Track Listing

1. Execute
2. Gematria (The Killing Name)
3. Sulfur
4. Psychosocial
5. Dead Memories
6. Vendetta
7. Butcher's Hook
8. Gehenna
9. This Cold Black
10. Wherein Lies Continue
11. Snuff
12. All Hope Is Gone

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1104 in Music
• Released on: 2008-08-25
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Explicit Lyrics
• Dimensions: .23 pounds

Amazon.co.uk Review
For most bands, the process of experimentation involves infusing more traditional song structures with weirder, or less familiar sonic elements. Not so for Iowa’s Slipknot. All Hope Is Gone, the metal neuftet’s fourth full-length, finds them further mining the seam that produced 2004’s Vol 3: The Subliminal Verses, adulterating their caustic, percussion-heavy take on thrash metal with acoustic guitars and anthemic choruses. Present too, though, is a heaviness that harkens back to 2001’s aggressive Iowa, meaning the likes of "Psychosocial" and "Dead Memories" mix big, inclusive vocal hooks with bulldozing low-end and savage percussion breakdowns set to arcane time signatures. Nor is it all set to formula: "Butcher’s Hook", for instance, sounds nothing like anything in Slipknot’s catalogue to date. It is a slamming funk-metal track not unlike The Rollins Band, with broiling! anti-establishment lyrics and a huge call-and-response chorus. The occasional Nickelback-like chorus might appall the diehards, but Slipknot are still stretching themselves, and All Hope Is Gone stands up to anything in their catalogue. --Louis Pattison

CD Description
Fourth album, following 2004's 'The Subliminal Verses', from one of the most credible, successful and enduring bands tosurvive the short-lived "nu-metal" boom of the early 00s, despite the comparative inaccessibility of their dark, anguished, brutal music. This new record, produced by Dave Fortman(Mudvayne, Evanescence, Simple Plan), sees them showing no signs of mellowing with age, except perhaps to introduce a dash of melody on the Megadeth-inspired single 'Psychosocial'.

Customer Reviews

Yet Hope Remains! Newly converted...
Slipknot are a strange entity. They've created a clever image for themselves that allows them to stand out from the crowd (Who says metal has to be serious all the time?), yet their music hasn't always followed suit.
Their first album was not what you'd call a classic in the grand scheme of all that is Metal. It had a dirty, heavy sound but the quality of the songwriting was sporadic, the riffs were often similar, and prone to a lot of noise for the sake of it.
It also went downhill very quickly after the first half. Not an uncommon phenomenon with metal albums, but it got pretty bad... Anyway...

I've never been a big fan of them ever since, and i'll be the first to admit i'm not an expert on them. They were ok, but not a band I could listen to for any length of time. They always seemed to be more for younger metal fans.

The most I heard after that was catching occasional glimpses of videos from later albums. Credit due - their videos are class. Duality was cool.

So, when their latest single Psychosocial appeared on my TV screen the other day and pounded my brain to mush with the bloody end of my own severed arm, I was pleasantly surprised.

So surprised that I actually found myself buying the new album today to see if any other surprises were

Occasionally (amongst the *&^% that some bands release these days) I find a new metal album that actually makes me smile and remember why I listen to metal in the first place.

This is not the same band that released that first album many years ago. This is a stripped down, refined, nonsense-free, focused, and professional, tight unit of a band who have put some thought into what they do.

Straight away when the intro builds up into opener "Gematria", you can tell this is going to be a different experience altogether.

The powerhouse behind Slipknot has always been Joey's awesome drumming and their use of percussion as a whole.

This can be a problem though if the rest of the band can't keep up. Thankfully this doesn't even enter into the equation anymore.
Gone is the Nu-Metal sludge, the self-indulgent mucking about and the excess fat that plagued their first album.

The riffs on offer are top quality, Corey's vocals are top-notch (he can SING!), the percussion pounds into your brain like it bloody well should(!) and the songs kick off with no pretense, messing about, or nonsense.
The end result is a highly polished (courtesy of Colin Richardson's HUGE sound) and slick, but heavy as *&^%, slab of pure, unadulterated METAL! Solos an'all. It deserves to be played loud.

I no longer consider them a Nu-Metal band, and that's not something I thought i'd ever say about Slipknot.

From "Gematria" (6 minute thrash classic!), through "Sulfur" (nasty beast of a tune with a great chorus), "Psychosocial" (a stomping BEAST of a tune with pounding drums), latest single "Dead Memories" (bit of a surprise this one!) and Vendetta (At the Gates & Arch Enemy would be jealous), and onto the songs that take a few listens like "Butcher's Hook", "Gehenna" (very moody. very good.), "This Cold Black" (ANGRY!) and the blistering title track, it's a rollercoaster ride that you'll not regret.

Grab your sledgehammer, crank the volume and smash something!
Or better yet, get it on in the car, windows down, drown out the neds with their techno-garbage, and scare christmas shoppers on a saturday afternoon in your favourite city. Childish, but fun at any age!

Not perfect, but definitely worthy of 4 stars (maybe 4 1/2 if they'd spelt Sulphur correctly!), and one of the best metal albums i've heard this year.

