Vol. 3: Subliminal Verses

After the rude statement of intent of their debut, through to the slightly rawer, yet slightly more commercial Iowa, Vol 3... slaps the listener in the face for having thoughts of these salubrious upstarts as a flash in the pan group of talentless nobodies.After the now obligatory into, 'The Blister Exists' hammers into the cerebellum and stays there forever (a bit like looking at the sun). It is similar to the onslaught from the opener off of their eponymous debut albeit far, far superior in both power and musical ability and poise. The chorus lets it down slightly - I would have been happy to listen to the first 30 seconds to a minute on constant loop - but that's a minor hiccup. The best Slipknot opener so far. 'Three Nil' is odd. It's not bad but seems a little like filler. More of an underachiever without actually being a bad tune, it is just in such very good company. 'Duality' stops any doubts short and the album continues in true, raw Slipknot style with a track that stands as one of their very best (only being beaten by some utter behemoths from their next album). 'Opium of the People' is an excellent, grown-up mosh-fest - if you get me? It clearly shows that they can now mix aggression with passion and beauty and stand alongside the greats as a serious musical force. 'Circle' is basically THE first Slipknot ballad. And it is a ballad - ALL the way through. And it is fantastic. Another reason to keep an eye on this band as anyone with writing skills like that is in for a long ride in the music biz (maybe Corey Taylor for American Idol 2035 judge? [shiver!!!!]). The point though is made. Thousands probably groaned in abject horror as their precious angry noise-makers had suddenly gone soft. To any adults however it would be obvious that they were coming of age and starting to become actual songwriters. 'Welcome' is a bit of an inbetween track. Not great/ not bad.'Vermillion' stands as one of (or one half of) the most interesting Slipknot songs. It plunders many musical depths. It's a little Alice Cooper; a little Alice in Chains; a little NIN and, yes, even a little Slipknotty! And it's 100% awesome. It's a track that merges the fast, the heavy, the balladic and the melodic into a perfect mmasterclass. What is also genius is how they do exactly the same song again later as an acoustic number and it sounds like a completely different track.'Pulse of the Maggots' I liked but not as much as most of the really interesting stuff going on here. 'Before I Forget' - single, excellent, truly outstanding etc etc. 'Vermillion Pt 2' is the acoustic version of the first half mentioned earlier. It is an utter triumph and do not let any one tell you that Slipknot are rubbish because they do ballads - they are better because they can. 'The Nameless' is another superb addition to an overall superb-stuffed album. Chorus is outstanding. 'The Virus of Life' dirges things back to earth slightly. It's ok but too long and not as interesting. The final track is more an outro.Overall, their first 'classic'. It will be hard to top this. They didn't do it with 'All Hope Is Gone' although they did hone their skill considerably.3rd time lucky. This is the most interesting and the best Slipknot album so far (as of 2011).

This is slipknots 3rd album, i prefer it to Iowa which i think is spoilt by have the length of the album being the final track. I,m not keen on the debut album as it seems noise for musics sake and anyway i think its aimed at a very young fanbase, remember 10 year olds in slipknot hoodies. I,m a mature Rocker so i,m into Metallica, Maiden, Priest and Sabbath etc.There best album is there 4th All Hope Is Gone which is there mature album which is why 4/5.

Bought this as a deal with We are not your kind, this one is typical Slipknot, not my taste so cannot give a fair review

Capturing a significant change in the life cycle of Slipknot this is a thunderous album worthy of your collection. But if you're reading this review you know this already. Instead what can I say... This LP comes on two discs and is a limited RSD release. It is on a clear vinyl and looks stunning on the record player. It also has a beautiful gatefold and the inner sleeves on each disc are in full colour photo montage pockets.

The first Slipknot album not to have a parental advisory sticker on. Before I forget that, Pulse of the maggots and of course Duality are the tracks that stand out.