Slipknot - .5: The Gray Chapter (Vinyl)

The best art can often be born in the darkest of times. The members of Slipknot can certainly attest to that. The Grammy Award-winning, multiplatinum legendary hard rock visionaries found themselves facing their most trying hour on May 24, 2010. Founding bassist and songwriter Paul Gray tragically left this earth, and his band spiraled into overwhelming sorrow and sadness. Despite triumphant headlining shows at Sonisphere, Download, and The Rockstar Mayhem Festival stateside over the next two years, whether or not they would record again remained unclear.

However, in the summer of 2013, the musicians—Corey Taylor [vocals], M. Shawn “Clown” Crahan [percussion], Jim Root [guitar], Mick Thomson [guitar], Chris Fehn [percussion], Sid Wilson [turntables], and Craig Jones [sampler]—experienced a collective revelation, and ideas for their fifth full-length album .5: The Gray Chapter started to organically gestate.

“After Paul passed, I was struggling—as we all were,” exclaims Clown. “I was immediately aware I wouldn’t want to go in the studio too quickly because it would’ve been impossible not seeing him there. Everything happens for a reason, and something clicked at the beginning of the year. I say Paul’s name every day, and I smile. I don’t dwell on any sort of negativity. I think we did channel some real positive feelings, even if the delivery is a little angry here and there. We dug in. We had a little time to mourn, and we needed that. We all reached a point where we could talk about things and feel things. Then, we could communicate through the music. ”Taylor leaves off, “I want people to listen to this over and over and discover something new every time. It’s so dark. We don’t give a shit about singles. We make albums. We make pieces of art. We make fits of fury. We make bursts of musical fucking frenetic energy, and we always will. We’re here to stay.”


Tracklist

1.XIX
2.Sarcastrophe
3.AOV
4.The Devil In I
5.Killpop
6.Skeptic
7.Lech
8.Goodbye
9.Nomadic
10.The One That Kills The Least
11.Custer
12.Be Prepared For Hell
13.The Negative One
14.If Rain Is What You Want
15. Silence
16. Hddn 1
17. Hddn 2