We Are Not Your Kind [Bonus Track] Slipknot Artist

The masked Iowans sixth full-length effort, {|We Are Not Your Kind|}, sees a confidant and apoplectic {|Slipknot|} in full command of their craft, delivering a searing 14-track set that's as versatile as it is observant of nu-metal's architectural tr... Read more

The masked Iowans sixth full-length effort, {|We Are Not Your Kind|}, sees a confidant and apoplectic {|Slipknot|} in full command of their craft, delivering a searing 14-track set that's as versatile as it is observant of nu-metal's architectural truisms. Far removed from the desultory aggro-metal being dished out by veteran contemporaries like {|Saliva|} and {|Limp Bizkit|}, {|We Are Not Your Kind|} bristles with both intent and imagination. {|Corey Taylor|} and company have weathered their fair share of personal and professional woes over the years -- overdose, divorce, lineup changes, and lawsuits, not to mention an increasingly mercurial musical landscape -- but they have consistently managed to turn misfortune into grist for the sonic mill. After a short cinematic opening, the band gets down to business with fiery lead single Unsainted, an infectious marriage of melody and might and a juggernaut of stadium-ready rage. The transient Death Because of Death, with its carnival-like electro-industrial pulses and eerie refrain of Death because of death because of you, sets the table for the unrelenting groove-laden rap-metal of Nero Forte. The group goes full-on electro-rock -- think {|Imagine Dragons|}-meets-{|Korn|} -- on the sleek and sinewy Spiders, and add twisty, melancholic progressive rock to their arsenal on the surprisingly heartfelt My Pain and the turbo-charged {|High on Fire|}-esque stoner metal on the uncompromising closer Solway Firth. More than anything else, {|We Are Not Your Kind|} feels locked-in on a personal level -- that aforementioned sense of melancholy resides uncomfortably close to the surface throughout -- and that human touch resonates, even as the band unleashes volley after volley of tribal rhythms, scorching riffage, and fathomless decibels. ~ James Christopher Monger Less