KJ's Playlist - Slipknot’s 16 (SIC)est Songs

Out of the Iowa cornfields came a 9 headed beast, With extra percussion for unholy beats, Scratches and screams they came a rapping, Shredding guitars with a touch of tapping. We didn’t see them coming but once they arrived The metal world bowed before the nine. 

1.  '(SIC)'

A juggernaut of epic proportions as the full band play staccato to start and then smash their way through a new death metal anthem. 

2. 'Purity'

A track inspired by a fictional story that Corey Taylor read online and might have thought was true. Either way, he wrote a killer lyric for a complex and dark song that got the band sued and the debut album reissued with ‘Purity’ left off. 

3. 'Disasterpiece'

A band and fan favourite that is rarely missing from setlists. The opening line is sick but sets the scene as the protagonist loses his mind at the world. 

4. 'Gently' 

Slow burning and damn heavy. With no chorus, it serves a stream of consciousness into a disturbed mind. 

5. 'Duality' 

A song of unbelievable self-loathing that connected with millions of maggots around the world. The video brings the song's refrain “I push my finger into my eye” to life as fans invade a dilapidated house as the band play. 

6. 'Vermilion' 

Not for the last time, Taylor laments a lost love, crafting a story that goes from stalking to serial killer pretty quickly. 

7. 'The Nameless'

A musical mess of percussion and noise that also has a lot of groove. Taylor sounds like he’s talking to himself between yells and clean vocals, before actually screaming at himself on the bridge. The chorus is a clean croon, because why not? Few do insane better. 

8. 'Snuff'

A personal song from Taylor, written on acoustic guitar with other members adding their parts later. It deals with placing trust in someone and being let down by them. It’s a song of profound sadness told in a way only Slipknot can. Their version of ‘Nothing Else Matters’ but also nothing like that song. At all.

9. 'Til We Die'

The band got experimental while recording All Hope is Gone, with a sub-team of Taylor, James Root, Shawn Crahn & Sid Wilson putting together more arty tracks. Most have remained unreleased though ‘Til We Die’ became a bonus track and has served as the band’s exit music since the death of Paul Gray. Lyrically inspiring but there’s a mourning to the song that is hard to forget. 

10. 'Killpop'

Like a combination of ‘Purity’ and ‘Vermilion’ but way, way sicker. The closing stanza is horrific. 

11. 'Custer'

The band gets angry at just about everything and turns it into a tune about self-mutilation. Brutal.

12. 'Birth of the Cruel' 

Manic and heavy as, capturing the theatricality of We Are Not Your Kind. 

13. 'Solway Firth'

The closing line is as bleak and personal as anything Taylor has ever said: “You want a real smile? I haven’t smiled in years…”

14. 'The Dying Song (Time to Sing)'

A classic Slipknot singalong about dying. 

15. 'Yen'

The latest in a long line of songs about self-harm and pain that comes from love and loss. Even the clean vocals are morbid. 

16. 'Vermilion Pt 2' 

A beautiful song, another acoustic one that follows up on 'Vermilion''s theme of unrequited and imaginary love, with a hauntingly beautiful video to match.

The End, So Far
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Check out our interview with V-Man chatting all things The End, So Far, it’s conception at Clown‘s house mid-pandemic and how the band are staying true to their fans – both new and old – right here

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6qRoGGeDCtlRMnosWyrAl4?si=3553b3261d7e43d0

Metal music can be healing but if you or someone you know needs help please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or visit https://www.lifeline.org.au/