Las Vegas Weekly :

Soundcheck

[Metal]

Slipknot

All Hope Is Gone

Josh Bell

Thu, Aug 28, 2008 (midnight)

The mere existence of a new Slipknot album is something of a miracle; getting all members of the Iowa nonet onboard is a notoriously difficult prospect, and every one of the band’s albums seems poised to be its last. It’s a relief that the heights of 2004’s Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) didn’t mark the end of the band, and even if the new All Hope Is Gone is a bit safer and doesn’t quite match those accomplishments, it’s still a layered, intense and invigorating album that reaffirms Slipknot’s place as one of the best bands in heavy metal.

Beyond the Weekly: Slipknot; Slipknot on Billboard

Vol. 3 flirted with incorporating more melodic and acoustic elements into the band’s sound, and Hope continues in that direction, perhaps informed by the success of singer Corey Taylor and guitarist Jim Root’s more radio-friendly side project Stone Sour. “Dead Memories” almost sounds like a Soundgarden song, and “Snuff” is a full-on power ballad.

These aren’t the sounds of selling out, though; rather, they feel like organic developments for a band with nine different personalities and songwriting influences. And no matter how many catchy choruses there may be here, the songs are always driven by the signature percussion-heavy Slipknot style, with squeals of static and noise punctuating the guitar blasts and pounding double-bass-drum assaults.

Taylor takes on familiar topics of pain and desolation, but also turns his anger outward this time, with some typically vitriolic political commentary. "America is a killing name," he snarls on "Gematria (The Killing Name)," but as always his despair is a product of hoping for something better. "I only want to believe in fucking anything/But now my conscience is contradicting everything," he asserts on "Wherein Lies Continue," and the title track refers to hope that may be gone from the world but is still alive in the band and its fans. "We'll find a way/When all hope is gone," Taylor screams. The punishing intensity of the death-metal monster backing him up suggests that there’s nothing they couldn’t do.

The bottom line: ***1/2

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