Hello and welcome back!
Today, I want to do something different and that is to list MY top 10 fave Slipknot songs of the Post Gray Era. This is the 2014 Gray Chapter to The End, So Far era of albums.
I have done a Top Ten Slipknot list in the past, and you can click on the red text to see that list!
You know me and you should know Slipknot by now, so this is not going to be much of an introduction but hi and welcome! For the Top 10 Slipknot Songs from 1999-2008 CLICK HERE!
Here are my fave top 10 songs from Gray Chapter through to The End, So Far.
10: The Dying Song (Time To Sing)
"The Dying Song (Time to Sing)" starts off in a very un-Slipknot manner as Corey Taylor sings a couple of lines a cappella. Then he repeatedly screams "DIE!" as the band bursts in behind him, so we can relax in the knowledge it's another brutal Knot track. Kick's ass! The Dying Song is a pessimistic song about the end of the world, as we are watching it happening right now. Slipknot blame the influential people who run the world. But it’s also our fault because we didn’t pay enough attention to what was happening under our noses. The lyrics hint that now it’s too late: we can only sing this last song and then die helplessly.
9: Yen
Sinister sounding Corey seduces our ears with is soft tones, and then he seems to burst out with the band to stab away at us. Just to inform us that he'd die for us because we are that good, but seriously this track is excellent and stands out above many others for me and since the new album released I have grown to love this one a lot more and more with each listen. This could be about some sort of toxic abusive relationship. The lyrics inside Yen hide a relevant meaning. In a decadent world, we stop fighting while the end is approaching. And we do the only thing that makes sense: entrust our death to someone worthy. There is no reference to whom this entity might be, but we know that it implies pain and blood. After all, in Slipknot’s eyes, we left nothing good in this world.
8: Adderall
This was a huge pleasant surprise to hear, it set a different tone completely, and I really like it. Such a different sound for the band but also blew me away with the chill of it and then the extraordinary synth and of course Corey's sweet vocals. That chorus is just mmf. I love this one. So Adderall is a drug used to treat ADD. So is this about an overdose from too much Adderall by the lines of "Ohh you know I'm gone." Or is it about someone being given the drug as a way of control maybe because there is talk of control and about the bible scaring the narrator.
7: Killpop
Soft songs and slipknot go well together and this is a great balance of soft and heavy, love it. This song can be interpreted in 2 ways: literally and metaphorically. If interpreted literally it's about the narrator/singer being infatuated by something a thing of beauty, in this case a woman, yet he is unable to coexist with this person as he can't bare seeing this person destroy herself. Corey said in an interview that metaphorically the song is about the music industry as a whole. The environment has become toxic, and although he loves creating music he can't stand to see the industry destroy itself as it's all about the money and not about the artist or creativity any more.
6: Nero Forte
One of the standout songs from WANYK is this one for me. I loved it upon first play through of the album. I think this song is a response to all the haters out there who judge others for being who they want to be. They try to shove it in your face how they believe all others should behave & refuse to allow anyone to just be themselves.
5: All Out Life
An absolute banger, I am still annoyed to this day that this did not end up on the UK version of the We Are Not Your Kind album. The song was chosen as the theme song for WWE's weekly show NXT on April 4, 2019. The lyrics of “All Out Life” see the Slipknot blasting the current state of the music industry. In blasting the industry in question, the band expresses their frustration and anger at the industry players for embracing modern music and turning their back against “old music”. According to Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor, "All Out Life" was written as "a rallying cry for everyone ... about all of us getting together and saying, 'You know what. Let's not talk about old. Let's not talk about new. Let's talk about what is. Let's talk about what's good, what's real, and get behind that and start embracing things that matter because there's history there and not just because it's the next best thing."Taylor also provided the following additional background to the composition of the song: "All Out Life" is a song that is trying to do two things: bring everyone together, but also remind everyone that the past is not something to be discarded with disdain. People are so eager to find the next big thing sometimes that they shit all over the bands and artists that have come before, thus making the past feel disposable, like a dirty thing. Fuck that: Why should we pay attention to your mediocre future when you can't be bothered to celebrate an amazing past? I'd rather listen to a guaranteed hit than a forced miss. "All Out Life" is the anthem that reminds people that it's not the date on the music – it's the staying power." It is the final recording to feature long-time percussionist and backing vocalist Chris Fehn before his dismissal from the band due to a lawsuit in March the following year.