Rhymes with a silly made up word like Disasterpiece
Having gotten fairly familiar with the album, then leaving it for a while to make sure it wasn't post-release enthusiasm, I can now honestly say that I believe this is the band's best effort since their debut. While every Slipknot album has its faults, even that oh-so-precious classic first assault, those on All Hope... are less immediately obvious, and certainly nowhere near as off-putting as they were on the previous two records. And unlike the previous two records, you'll find more to praise than dismiss.

For a start, I tend to skip on past previous singles "Left Behind" and "Vermillion Pt. 1", and mercifully, there is no such track on here. Sure, "Dead Memories" and "Snuff" rank amongst the bands less sonically abrasive material, but there is a certain maturity here, musically at least, which was absent from those previous albums. "Snuff" in particular stands out as one of the album's best tracks, and is sure to appeal to fans of the fantastic "Circle" from The Subliminal Verses. Said maturity is obvious not just on these tracks but on the whole record. There is less unnecessary messing about on this album, which at twelve tracks also clocks in as the most concise output so far. Standard formless opener ".Execute." segues into thrasher "Gematria (The Killing Name)", a choice track to sum up the album. While it has new elements (the timing insanity of the opening, decent solos) it still features Slipknot hallmarks in that instantly-hooky chorus and resoundingly industrial percussive backup. The rest of the album follows suit, with the occasional detour into new territory. "Sulfur" and single "Psychosocial" follow the trend set by the opener, while the quieter "Dead Memories" slows things down before the undeniably fun "Vendetta" provides one of the best riff/chorus combos of the year so far. "Butcher's Hook" is less predictable fare, as is follower "Gehenna", quite possibly one of the spookiest songs ever recorded, and sure to appeal to fans of "Gently". Another two slabs of perfect metal arrive in the crushing "This Cold Black" and it's sequel of sorts, "Wherein Lies Continue". "Snuff" is a simple effort, easily accessible and sure to stick in your head for days, without feeling out of place in the slightest. The title track rounds off the album, only its chorus grating a little. Otherwise, it's a great closer, although the least effective final track of the band's catalogue.

The special edition features expended artwork, though aggravatingly no place for the fatter-than-average booklet, which is guaranteed to annoy the pernickety among us. What you're paying for is an extra three tracks and a short documentary DVD. The first of the bonus cuts, "Child of Burning Time" makes as little sense as its wilfully-abstract title. It's passable, but I can see why it was left off the standard edition. The remix of Vermillion Pt. 2 provides no challenge at all: it's a short, pretty listen. Still, I'd rather not have a track from a previous album on it's follow up. The final track is "'Til We Die", a Shawn-drummed slow-burner which closes the album quite well. But all said, the bonus tracks aren't worth shelling out the extra cash for. The bonus DVD is no better. It features no interview footage, and a smattering of in-studio performance, but for the most part it consists of poorly shot imagery. The sooner Slipknot realise they're a metal band and not an art exhibition the better, for all of us. Voliminal was proof of this.

What All Hope... represents to me is a honing of skills, a musical and professional maturity. In simple terms, there's very little on this album to make you cringe, but plenty to give you a swift kick in the rear. Detractors will be forced to take heed and recognize this band is still a force to be reckoned with. Highly, highly recommended.

All Hope is Gone
1. Execute
Nice little into, mixed music on decks 5/10

2. Gematria (The Killing Name)
Awesome song. Listen with headphones for left/right interaction. Corey sounds really angry in this song 'We will burn your cities down'. Some great riffs around 2 and half minutes in 8/10

3. Sulfur
Another great song. Starts off with Joey bashing the drums fast then goes into a delicate part before the song comes alive. Corey singing in the chorus is awesome 'like breathing in sulfer' 9/10

4. Psychosocial
Single released along with all hope is gone. 'And the rain will kill us all' Psychosocial - Nice! 9/10

5. Dead Memories
One of the slower songs on the album, most radio friendly song here. Nice guitar work and corey singing like Stone Sour the whole song 'We were never alive and we won't be born again, dead memories in my heart' 9/10

6. Vendetta
Starts off with Joey again on the drums, nice tempo song. Corey sings like stone sour again, which is a good thing! 'Are you ready for the time of your life' 8/10

7. Butcher's Hook
This song defines Slipknot 'Go ahead and disagree' 7/10

8. Gehenna
A creepy song 'Free my severed eyes' Awesome guitar riff at 3 mins in. This song is SIC! 7/10

9. This Cold Black
Think most of Slipknot do backing vocals on this song. Fast paced with some great electric keyboard extras and again another guitar riff at 3 mintues in. Great song once it gets going 9/10

10. Wherein Lies Continue
'The endings the same, the world will not change'. Mixture of angry and optimistic Corey. 'We have to save ourselves'. My least favorite song 6/10

11. Snuff
'Bury all your secrets in my skin' A lot like Vermillion pt 2. Nice slow start and Corey's best vocals on the album 9/10

12. All Hope Is Gone
Another single. Pretty decent effort 8/10

13. Child Of Burning Tire
Creepy vocals at the start, average filler 7/10

14. Till We Die
Corey's singing is really good in this song 8/10

15. Vermillion
Bloodstone pt. 2 Remix. This song has been previously released on a soundtrack 7/10

Overall, Is this Slipknot's best album? I would say Yes!