on 2012-11-16 SolitaryMan Said:

I can certainly appreciate anyone's genuine love or loathing for Slipknot, or anything else for that matter; my opinion need not be met by anyone else. However, it always struck me as horribly naive how so many fans of certain...limited...and generic bands laid out claims such as "heaviest", "loudest", "most talented", etc. There simply comes a point where opinion and fact clash. When that happens, fact is an unstoppable force that quite plainly kicks the shit out of opinion.

Fact is, Slipknot were so heavily gimmicked and overly hyped that it was enough to make anyone not immediately taken by their sound nauseous. While their first couple of records had some truly decent, and occasionally outstanding, tracks to behold, Iowa was as empty and hollow of an expression as I've ever heard a musical entity offer. Stereotypical angst, playing to the lowest common denominator, milking gimmicks of appearance and sound...Iowa is the reason why it is a justifiable practice to dismiss Slipknot as a parody of music. And, frankly, everything they've done since has driven this home even further.
Rating: 1/10

Review:

on 2012-11-15 austinv56 Said:

When I think of dark, heavy albums, this is the first one that comes to mind. Its definitely the heaviest album that Ive ever heard from a metal band, which includes being heavier than all of those extreme and death metal albums. Iowas calculated, pummeling attack makes it Slipknots best and most complete album, and one that will never be recreated by the entire metal scene.

The album starts out with a strange, but haunting instrumental track in which the word death is repeated over and over. If that doesnt set the stage for a heavy, twisted album, I dont know what would. It then perfectly transitions (one of the best intro-to-first track transitions Ive heard) into People=S***, one of my favorite overall songs by the band. And, keeping with the overall theme of the album, its probably their heaviest song ever created. Not only does it pack seemingly infinite emotion, but it has actual meaning by calling out all of mankind and how awful some humans can be.

The third track, Disasterpiece, is another standout cut that continues the demolition. The opening lines are purely sickening and cannot be repeated in this review. The album shows no signs of slowing down until the next track, My Plague, which manages to utilize a sung chorus without screams. Including this one, the album then follows a cycle of three heavy songs and one slower song until the final song, the title track. Its a fifteen minute epic that has very slow parts, but all culminates in a couple of quick outbursts by lead singer Corey Taylor that make the song truly emotional.

Overall, this is my favorite record from Slipknot because of its completeness and raw emotion, and continues to keep the moniker of the heaviest album on my iPod.
Rating: 10/10