to do, and instead create an artistic expression of pain through color and language. There’s no sloppy work here. Taylor’s lyrics are laced with thought and passion. If we look at ‘ Unsainted ’, the first hit off the album, Taylor uses lyrics such as “Reaching out for the hand of God but did you think you’d shake your own?”. Elegiac and thought provoking, the lyrics of the album remain consistently powerful. The flames of pain were doused in the fire hydrant of eloquent expression creating this continuation of brilliant discography.
Slipknot’s eccentricity stands blood-covered and undead as their career carries forth. From their ‘ Left Behind ’ days of unhinged adolescence to now, the present of great hits and intense albums remains the same but in a more mature wrapping paper. Knot fans across the world will be delighted to know that the career of the band has been power boosted to new heights. ‘ We Are Not Your Kind ’ proves that Slipknot are no-one’s kind but their own, and that’s what makes this album brilliant.