4: Solway Firth
Awesome track and this also introduced me to the iconic tv superhero show known as The Boys. Corey explained that the song is about being the person everyone else wants you to be rather than being yourself. They don't need anyone to understand why they are the way they are or show them how to be someone they're not. They simply want to be themselves in a 'take it or leave it' type manner. It's been speculated that the band is referring to the media and others wanting them to be something other than themselves, but, to date, the band has not confirmed nor denied this idea. The closing track of We Are Not Your Kind, "Solway Firth" finds Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor being ostracized. He feels he has been misunderstood and has become a scapegoat. The song's unsettling music video was directed by Clown. It combines footage from Slipknot's early summer 2019 European tour with scenes from Amazon Prime's superhero show The Boys.
3: Custer
How's this one? Dut-dut-dat dut-dut-dat-dat-dat. Fucking awesome tune here, catchy as fuck and blew me away first time I heard this, and I got quite addicted to it too. This was also a song used in a TikTok trend once too. George Armstrong Custer was a Civil War hero and subsequently a ruthless Indian fighter. He is famous for the Battle of the Little Bighorn, commonly referred to as Custer's Last Stand, in which a force of 650 men led by Custer, suffered a severe defeat to around 2,500 Indian warriors. The death of Slipknot bassist Paul Gray and the controversial departure of drummer Joey Jordison meant many doubted whether the band could reach the same heights. This song finds Corey Taylor digging in his heels against all the scoffers. He told Kerrang!: "This is focusing that anger towards the outside world – the people who on one hand want to make us martyrs, but at the same time want to make us bastards." "And metaphorically," he added, "it's about charging into our last stand, and it's basically saying, 'You know what? Just when you think you've written our history, we're going to rewrite it again, and basically show you that we can take all the abuse that you put out there, and we're not going to lose a step, we're not going to lose an inch, we're not going to lose any ground – we're going to keep coming.'"
2: Unsainted
Love this one, and it was a killer opener and single to lead the We are not your kind album. It's about organized religion and how Corey thinks it's not for him and why it killed the saint in him. Corey has also said this is about the depression he had battled for years leading to this creation, The singer split from Stephanie Luby in 2017 after eight years of marriage, sending him into a depression. Taylor, a recovering addict, wrote the lyrics for We Are Not Your Kind during this time when he was battling depression and trying to stay sober. Unsainted" was chosen as the theme song for the WWE's NXT TakeOver: Toronto event, held August 10, 2019 in Canada's Scotiabank Arena.
1: The Devil In I
This is the heavy hitter that marked Slipknot's return with this being the first music video of the band to kick off the Gray Chapter and also for this new decade of Slipknot music. I love this to bits as it is catchy and groove with the instrumentals as well as being a chonky meaty boy with metal. Corey Taylor on it "'The Devil In I' is really about the war inside yourself," he said. "Trying not to give into defeatism, trying not to give into negativity, trying not to give up basically. It's a struggle. It's one of the hardest thing you can do, is to give in to that side of yourself." The song's music video was directed by Slipknot drummer Shawn Crahan and features the destruction of band members in various ways. Chris Fehn, for instance, is pecked to death by ravens, a fate he requested for himself as the percussionist suffers from a fear of birds. Sid Wilson, meanwhile, eats his arm and fingers in the clip, destroying the things most important for the guitarist's role in the band. "Basically, this video is about finding past devils, past things - becoming one with it and then doing away with it," Crahan explained
Ok this has been my list, what do you think of it? Let me know.
As always If you have list suggestions or any blog post ideas HIT ME UP on the socials anytime at all.
Thanks for reading, stay (sic)
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