Track Listing

1. 515
2. People=shit
3. Disaster piece
4. My plague
5. Everything ends
6. Heretic anthem
7. Gently
8. Left behind
9. Shape
10. Skin ticket
11. I am hated
12. New abortion
13. Metabolic
14. Iowa

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3637 in Music
• Released on: 2003-08-28
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Explicit Lyrics

Amazon.co.uk Review
As if answering the challenge of those who dismiss them as a cartoonish joke, Slipknot claim that Iowa is a statement of intent, a real heavy-metal album. As percussionist Shawn Crahan puts it: "We're able to cut into the wound, crawl inside, stitch it up ourselves and fester in the f***ing hurt". And right from the introductory shriek and grind "of (515)", you know they're deadly serious. Iowa is immediately intimidating in its unforgiving heaviness. Produced to cruel perfection by wonderboy Ross Robinson, it takes the best of Slayer as its starting-point and moves on. "People=Shit", "The Heretic Anthem" and "New Abortion" are relentless and wholly brutal. But this is no mere thrash. "Disasterpiece" features a weird, hypnotic riff, while "Left Behind" is like a duet between Alice in Chains' Layne Staley and Slayer's Tom Araya. "Gently" (an old track here re-recorded) builds slowly from industrial atmospherics to a punishing explosion of noise, and the title track (also old and formerly known as "Killers Are Quiet") is a heavy metal "Midnight Rambler", deeply unsettling. Frontman Corey Taylor claims to have performed it naked and bleeding from self-inflicted wounds, and that's not hard to believe. The whole album, though masterfully constructed, is painfully raw and utterly compelling. --Dominic Wills

CD Description
Second album from the nine-man shock-rock freakshow. Prod- uced once again by nu-metal guru Ross Robinson, this is heavier than their first record, adding elements of extreme metal.

Customer Reviews

This is metal....
Wow, wow and wow! Remember all the promises Slipknot made on how "Iowa" would sound? They sure lived up to it! As soon as you hear the twisted screams and cries in "(515)", you know you're in for a real treat. An unsettling and strange beginning, it soon tears into "People=S**t". Now this is where the promises become a reality. 3:36 of brutal guitars, excellant drumming, heavy bass and manic vocals. As a matter of fact, this is the case in all of the songs. Take "The Heretic Anthem" for example in which frontman Corey Taylor (8) screams "If you're 555, then I'm 666!". Each member posesses a terryfying talent on thier respective instrument. For example, Joey Jordison (1) and his brilliant drumming in songs like the previously mentioned "Heretic Anthem" and "Metabolic" and guitar tag team Mick Thompson (7) and James Root(4) and their intense metal riffing. For those of you thought their first album "Slipknot" was good, Slipknot have just turned it up a notch and upped the ante once again. To sum up, "Iowa" is a must buy and trust me, it's well worth it. From the classy artwork to the actual album content, this is fantastic throughout. As Corey Taylor said: " We are not a Satan-worshipping band, but it's not for the queasy or weak-minded." Trust me people, he ain't lying!

They're NOT Nu-metal, for the last time...
I am a fan of the heaviest of metal (strapping young lad, Cult of Luna etc), the evilest of metal (arkhon infaustas, deicide, marduk etc) and the most aggresive types of metal (anaal nathrakh etc), so why would I waste my time on a nu metal band?

The answer is that this is NOT nu metal, this is comtemporary THRASH METAL!

Their impossible-to-find first release: Mate, Feed, Kill, Repeat; has an odd blend of jazz and thrash metal and a slightly different line up. Slipknot, the first official release had a very nu metal sound to it, however with added heaviness.Fair enough, Slipknot used this overdone turkey of a sub gnere to get onto the music scene but by no means are they Nu-metal here or in their later release. Iowa sees them progressing further into the realms of heavy with a very up to date thrash metal sound (they would then progress to progressive metal for Vol.3).

I don't care what people say, they are NOT nu metal, the thing that makes them remotely linked to this genre is the fact that they are widely known to the general public, making them very mainstream, unfortunately this tarnishes their image somewhat and metal fans may give them a wide berth because of it.

This is very unfortunate because Slipknot are (in this release anyway) heavy, fast, aggressive and talented. The vocals are raw and hate fuelled; the guitars fast and downtuned (okay, their other link with nu metal, but it goes no further!); the drumming, inhuman. It's a shame to see them negleted by metal fans just because of their mainstream appeal.

This is awesome.

The darker side of the KnoT...
This album is dark...this album is very, very dark...
After the monumental success of SlipKnoT's first titled record, they were put under the enormous pressure of topping it and creating an album which could live up to its predecessors glory. The album begins with "[515]", bassy, twitching synths, accompanied by numerous members shouting and screeching the word 'death' in such a way that the reaper himself could be in their presence. The first full song is in the form of "People=xxxx"...it's pounding drum/guitar intro is very reminiscent of the previous albums' opener "(sic)"...it malevolently combines an awesome riff with almost war-cry vocals and ultra-violent drumming, it leaves the mind and the senses truly stunned. Next comes the dominant "Disasterpiece"...a lot of work has gone into this one, numerous time and key changes combine with harsh and melodic vocal work and some very neat interplay between guitarists Jim Root and Mick Thompson, this is one of the albums great tracks and along with a couple of others...possibly "Iowa's" best. There are three slower tracks on the album in the form of the re-worked "Gently" (re-worked from the bands' first album Mate, Feed, Kill, Repeat), "Skin Ticket", and the albums' title track, "Iowa". These three songs are unquestionably the darkest and most moving of the 14 songs...doom-laden drumming and percussion give a stalking feel, and Corey Taylor's lyrics and vocal do more than enough to terrify and amass thoughts of suffering, escapism and intense emotional anguish. These songs are very cathartic and I find myself lost in them frequently. Mosh-pit anthems are also included in "Iowa", in the form of "The Heretic Anthem", "Left Behind" (the first single-release) and "My Plague" (the second single-release). The opening and progressing riff from "Left Behind" still raises goose-bumps to this day, and is arguably one of SlipKnoT's greatest. As for the rest of the records offerings, there is the soul-demolishing genius of "Everything Ends", the incredible "New Abortion" and the harmonic and melodic cry of "The Shape", these three songs are in no way inferior to the rest of the album, they are actually some of the best material SlipKnoT have ever produced!! Band-wagon fake's will buy this because it's cool...true Maggots will hold "Iowa" together with the rest of the albums as a great step in the ever conquering cycle of SlipKnoT's reign over our hearts and our minds..."you can't take my soul away from me...", we give it to SlipKnoT...