Introduction:

Here it is! The second single released by Slipknot from their upcoming album, “We Are Not Your Kind”, out August 9th. Maggots knew something was coming today, for Slipknot had released a cryptic video on May 13th that included the numbers “0516”, or May 16th. Because this is on the eve of the band performing on Jimmy Kimmel, it’s safe to say we’ll see the tracks first ever live iteration tomorrow night.

Lyrical Message:

The single is called “Unsainted”, which is a fitting title for the track’s lyrical message. At first, I thought the lyrics were being directed to all religions. However, in the second verse, Corey Taylor says “You got to lie if you want to believe, but your Bibles don’t work on me”, revealing that the message is pointed at Christianity in particular. This makes sense, considering Taylor and the rest of the guys are from America (specifically Iowa), and Christianity definitely has the most influence on US society out of all major religions. As shown from the quote above, the message is not a loving one towards Christianity. The song describes Christians as “[in] denial”, “cold”, “demanding”, “myopic”, “dystopic” and indecisive. Taylor even says “You’ve killed the saint in me”, which in my interpretation, could mean that other Christians actions “killed” any chance of the singer ever becoming a Christian himself. The chorus of the song goes as follows:
“Oh, I’ll never kill myself to save my soul/I was gone but how was I to know? I didn’t come this far to sink so low/I’m finally holding on to letting go.” These four lines are stated four times throughout the song and thus encompasses the theme. My interpretation is that killing himself to save his soul is giving into Christian doctrine and changing who he is in pursuit of salvation in the after life. Corey Taylor did not become a modern day rock star, being the front man of two extremely successful bands just to “sink so low” and undermine his messages of the past two decades by giving into Christianity out of fear. This sentiment apparently has been one the singer has had to work towards, due to the use of “finally”. He is “finally” confident in who he was, is, and continue to be.

Musical Content:

Musically, it is a Slipknot style song. Although the band compared their new material to their first two albums in terms of heaviness, I feel that “All Out Life” (the first released single from their upcoming album) and especially this new track “Unsainted” are musically similar to their last two albums, 2008’s All Hope is Gone and 2014’s .5: The Gray Chapter. Some fans would consider that a negative, and although I agree with most in that early Slipknot is my favorite Slipknot, in truth the band has never released a bad album. Slipknot’s last two albums were still very enjoyable and the increase of melodies and the decrease in breakdowns are understandable as most of the band is in their forties. Despite this, there is no question that they are still metal. All lyrics, excluding the chorus, is screamed by Taylor, whose voice still sounds great. The blaring and driving guitars are still there, along with the unique but familiar percussion of Shawn Crahan and a possible new percussionist following the departure of Chris Fehn last March. Sid Wilson, the band’s DJ/turntablist, also has a distinct role in this song, with his work being heard right before the breakdown and towards the end of the track. This is a positive, as he has been less prevalent in the music as of their last two albums but helped enhance their earlier work. The use of both a female and male choir (noticeably in the beginning), worked fantastically. During my first listen, it reminded me of the intro to Bring Me the Horizon’s “Drown” but thankfully “Unsainted” went in a much better direction following the use of the choir.

Conclusion:

The hype train for Slipknot’s new album was massive following the suprise release of “All Out Life” on Halloween of 2018. The track was a staple on rock/metal radios for months and the general opinion was that it was a great song that rose expectations greatly for the new album. Well, Slipknot met those great expectations once again with “Unsainted” as the general consensus seems to be once again one of positivity and excitement. The music sounds great, Corey Taylor’s voice is as good as ever and the lyrics are deep and interesting. Add to that the confirmation of the album name, We Are Not Your Kind, and a relatively soon release date of August 9th and you have a Slipknot hype train that is not stopping anytime soon. Some say 2019 is the year of the Knot, and while it definitely could be with the fantastic new music, they’re going to have to compete with Tool and Rammstein for the 2019 title. I cannot wait to hear each bands efforts.

9/10