Death is represented in all forms on Type O Negative's final project: a dreaded feeling, personal and impactful loss, doomed apocalypse, of faith, remembrance, of the former self, and of innocence. They've explored this territory before, usually focusing on loss, but this is a more all-encompassing coverage. Unfortunately focusing on broadening one topic has spread themselves thinner than before, with long empty passages lacking depth for the listener to sink into. It's got the ... read more

Self-loathing and regret has never sounded as energetic and exciting as this album makes it out to be. From the beginning, it slowly rises to the highest point and stays there, taking the listener on a wild ride full of twists and turns from upbeat to haunting, reminiscence to disdain, apathy to obsession and more in the band's most varied project. Killer riffs and fast tempos are perfectly offset by more mesmerizing, almost ethereal tracks, with just about every vocal technique Peter has ... read more

Bleaker than ever, Peter loses himself and everyone around him in the band's most depressing entry. Focusing almost entirely on self-destruction and grief, it lends itself entirely to longer and more drawn-out passages than before. The first half is much slower and somber, the tone perking up after the title track as loss is embraced with acceptance. Lustful themes eke their way in, though they're more symbolic this time around. While it nails the gloomy atmosphere the longer tracks ... read more

Building upon their previous effort, they only improve on just about every quality. Familiar themes of lustful yearning, mournful laments, and desire for the taboo return this time with a much more bittersweet feeling. The addition of upbeat cuts contrast well with their sorrow, whether switching up the tempo within a track or between separate ones. Every piece is beautifully arranged, the only low points being those lacking in development or slightly repetitious compared to their peers. ... read more

Lust is the main theme here, and they find no shortage of ways to express it. There's long stretches of emotional longing, praises for the eerie and strange, and mournful passages filled with darkly rich compositions occasionally accompanied by atmospheric foley on certain tracks. A couple songs bring back their more aggressive tempos alongside their dark humor and indifference to public perception, but for the most part it's a slower and more sensual experience. The intro and ... read more

It starts on its strongest foot, jamming it in the door and hooking the listener with a loosely connected tale of how one could possibly deal with adultery. Spiraling into ranting and raving in anger and obsession, the pace slows a bit in the middle with less development than the beginning, but remains grim and emotional. Dedicating two tracks to symbolism over substance, it prioritizes expression over experience, leaving the listener with a bit of time spent twiddling their thumbs. The final ... read more

Taking one step backwards, Slipknot decides to revisit old ideas and formulas through smears and smudges that only give an approximation of their original appeal. The distinguishable melodies of 'We Are Not Your Kind' return half-baked and overstay their welcome, and their more aggressive romps are misheard echoes of the past. Corey's vocals have gotten worse, having tolerable singing and tripping over himself in more exciting moments. The band's composition is at its ... read more

Trapped within their own image for over a decade at this point, Slipknot finally manages to claw their way out of their hole and stand on their own with a bold new offering. While the content of their discography up to this point had been thematically consistent within each release, none of them had such a flowing and cohesive experience as this. Opting for fewer but longer tracks with more meat on the bone, they fill the gaps with ambient interludes that reinforce the idea of being stuck in a ... read more

One long, drawn-out funeral dirge and tribute to a fallen bandmate and friend, the band buries themselves deeper within their apathy and grieves the only way they know how. Stricken with tragedy, there's a solid baseline for the songwriting, though it is often sullied by superfluous synonyms and unspecified subjects in a see-through disguise of esotericism. It leans heavily on the band's status and history, providing serviceable tracks that echo previous gimmicks, but never truly ... read more

Spinning the exact opposite way of their introspective third volume, they dig in their heels and vent frustrations of complacency and stagnation with light social commentary. Cynicism and nihilism bleed into the songwriting thematically but also into the quality, settling for more simplistic and repetitive lines than usual. It is mostly carried and defined by its heavy grooves alongside a return to more guttural vocals, though the tracks rarely reach the band's former heights.

Favorite ... read more

After lashing out and indulging in visceral hatred they exhaust almost all targets, leaving their sights to turn inward. From the outset it focuses on realization, regret, and self-reflection over both calmer and familiarly energetic instrumentals. Pain is shared through rallying themes echoing their previous effort, though further comparison is akin to grasping at straws. Despite being blown-out, distorted, or muffled, each sound is clearly distinguishable which is a far cry from the ... read more

Brutality takes precedence over all else, trading in the manic horror of their debut for something more guttural, focused, and calculated. When not lamenting by fantasizing about mutilation, many tracks take on an almost anthemic quality sometimes both in title and sound, with energetic and angry delivery appealing to the ugly, the dejected, and the livid. Foreboding horror manages to creep its way in despite their rage with a far more ominous and almost inevitable sound. Closing out with a ... read more

Coming out of the gate swinging in any and all directions, Slipknot hits every single mark for almost the entire first half of the track list. Inevitably that frantic energy winds down as they take things in a far more sinister direction, though their residual effort is nothing to scoff at in the slightest. It's an endless slew of hate-filled headbangers from start to finish, with the occasional obligatory nu metal rapping or underdeveloped singing bubbling up from the blood inside ... read more

Far more abstract and sporadic than their next and most acclaimed project, it never homes in on any specific quality, though its sound is a bit more appealing. Except for the gulping and lip smacking.

Favorite Tracks: Ron, Carol, Warren
Least Favorite Tracks: Charlotte, Darlene

Vividly dark storytelling and a uniquely eerie sound create a cloudy atmosphere, the gaps between being intermittent spouts of boredom sitting through duller lengths of instrumentals. Piques interest, but doesn't truly captivate.

Favorite Track: Breadcrumb Trail
Least Favorite Track: For Dinner...

The title ends up being a bit of a misnomer as their final effort sees them confidently recycling their sound without any sort of added depth to compensate. Demonstrating their self-assured and reckless attitude, they lose sight and present a shorter list of shorter tracks with platitudinous and repetitive songwriting. Thankfully the band's talent prevents their performance from slipping completely, allowing them to sell what would otherwise be mediocre tracks. The artwork is often ... read more

On the surface, it's largely a return to their southern roots and influences on 'Cowboys from Hell' mixed with the energy on 'Far Beyond Driven' kicked up a notch. Deeper within, it is a mastery of everything the band has tried up to this point, with every dial tuned in exactly the right place. Containing the absolute darkest and at times disturbing songwriting in their career, it justifies with clear ethos their disdain for trend followers. Phil's enthrallingly ... read more

Not a moment of time is wasted as they once again put forward an uncompromisingly aggressive project. It's far heavier and less varied than their previous works, with lyrical edginess waxing to an almost obscene degree, but it manages to stay just on the line of too much without ever going over for more than a moment. It took a bit for "Good Friends and a Bottle of Pills" to grow on me especially after the incredible quartet of tracks preceding it, but I appreciate its sheer ... read more

Disowning previous efforts for a new debut in groove metal creates both the catalyst and the foundation for the legendary decade that followed in the wake of this album for Pantera. It establishes their rough personality and awe-inspiring shredding through dark and personal themes, while maintaining an almost upbeat tone and shrill vocals unheard in later records. There's bits of fat and blanks to fill in, but they're more than up to the task of carving their own path.

Favorite ... read more

I was really expecting more going into this but it's just a bit lackluster, especially for its time. Almost every song drags on with very little development, the vocals are somewhat tired, and the lyrics are typically vapid. Not a bad album, but it overstays its welcome.

Favorite Track: Am I Evil
Least Favorite Tracks: To Heaven From Hell, Don't You Ever Leave Me